The 5 most relevant Chinese proverbs about happiness
Nothing beats good vibes and messages filled with love, faith, and hope that allow you to recharge your batteries and leave behind all the stress and worries caused by routine. Proverbs provide you with wisdom, guidance, discipline, intelligence, and key messages to help you learn to live better and achieve the inner peace so desired by many.
As for Chinese proverbs, they seek to restore your sense of purpose and your desire to live it to the fullest. The basis of Chinese proverbs about happiness lies in patience and the secret of how to properly manage it and use it to your advantage. Thus, by eliminating all the negative burdens that prevent you from enjoying life and having self-confidence, you will be able to appreciate the art that surrounds you.
Among these 5 main Chinese proverbs, considered the most popular and relevant, are:
People fix their hair every day, why not their hearts?
This proverb mentions the fact that society lives more aware of the material and superficial than feelings and inner and spiritual development, which is really what matters.
People spend more time at the gym, at work, and looking for money to buy luxurious and trivial things like cars, clothes, shoes, etc., to satisfy their ego, and thus they forget about feelings and sharing with loved ones.
When misfortune reaches its height, happiness comes
It corresponds to that popular saying "After the storm, calm comes", in other words, you have to suffer to be happy, appreciating even more everything you feel you lost and today places you where you are, stronger, wiser. and with more experience to face life.
You can't be afraid of loneliness, because you are not alone; you are your own best friend. Remember that you are very strong, and there is no sadness, anguish, or frustration that you cannot overcome. Remember, everything happens for a reason, and thanks to this, you will get closer and closer to your destiny on earth.
It is easier to change the course of a river than the character of a man
As much as you want, it is not advisable to change for someone and stop being you, or try to change someone to your model and likeness, with this you will only be falling into a direct abyss to failure and dissatisfaction.
It is important to learn to respect and accept other people as they are, and demand that they do the same with you, it is the only viable and safe way to become happy.
You can't prevent the bird of sadness from flying over your head, but you can prevent it from nesting in your hair
It guides you through managing depression and sadness, addressing the negative episode in the moment (today) but freeing yourself emotionally (tomorrow). It also introduces you to the concept of empathy (putting yourself in someone else's shoes).
Fair roads don't lead far
Its interpretation reflects impatience and low tolerance. Keep in mind that what comes easily, goes easily. Life and its joy will depend on the efforts you put in every day to be the best version of yourself and strive for each of your dreams.
At this point, it's a good idea to read our article on what meditation is , which will help you learn to manage your emotions. Above all, it will help you maintain calm and serenity, key elements for achieving happiness according to Chinese proverbs.
Some Chinese proverbs about happiness
Below, you will find a compilation of some Chinese proverbs about happiness to reflect on and gain wisdom. The most prominent are:
- Control your emotions or they will control you.
- I got angry because I didn't have shoes. Then I met a man who didn't have feet.
- Don't listen to what they say. Go see it.
- Hearing something a hundred times is not as good as seeing it once. A dirty mouth will not speak decent language.
- The one who returns from an adventure is not the same one who left.
- A good teacher is better than a handful of books.
- All things change and we change with them.
- It takes more than a day for a river to freeze one meter deep.
- True knowledge is when one knows the limitations of one's own knowledge.
- If you always give, you will always receive.
- A single conversation with a wise man is worth a month's study of books.
- With true friends, even drinking water is truly sweet.
- Even the hare bites when cornered.
- Spilled water is difficult to recover.
- Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
- Fool me once, you're to blame. But, fool me twice and the fault will be mine.
- If the snake bites you one morning, you will fear the rope from the well for ten years.
- A needle is not sharp on both sides.
- A gem cannot shine without polishing it, just as a man cannot be perfected if he does not put himself to the test.
More Chinese proverbs
Chinese wisdom is very broad, here you will see many more proverbs:
- Blame yourself as you blame others, and forgive others as you forgive yourself.
- Falling into a ditch makes you wiser.
- Do not think that you will reach your destination if you do not leave the coast.
- Good deeds bear good fruit, while evil is repaid with evil.
- An intelligent person transforms big problems into small ones, and small ones into nothing.
- If you have money, you can ask for favors.
- Listening well is just as powerful as speaking well, and is also essential for a true conversation.
- Don't be afraid to grow slowly, be afraid to stay static.
- He who depends on himself will achieve the greatest of happiness.
- The ship will reach the end of the bridge in due time.
- Only he who can swallow an insult is a true man.
- What you hear may be false, but what you see is true.
- Little men think they are little, big men never know they are big.
- Before telling secrets on the way, look in the bushes.
- The schemes of man are inferior to those made by heaven.
- If a family has an elderly person in it, they have a jewel.
- To be successful, consult 3 seniors.
- A fool judges people by the gifts they give him.
- The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying small stones.
- Never judge a person by their appearance.
It is recommended that you read similar topics, such as the one presented in our article on happiness being within oneself , which you will find interesting.
The list is even longer
The ancient wisdom of China is more relevant than ever:
- When the roof is leaking, that's when there are several continuous nights of rain.
- A beam, no matter how big, cannot support an entire house on its own.
- A man should choose a friend who is better than himself. There are many acquaintances in the world, but very few friends.
- A mountain can't turn, but a road can.
- In adversity, true feelings are revealed.
- If you stand straight, don't be afraid of a crooked shadow.
- A book is like carrying a garden in your pocket.
- There are many ways to the top of the mountain, but the top is the same.
- An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet.
- The bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
- Teachers can open the door for you, but you must enter on your own.
- All things are difficult, until they become easy.
- If your force is small, don't carry heavy things.
- If your words have no value, better not give advice.
- Dig the well before you're thirsty.
- The talk does not cook the rice.
- Believing in our dreams means spending our entire lives asleep.
- Knowing another does not mean knowing his face, but the heart of the person.
- Guessing is cheap, but wrong guessing can be expensive.
- Correct the wise and you will make them wiser. Correct the fool and you will make them your enemy.
Chinese wisdom transcends borders
All peoples use these proverbs, so universal is Chinese wisdom:
- Great souls have wills, weak souls only have desires.
- When you drink water, remember the source.
- Who is afraid of suffering, already suffers about fear.
- There is no delicacy that does not cloy, nor vice that does not anger.
- Enjoy only the pleasures of the moment.
- Love is not begged, it deserves.
- Before being a dragon you have to suffer like an ant.
- Water floats the boat, but it can also sink it.
- Blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come alone.
- For those who do not know where to go, all paths serve.
- If you don't know how to smile, don't open a store.
- Before starting the work of trying to change the world, go around your house 3 times.
- Water that is too pure has no fish.
- The heart never speaks, but you have to listen to it to understand.
- Do not break the silence, if it is not to improve it.
- The wise man does not say what he knows and the fool does not know what he says.
- If you walk alone you will go faster, if you walk with someone you will arrive slower.
- Now, if you fall down seven times, get up eight.
- But, if you don't want it to be known, don't.
- The tongue resists because it is soft, the teeth give way because they are hard.
- In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
- The laundry is washed at home.
Importance of Chinese proverbs about happiness
These proverbs seek to guide you to ultimate happiness. Pay attention! This lies within you, when your mind is calm, your energy is positive, and you accept reality, love life, and help others. It is at that moment that you experience complete and complete happiness.
Regardless of the adversities you have faced throughout your life, you must train your mind for common happiness and the suffering of change. Only when you have satisfied the basic levels of common happiness can you aspire to deeper and more advanced levels of happiness.
To all these What is happiness?, it can be considered as a mental condition together with that sensation of experiencing various emotions (mainly those of satisfaction) in all its splendor.
What are the concepts that Buddhism offers about happiness and the proverbs inherent to it?
First concept
Happiness is defined based on your relationship with an object. An experience considered satisfying and relatively beneficial for yourself. On the contrary, unhappiness is an experience of something in an unsatisfying and uneventful way.
Also, you can experience a neutral sensation when it is neither satisfying nor tortuous.
Second concept
Here, happiness is defined in terms of your direct relationship with the state of mind and the sensation itself. It manifests itself in the fact that, once you have ceased, you long to find yourself again. Unhappiness is defined as the sensation that, when it arises, you wish to separate from it.
You experience a neutral sensation, in this case, when it arises or ceases you have neither of the 2 desires.
Both concepts mentioned above are closely related.
How to achieve happiness according to Chinese proverbs?
It is reached, when you meet most of the following aspects:
- Knowledge
- The good will
- taking care of the language
- to act correctly
- Search for sustenance the right way
- Clear your thoughts frequently
- a mindful attention
- The meditation
We hope you enjoyed this article on meaningful popular sayings from China. We invite you to follow our blog and learn from the wide variety of good and interesting articles it contains.



