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Quotes by Chinese Authors
"If you want to govern the people,You must place yourself below them.If you want to lead people,You must learn how to follow them."
"Failure is the foundation of success and the means by which it is achieved."
"In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is acquired. In pursuit of wisdom, every day something is dropped."
"Having given all he had He then is very rich indeed."
"If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish."
"All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small."
"Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive."
"Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage."
"In worthy teaching, all things are related."
"To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness."
"To lead people, you must follow behind."
"Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits."
"Worthy admonitions cannot fail to inspire us, but what matters is changing ourselves. Reverent advice cannot fail to encourage us, but what matters is acting on it. Encouraged without acting, inspired without changing " there's nothing to be done for such people."
"It is wealth to be content."
"Water is the softest thing, yet it can penetrate mountains and earth. This shows clearly the principle ofsoftness overcoming hardness."
"The ruler attains wholeness in the correct governance of the people."
"If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve."
"The difficult problems in life always start off being simple. Great affairs always start off being small."
"At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven. At sixty, I heard them with docile ear. At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right."
"The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it."
"One who never anticipates deceit or expects duplicity, and yet is the first to recognize such things " is that not a sage indeed?"
"Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose."
"(So), he who displays himself does not shine; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished; he who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged; he who is self-conceited has no superiority allowed to him."
"The noble-minded worry about their lack of ability, not about people's failure to recognize their ability."
"The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man perfected without trials."
"The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved."
"Knowledge is merely brilliance in organization of ideas and not wisdom. The truly wise person goes beyond knowledge."
"Time flows away like the water in the river."
"I hear, I know. I see, I remember. I do, I understand."
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