Seven Hundred Chinese Proverbs – Henry H. Hart (1940)

S$57.00

Seven Hundred Chinese Proverbs – Henry H. Hart (1940)

S$57.00

Title: Seven Hundred Chinese Proverbs

Author: Henry H. Hart, Patrick Pichi Sun (foreword)

Publisher: Stanford University Press, 1940. Third printing.

Condition: Hardcover, no dust jacket. Very good. Slight rubbing to cover, and a small inscription to ffep. Text clean, binding tight, with decorations on each page. 83pp., app 8.5″x5.5″.

SKU: seven-hundred-chinese-proverbs Categories: , , ,

A fun collection of 700 Chinese proverbs, translated by Henry H. Hart, on topics ranging from the emperor to manners and food and drink. As he himself states, Hart has omitted some of the more colourful proverbs to cater to the sensitivities of the Western audience. Nevertheless, plenty is left for entertainment and enlightenment.

Proverbs include:

In life beware of the law court; in death beware of hell.

Nine out of ten matchmakers are liars.

The pretty woman in the house is the enemy of all the ugly ones.

Rice obtained by crookedness will not boil up into good food.

The fish that escaped is the big one.

He who rides the tiger finds it difficult to dismount.

If you want your dinner, don’t offend the cook.

Distant water cannot quench a fire near by.

Clever men are often the servants of fools.

He is truly a superior man who can watch a chess game in silence.