Ancient Chinese Quotes About Wisdom

To believe books completely is worse than having no books.

Plain meaningRead seriously, but do not surrender your judgment to the page.

Review what is old and understand what is new; then one can serve as a teacher.

Plain meaningReturn to what you know until it yields a new understanding.

To know others is intelligence; to know oneself is clarity.

Plain meaningUnderstanding yourself is the deeper wisdom.

I cannot know the true face of Mount Lu because I am inside the mountain.

Plain meaningBeing inside a situation can hide the full picture.

Going too far is no better than falling short.

Plain meaningExcess and deficiency can both miss the right measure.

You cannot speak of the sea to a frog in a well, constrained by its place; nor of ice to a summer insect, bound by its season.

Plain meaningPeople can be limited by the world they have experienced.

In safety, think of danger; thinking brings preparation, and preparation prevents calamity.

Plain meaningPrepare for risk before trouble arrives.

Form strategies within the command tent and decide victory a thousand miles away.

Plain meaningGood strategy shapes results long before the final action.

Know contentment and avoid disgrace; know where to stop and avoid danger; then you can endure.

Plain meaningKnow what is enough and when to stop.

Peach and plum trees do not speak, yet paths form beneath them.

Plain meaningReal character and ability attract respect without self-promotion.

Do not forget what happened before; it becomes the teacher of what comes after.

Plain meaningUse the past as a lesson, not a prison.

The exemplary person is not born different; he is skilled at making use of things.

Plain meaningSuccess often comes from using tools and conditions well, not from being superhuman.