Proverbs commonly attributed to be Chinese
From Wikiquote
These are proverbs, idioms, and curses whose authenticity and provenance as being Chinese is in question, however they are commonly attributed to be Chinese.
- May you live in interesting times
- May you come to the attention of those in authority
- May you find what you are looking for
- Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
- A dried fish cannot be used as a cat's pillow
- Keep a green tree in your heart, and perhaps a songbird will come
- The fish sees the bait, not the hook; a person sees the gain, not the danger
- Schools of fish come to those who wait patiently; if the big ones don't come, the little ones will
- Long time no see. (This is a word-for-word translation of the common Cantonese expression "好耐冇見"/"hou2 noi6 mou5 gin3", and the Mandarin equivalent "好久不见"/"hao3 jiu3 bu4 jian4"). It is therefore quite plausible the phrase entered the English language from Chinese)
- Blood is thicker than water
- Man with old shoes has walked far
- No money no talk
- Dog eat dog (bone)--actually an English expression, originally dog don't eat dog, or criminals don't prey on each other; similar to 'honor among thieves'
- Don't curse the darkness--light a candle
- Alternatively: It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness
- Attributed in China to Anna Louise Strong, but used as early as 1907 The Supreme Conquest, and Other Sermons Preached in America by William Lonsdale Watkinson

