167 Ancient Chinese Quotes With Amazing Life’s Lessons

Here are some of the most powerful ancient Chinese quotes.

I stumbled across a video about ancient Chinese Philosopher’s lessons men learn too late in life. I found the lessons contained in the video very inspiring, enlightening and a few of them, amusing. I just could not resist sharing these ancient Chinese quotes due to the powerful and amazing life lessons they convey.

African and Israelite proverbs and quotes are some of the greatest quotes you would ever hear, but Chinese proverbs are known for being the most commonly used. Chinese proverbs and quotes are by far the most popular in contemporary use. They find application as life principles, in business, love, war, and career, just to mention but a few.

Out of the numerous quotes available in the literature, I am sharing these ancient Chinese quotes with deep meaning and amazing life lessons about love, life, achievement, wisdom, personal dignity, sex, knowledge, and other great virtues. Without further ado, let’s see these amazing ancient Chinese quotes.

  1. Three things never come back. Time, word and opportunity. Therefore, do not waste time, choose words and do not miss the opportunity. – Confucious
  2. If they spit at you behind your back, it means you’re ahead of them. – Confucious
  3. We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one. – Confucious
  4. The disease of men is that they neglect their own fields and go to weed the fields of others. – Mencius
  5. Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. – Confucious
  6. There are 1000 lessons in defeat, but only one in victory. – Confucious
  7. If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. – Lao Tzu
  8. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Lao Tzu
  9. We take greater pains to persuade others that we are happy and endeavoring to think so ourselves. – Confucious
  10. A healthy man wants a thousand things. A sick man only wants one. – Confucious
  11. Work on clearing your thoughts. If you do not have bad thoughts, there will be no bad deeds.- Confucious
  12. The man who says he can and the man who says he cannot are both correct. – Confucious
  13. Learn as if you constantly feel you lack your knowledge. And as if you are constantly afraid of losing your knowledge. – Confucious
  14. Don’t criticize your neighbor’s roof for a lot of snow when your door is not clean. – Confucious
  15. If you hate, then you have been defeated – Confucious
  16. It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them. – Confucious
  17. Appear weak when you are strong; and strong when you are weak. – Sun Tzu
  18. He who flatters a man is his enemy. He who tells him of his faults is his maker. – Confucious
  19. To see what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. – Confucious
  20. What the caterpillar calls the end the rest of the world calls a butterfly. – Lao Tzu
  21. The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere. – Xunzi
  22. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich. – Lao Tzu
  23. The noble person uses things. The lesser man is used by things. – Xunzi
  24. A leader leads by example, not by force. – Sun Tzu
  25. Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust. – Sun Tzu
  26. Man’s nature is evil. Goodness is the result of conscious activity. – Xunzi
  27. In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. – Sun Tzu
  28. To lead people, follow them. – Lao Tzu
  29. When anger rises, think of the consequences. – Confucious
  30. To know your enemy, you must become your enemy. – Sun Tzu
  31. If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room. – Confucious
  32. Opportunities multiply as they are seized. – Sun Tzu
  33. Get rid of the desire to have. – Lao Tzu
  34. The funniest people are the saddest ones. – Confucious
  35. When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. – Lao Tzu
  36. The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. – Confucious
  37. Who wishes to fight must first count the cost. – Sun Tzu
  38. Soft and weak winds over hard and strong. – Lao Tzu
  39. Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby, you can be the director of the opponent’s fate. – Sun Tzu
  40. True words are not pleasant. Pleasant words are not true. – Lao Tzu
  41. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins but excels in winning with ease. – Sun Tzu
  42. Live for the praise of others and you will become their prisoner. – Lao Tzu
  43. People in ancient times did not like to talk much. They considered it a shame for themselves not to keep up with their own words. – Confucious
  44. You have to believe in yourself. – Sun Tzu
  45. There is nothing softer and more flexible than water. But try to resist it. – Lao Tzu
  46. He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions. – Confucious
  47. If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things. – Sun Tzu
  48. Watch your thoughts. They become your words. Watch your words. They become your actions. Watch your actions. They become your habits. Watch your habits. They become your character. Watch your character. It becomes your destiny. – Lao Tzu
  49. Great results can be achieved with small forces. – Sun Tzu
  50. The wise man avoids all extremes. – Lao Tzu
  51. Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart. – Mencius
  52. We accept advice and drops, but we distribute it in buckets. – Confucious
  53. Ponder and deliberate before you make a move. – Sun Tzu
  54. When people know a lot, it is difficult to manage them. – Lao Tzu
  55. If what one has to say is not better than silence, then one should keep silent. – Confucious
  56. Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting. – Sun Tzu
  57. Nature does not hurry yet everything is accomplished. – Lao Tzu
  58. What you do not want done to yourself? Do not do to others. – Confucious
  59. Wheels of Justice grind slow, but grind fine. – Sun Tzu
  60. Man dies from birth. – Lao Tzu
  61. Study the past, if you would define the future. – Confucious
  62. It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy. – Sun Tzu
  63. Knowledge is the treasure and practice is the key to it. – Lao Tzu
  64. You can overcome bad habits only today, not tomorrow. – Confucious
  65. Who knows? Doesn’t say. Who speaks? Doesn’t know. – Lao Tzu
  66. You can’t trust a man who has nothing to lose. – Sun Tzu
  67. Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. – Confucious
  68. Plan for what is difficult while it is easy. Do what is great while it is small. – Sun Tzu
  69. Whoever talks a lot often fails. – Lao Tzu
  70. Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. – Confucious
  71. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will be weak everywhere. – Sun Tzu
  72. Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them. That only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. – Lao Tzu
  73. Think of tomorrow. The past can’t be mended. – Confucious
  74. An enemy is a friend who knows too much about you. – Sun Tzu
  75. Victory over others gives strength. Victory over oneself gives fearlessness. – Lao Tzu
  76. Give a bowl of rice to a man and you will feed him for a day. Teach him to grow his own rice and you will save his life. – Confucious
  77. Disorder came from order. Fear came from courage. Weakness came from strength. – Sun Tzu
  78. Do not seek. Otherwise, you will lose. Do not seek and you will find. – Lao Tzu
  79. It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop. – Confucious
  80. The skillful artist will not alter his measures for the sake of a stupid workman. – Mencius
  81. Beware of sugar that is mixed with poison. Beware of the fly that sat on a dead snake. – Sun Tzu
  82. A man dies easily because he has too much will to live. – Lao Tzu
  83. Who do not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits. – Sun Tzu
  84. Time is a created thing. To say I don’t have time is like saying I don’t want to. – Lao Tzu
  85. A noble person blames himself and an insignificant person blames others. – Confucious
  86. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape. So when warfare, there are no constant conditions. – Sun Tzu
  87. Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will be blunt. – Lao Tzu
  88. Friends are the siblings God never gave us. – Mencius
  89. It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness. – Confucious
  90. Every animal with blood in its veins and horns on its head will fight when it is attacked. – Sun Tzu
  91. The one who knows and pretends not to know is on top. Who, without knowledge, pretends to be knowledgeable, he is sick. – Lao Tzu
  92. Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand. – Confucious
  93. Care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner. – Lao Tzu
  94. Getting something done is like digging a well. You can dig a well 70ft deep, but if you don’t hit water, it’s just an abandoned well. – Mencius
  95. Even a loss can turn into a profit, or a profit can turn into a loss. – Lao Tzu
  96. The feeling of right or wrong is the beginning of wisdom. – Mencius
  97. There is no crime greater than having too many desires. There is no disaster greater than not being content. There is no misfortune greater than being covetous. – Lao Tzu
  98. Attack the evil that is within yourself rather than attacking the evil that is in others. – Confucious
  99. Be attentive to your thoughts. They are the beginning of actions. – Lao Tzu
  100. To complain about an unpleasant thing is to double the evil. To laugh at it is to destroy it. – Confucious
  101. You can always rise above those who offend you by forgiving them. – Lao Tzu
  102. By three methods. We may learn wisdom first by reflection, which is noblest. Second, by imitation, which is easiest. And third by experience, which is the bitterest. – Confucious
  103. The truth is not always beautiful, nor are beautiful words the truth. – Lao Tzu
  104. People are distressed by their inability to do it. The problem, however, is simply that they don’t do it. – Mencius
  105. You are controlled by the one who makes you angry. – Lao Tzu
  106. Be content with what you have. Rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. – Lao Tzu
  107. Roads were made for journeys, not destinations. -Confucious
  108. Never say never because the days go by so fast and nothing stays the same. – Lao Tzu
  109. Your life is what your thoughts make it. – Confucious
  110. We gained by losing. Lose by gaining. – Lao Tzu
  111. No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading or surrender yourself to Self-chosen ignorance. – Confucious
  112. When I free myself from who I am, I become who I can be. – Lao Tzu
  113. Happiness is when you are understood. Great happiness is when you are loved. Real happiness is when you love. – Confucious
  114. Temperance is the first step of virtue, which is the beginning of moral perfection. – Lao Tzu
  115. Sometimes we see a lot but do not notice the main thing. – Confucious
  116. The snow Goose needs not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you to do anything but be yourself. – Lao Tzu
  117. The wise man is one who knows what he does not know. – Lao Tzu
  118. Respect yourself and others will respect you. – Confucious
  119. If you lack faith, then existence does not believe in you. – Lao Tzu
  120. What is evil to one at one time becomes good at another time to somebody else. – Mencius
  121. I have just three things to teach: Simplicity, patience, and compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. – Lao Tzu
  122. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage. – Lao Tzu
  123. The way is near, but men seek it afar. It is an easy thing, but men seek it in difficult things. – Mencius
  124. New beginnings are disguised as painful endings. – Lao Tzu
  125. Forget injuries. Never forget kindness. – Confucious
  126. So the unwilling soul sees what’s hidden and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants. – Lao Tzu
  127. There is beauty in everything, but not everyone can see it. – Confucious
  128. The way of truth is like a great road. It is not difficult to know it. The evil is only that men will not seek it. – Mencius
  129. A man must not be without shame, for the shame of being without shame is shamelessness indeed. – Mencius
  130. Be bent and you will stay straight. Be empty and you will remain complete. Be worn out. And you will stay new. – Lao Tzu
  131. The man who chases two rabbits catches neither. – Confucious
  132. Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. – Lao Tzu
  133. A trail through the mountains, if used, becomes a path in a short time. But if unused becomes blocked by grass and an equally short time. – Mencius
  134. It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve and bad things are very easy to get. – Confucious
  135. The whole being knows without learning, sees without looking and attains without doing. – Lao Tzu
  136. Learning without thought is labor lost? Thought without learning is perilous. – Confucious
  137. Try your best to be to others as you would wish to be treated yourself. And you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence. – Mencius
  138. Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear. -Lao Tzu
  139. People of higher morality do not consider themselves moral. Therefore, they have the highest morality. – Lao Tzu
  140. If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake. – Confucius
  141. A sage who wants to be above people, puts himself below them, wanting to be ahead of them. He becomes behind. – Lao Tzu
  142. The one who offends you takes away your negative energy and gives you his positive energy. – Confucius
  143. What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher? What is a bad man but a good man’s job? – Lao Tzu
  144. Learn as if you were not reaching your goal and as though you were scared of missing it. – Confucius
  145. If you are alone for a long time, Soon you will accept loneliness. You will never know your potential if you are afraid to be alone. – Lao Tzu
  146. You cannot open a book without learning something. – Confucius
  147. A long absence of sex turns a person into a neurotic. – Confucius
  148. By remaining true to yourself without seeking to compare and compete. You will achieve universal respect. – Lao Tzu
  149. If someone wants to offend you greatly, then it is even worse for him. – Confucius
  150. A man with outward courage dares to die. A man with inner courage dares to live. – Lao Tzu
  151. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. – Confucius
  152. A great man clings to the essentials and leaves the insignificant. He does everything in truth, but he will never rely on laws. – Lao Tzu
  153. Worry not that no one knows you. Seek to be worth knowing. – Confucius
  154. If you aren’t afraid of dying, there is nothing you can’t achieve. – Lao Tzu
  155. The superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions. – Confucius
  156. Whoever undertaking a business hurries too quickly to achieve a result will do nothing. – Lao Tzu
  157. He, who carefully finishes his work as he began, will not fail. – Confucius
  158. The man who asks the question is a fool for a minute. The man who does not ask is a fool for life. – Confucius
  159. The more you don’t have sex, the less you want it. – Confucius
  160. Truth uttered before its time is always dangerous. – Mencius
  161. When true virtue is lost, good nature appears. When good nature is lost, justice appears. When justice is lost, decency appears. The rules of decency are only the semblance of truth and the beginning of all disorder. – Lao Tzu
  162. If there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement. – Xunzi
  163. To recognize your insignificance is empowering. – Lao Tzu
  164. Friendship is one mind and two bodies. – Mencius
  165. He who knows the measure is satisfied with his position. – Lao Tzu
  166. Pride in excess bring disaster for man. – Xunzi
  167. Sometimes you must yield in order to win. And sometimes maintaining a low place leads you to win.- Lao

I am pretty sure you learnt a thing or two from these ancient Chinese quotes, or at least, you reinforced your memory about a quote or saying you have once known in the past. All the same, I hope these quotes change a part of you to become a better version of yourself.

Below is the video I stumbled across that inspired me to write this for you to see as well.

Enjoy!

I am a medical doctor, a seasoned writer and passionate blogger. Thanks to many years of trials, failure, and near successes. I am the founder of Knowseeker and our content are geared towards enlightening and making you a better and happier audience.

Leave a Comment