Chinese Wisdom
Running list of Chinese 俗语 that I've run into:
士别三日当刮目相待
A scholar who has been away for three days must be regarded with new eyes.
- If someone has levelled up quite quietly by themselves, you should not judge them by their old self.
- Do not underestimate people.
- From the story of Lü Meng, a brave but uneducated general of the Eastern Wu, who devoted himself to reading, and impressed scholar Lu Su who initially dismissed him
三顾茅庐
Three visits to the thatched cottage.
- To show great sincerity and humility in seeking someone's help, referring to Liu Bei's three visits to seek the help of Zhuge Liang
弟子不必不如师，师不必贤于弟子
A student need not be inferior to their teacher, nor must a teacher be more virtuous than their student.
青出于蓝胜于蓝
Blue comes from indigo, yet surpasses indigo
- Similar meaning to the above, for when a younger generation surpasses the elder
万事俱备只欠东风
Everything has been prepared. We lack only the east wind.
- All is in place, except for a final crucial element
- Referring to the famous Battle of the Red Cliffs in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. A great deal of preparation was carried out for a massive fire attack against the enemy. However, the strategy ultimately depended on and required an east wind to carry the flames towards the enemy
草船借箭
Using straw boats to borrow arrows
- To use clever strategy to gain resources from your enemy
- To turn disadvantage into advantage
- Named after Zhuge Liang's strategy of using the cover of fog and boats covered in straw to bait and collect arrows from the enemy, who believed they were under attack
卧龙凤雏，得一可安天下
Crouching Dragon, Hidden Phoenix. He who obtains one may pacify the world.
- Epithets given to Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, two of the greatest military strategists of the Three Kingdoms era
- Used to describe individuals of exceptional talent
背水一战
To fight with one's back to the river
- To fight a desperate battle where retreat is impossible
- To describe forcing oneself into a high-stakes situation where victory is the only option for survival.
千里之堤溃于蚁穴
Ant ant hole may collapse a dike of one thousand li
礼轻情意重
The gift is light, but the sentiment is heavy.
覆巢之下 吴完卵
There are no intact eggs under an overturned nest.
- When the collective is in trouble, it is difficult for individuals to avoid trouble
- Named after this utterance from Kong Rong's two sons, who acknowledged their impending doom upon their father's arrest for his slander of Cao Cao