Introduction
1. Wolfgang Mieder. 2004. Proverbs: A Handbook. Westport, Connecticut and London: Greenwood Press.
2. The Edition Committee of China’s Ethnic Literature Collection (the Volume of Guangxi). 2008. A Collection of Chinese Proverbs. Beijing: Chinese ISBN Center.
3. Walter Benjamin. 2002. Selected Writings, Volume 3, 1935–1938. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
4. Zhou Yanxian. 2015. A Collection of Zhuang Proverbs from China. Guangzhou: World Book Publishing Company, China Publishing Group.
5. See note 1.
Saeh Leix
事理
Truths
1. Zhuang people use firewood to cook meals, and long-term burning of firewood makes the pot’s bottom black. This metaphorical proverb implies that each family has its own problems.
2. This is the Zhuang people’s traditional view of evil and kindness. ← 229 | 230 →
3. The bronze drum is an important and popular instrument for the Zhuang. They have a long history of playing the bronze drum at traditional festivals and during religious rites.
4. Zhuang people use animals’ gall as a traditional Chinese medicine. They believe it is bitter but cool and can reduce the heat of a human’s liver and gall bladder. When they kill animals they hang their galls on the fire and make them dry for future use or make gall powder in order to preserve it for a longer time. If bitter gall is cooked in a pot of porridge, the whole pot will be bitter, too.
5. The stone mill is an important tool for rice milling. Zhuang people have a millennial history of rice production. They also know how to make utensils by cutting bamboo trees into small, thin strips and weaving these into a basket.
6. Traditionally, Zhuang people carry loads of goods with a pole on the shoulder.
7. This proverb implies that careful consideration is necessary before taking action. I.e., “Measure twice, cut once.” “Look before you leap.” “Think carefully before you act.”
8. You can get what you want as long as you work hard.
9. The shaman in the rite of “worshipping the rice goddess” usually wears a wooden mask that makes both him and the rite look mysterious. This proverb is said of someone who pretends to be something he is not.
10. Implies children need proper instruction too.
11. Zhuang people usually dye cloth black with indigo or a similar plant.
12. Too much love can tire the heart.
13. This is said of one’s deeds not conforming with his words.
14. I.e., “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
15. In Zhuang areas, people grow different kinds of rice and cook them in different ways. As the proverb of “we are what we eat,” the rice that people eat has influence on their characters.
16. A ram’s testicles always swing from the right to the left. A person who hesitates is always changing his mind like the ram’s swinging testicles.
17. Implies very hot weather.
18. Implies conduct forcing others to do what they can not do.
19. Implies that one should be careful about one who comes with a certain purpose.
20. Traditionally, women were viewed as having low IQs and believed to never be smarter than men. It shows the discrimination against women and the assumed supremacy of men.
21. I.e., every man has his strong points as well as weak points.
22. Formerly, the Zhuang went hunting for food. This proverb introduces a strategy in hunting.
23. This is said of someone who sows discord among others.
24. A blind person cannot see (with his eyes) but he can eat (with his mouth).
25. Implies that human beings are strong and they can conquer nature.
26. Implies a vicious cycle of ecological degradation.
27. Implies something should be done at a proper time.
28. I.e., “Stand straight and never mind if the shadow inclines,” “A clean head wants no washing.”
29. I.e., “A picture is worth a thousand words.” “Seeing is believing.”
30. A cat’s tail is the most sensitive part of its body. When people touch it, the cat becomes nervous and its tail becomes harder. This is viewed as self-preservation. ← 230 | 231 →
31. Zhuang people live in Ganlan houses, which are made of wood. All the wooden walls are connected by pillars. In order to fasten these pillars to the walls, people place small pieces of wood up the joints of the pillar and the wood on the wall. When people hit these small pieces of wood with the hammer, all the connecting pillars shake.
32. Implies making an unnecessary movement or taking a superfluous action, i.e., “burn daylight,” “send coals to Newcastle,” ”fan the breezes,” “knock at an open door,” “water one’s grass after a good rain,” etc.
33. Implies wild ambition or an aim that is too high to achieve. I.e., “have one’s head in the clouds.”
34. Implies an ambition that can never be achieved.
35. The monkey is a kind of kinetophilous species that cannot sit quietly and calmly. This proverb is said of a restless person.
36. Implies that friction between people is unavoidable.
37. Implies that things always revert to their origins.
38. This is said of someone, esp. a bully, under the protection of a powerful person.
39. Implies the real danger is always ignored.
40. Implies evil actions are never concealed.
41. A tiger is dangerous, and a monkey is restless.
42. Implies that a crowd of people is more reliable than one person because they will give more advice or offer more evidence.
43. Zhuang people have a long history of free-range animal farming. Cattle and sheep are grass-fed, so shepherds send them to the pastures or the hills and try to find them by tracing their footprints or feces.
44. Chicken is the favorite food of foxes.
45. The crow loves eating chicks, but the small chick is too young to know about the danger of the crow.
46. Implies that a man fears being hindered by his wife.
47. Implies a self-destructive act, i.e., “kill the hen for the eggs.”
48. Implies a profitable act.
49. Implies a costly act that has only short-term benefits (shortsighted).
50. People living on the upper floor and the one who lives on the below floor may have two different lives.
51. Zhuang people love singing. They can sing without being taught but only by the customary example of listening to others’ singing.
52. I.e., “There’s a lid for every pot.”
53. This is said of crazy people.
54. More people make the work easy, fewer people can have more to eat at a meal. In old days, people did not have enough food to eat, so they wished to have fewer people to share the food.
55. I.e., “Man proposes, God disposes.”
56. Refers to a lazy person.
57. This is the Zhuang people’s view of good and evil that a good deed will be reward future generations and an evil deed will punish the descendants.
58. Zhuang people live on rice farming. If one person does not work in the rice paddy fields, he will get nothing and make himself hungry. ← 231 | 232 →
59. I.e., “dog doesn’t eat dog.”
60. Implies that a person who looks friendly has an evil heart.
61. Implies taking action too late.
62. Traditionally, Zhuang people wait for rain when setting off on a journey. They believe rain will bring good luck as rain is sacred and very important for rice farming.
63. Implies bad behavior. The custom is to dismount first and walk past a temple instead of remaining on horseback.
64. A dog watches the door only for its master.
65. Implies a ruthless and greedy person.
66. Implies that the wonderful acting on the stage comes from hard practice offstage.
67. Implies that without hard work there is no harvest.
68. Implies that there are many different people with different hearts in the world.
69. Dragon dances are popular in Zhuang culture. People perform dragon dances in festivals or religious rites. The dragon tail plays a very important role in the dance because it can help the head to dance well.
70. Describes an old man.
71. Implies unity is powerful.
72. Implies wasting money, i.e., “one spends money as fast as he can.”
73. Implies not having enough to go around. I.e., “there are too many monks and too little gruel.”
74. Implies that one should think carefully before taking action because it’s too late to take back what you have done or said, i.e., “a word spoken is past recalling.”
75. One’s face turns red when he/she is shy.
76. This is a suggestion of taking care of oneself and not working too hard.
77. This is said of one having a long neck when he gets angry.
78. Zhuang people work very hard and they feel ashamed to depend on others. They believe that self-help is better than help from others.
79. It is always very hard to get out of a debt.
80. Implies that a single person is too weak to make trouble.
81. The Zhuang have a long history of making rice wine. Many people are good at making wine. Though a good wine maker lives in a remote place, like a deep alley, other people will come to buy his wine, which makes it well-known to the world.
82. Implies that people cannot run away from their fears.
83. Being round is wisdom in Zhuang philosophy. The Zhuang believe a round circle has no short points so nobody will attack and break it. People are encouraged to be perfect both in doing things and speaking and try to make it as a round circle. A man’s round words will not offend others, and people won’t find fault in his words or criticize him.
84. This proverb comes from a Zhuang tale about a dog barking at an eclipse of the moon. It implies things seldom seen are strange and is usually used to describe a man who has seen little or whose experience is limited.
85. Implies it is hard to alter a man’s nature, i.e., “A leopard cannot change its spots.”
86. Implies being not able to tell right and wrong.
87. Formerly, in a Zhuang village, the management was conducted by an elder who was regarded as the leader. This custom was still practiced in many Zhuang villages in the 1950s. ← 232 | 233 →
88. Implies feeling a sense of relief.
89. This is said of something that is always loose.
90. Formerly, Zhuang people kept salt in a big pot. The salt easily turned wet and maggots would grow inside. Today, people use this proverb to describe someone who is out of luck.
91. Implies danger may be caused unexpectedly.
92. Implies some people mean to hurt others.
93. This is a satire/irony on a shaman or a Taoist priest whose witchcraft is unbelievable.
94. This is said of human nature that the strong always bully the weak.
95. Implies something never changes.
96. Implies an unintentional action, i.e., “A watched flower does not bloom, an untended willow grows.”
97. Implies abusing one over the shoulder of another. I.e., “abusing the locust tree while pointing to the mulberry” cited in Jinpingmei, a famous story written during the Ming dynasty.
98. Implies that a person becomes smarter when he is admired and looked up to.
99. Zhuang People work very hard, and a thief is considered as a shame and dishonor.
100. Implies two different things are totally unrelated.
101. Implies an existing danger behind good luck. This proverb comes from a story about a rat falling into a rice granary. The rat was very happy at the beginning. However, when it ate up the rice and reached the bottom, it could not climb out of the deep granary and eventually died of hunger.
102. Implies someone who does evil will leave evidence.
103. Implies someone boasting about himself/herself.
104. I.e., “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
105. Implies that someone fails to make a final effort.
106. In some Zhuang areas, people practice abstinence on the first day and the fifteenth day in a lunar month or during religious rites. This proverb implies one cannot always do what he wishes.
107. This proverb implies unfairness. It is used to describe something unfair where goodness, not evilness, is punished.
108. Implies being unware of a certain danger.
109. I.e., “Seeing is believing.”
110. Implies knowledge is eternal.
111. The Zhuang usually put a table in front of the statue of the spirit they worship and place the offerings on the table. This proverb implies there is no eternal fate and good luck may change one day.
112. Formerly, a Zhuang family did not have enough to eat and wear, so they wished to have fewer people in the family to share the food and clothes with during the Spring Festival.
113. Everyone has his own merits.
114. Implies a badly-behaved person may hide himself from others but can not hide from heaven.
115. Implies kindness is protected by truths.
116. Implies taking action too late.
117. Traditionally, herbs are used in Chinese medicine. ← 233 | 234 →
Coih Ndang
修养
Morality
1. Implies a person should not play both sides.
2. Implies one should depend on himself.
3. The gong and drum are both common intruments used by the Zhuang on traditional festivals and during religious ceremonies. They are as common as what people speak and used as a metaphor with implied meaning of one’s words or speech in this proverb.
4. Schooling or education makes a child clever and smart.
5. All people have a mouth, but as they have different things in mind, they speak different words.
6. People say and eat everything with their mouths.
7. Implies that one’s words may hurt others more than a needle point.
8. It’s a traditional practice of Zhuang people to treat their elders with great respect.
9. This is said to encourage people to overcome difficulties in whatever they do.
10. The Zhuang usually burn incense during worship in temples far away from home.
11. In Zhuang language, a specific number’s implied meaning is stronger than its literal meaning. “A hundred” means “many,” so a person who knows a hundred things is called a know-it-all. I.e., “there are as many opinion as there are people,” “so many men, so many minds.”
12. I.e., “ A bad workman always blames his tools.” “A bad man quarrels with his tools.”
13. This is said of someone who boasts about himself, just like blowing into a hen’s intestines to make it large but empty inside.
14. I.e., “time is money.”
15. I.e., “biting off more than you can chew.”
16. Implies a modest man.
17. i.e. “Honesty is the best policy.”
18. Implies one should never forget where his happiness comes from.
19. Implies that one should be aware of his situation.
20. Even a broken pen can keep exact records better than a good memory.
21. Zhuang people believe that a kind person will be protected by the gods and live a long life but an evil person will be punished and will not live long.
22. Zhuang people believe that a good deed will be rewarded by the gods but an evil deed will be punished with misfortune.
23. A full bow refers to a bow that is stretched to its full extent.
24. I.e., “Experience teaches.”
25. Implies that it’s easier to cheat an acquaintance than a stranger.
26. I.e., “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
27. Implies casting the blame on a person.
28. Implies ungratefulness, ingratitude. i.e., “to kick down the ladder.”
29. In Zhuang culture, tigers are viewed as the king of the animals on the mountain. They live in deep and high mountains. The flood dragons live in deep water and often make floods. ← 234 | 235 →
30. Zhuang people live in wooden houses called “Ganlan houses” with three floors. Animals and livestock live on the first floor, and people live on the second floor.
31. Implies a cause-effect relationship. Formerly, Zhuang people used horses to carry goods. They put a bell around the horses’ necks, and the bell sound would give their location even when they lost their way.
32. Zhuang people believe an evil person will become ill as punishment from heaven.
33. Traditionally, a tasty Chinese dish is always cooked with both salt and oil.
34. In Zhuang language, different parts of the body are used metaphorically to describe one’s qualities, characters, and so on. When people say “his face is so thick,” it means that he behaves badly and he does not care about it.
35. Zhuang people use ink as a metaphor for learning and knowledge. The saying “A learned man has ink inside” implies that a learned man has a lot of knowledge.
36. A deaf snake is always poisonous.
37. Implies that the soldiers would rather die than surrender. Formerly, drums were used in a war. Soldiers would beat the drum and make very loud noises in order to cheer themselves up and frighten the enemy. During a war, laying down a flag is a sign of surrender.
38. I.e., “Hit a man when he is down.”
39. Implies an arrogant man.
40. Zhuang people worship the Thunder King（God）. They believe he protects the good and punishes the evil.
41. Implies a man should be kind and dauntless as well.
42. I.e., “What is done by night appears by day.”
Ndaw Ranz
家庭
Family
1. Implies that things should be done at a proper time.
2. Traditionally, a woman’s remarriage brought shame on her. Most widows prefered to live in widowhood than to get remarried. It’s very common in Zhuang culture for a widow to never remarry after her husband has died.
3. Implies that brothers share poverty and robbers share stolen goods.
4. Brothers are inseparable just like a man’s hands and feet depend on each other.
5. See previous note.
6. Implies that the young generation is weaker than the old generation.
7. In a Zhuang family, when the sons grow up and have their own families, they will still live together and make a very big family, which is always encouraged and admired by others. But if they do not get along well and fight with each other, they would divide and live separately in their own houses.
8. Parents teach the children how to work in the fields, and man teaches his wife when they are going to sleep.
9. If a family has many children and many old people, it will be very poor.
10. The Zhuang value betrothal presents. It is not easy for a poor man to take a wife. ← 235 | 236 →
11. Implies that a gossipy woman worries her man.
12. Implies a traditional idea of marriage in which a divorced woman is looked down upon because people would put blame on the woman for the divorce.
13. In a divorced Zhuang family, the children of the same father will live with each other, but the children of the same mother will not.
14. In Zhuang language, people like to put seven and eight in four-word idioms, i.e, “seven up and eight down” to imply one’s mind was in turmoil, just like butterflies in the stomach. Another idiom is “with seven mouths and eight tongues,” which implies everyone talking at once. In this proverb, seven and eight are put together in the first part to make a four-word idiom, and the second part tells that the child’s teeth grow when he is six months old.
15. Zhuang people think a woman’s remarriage brings shame on the family.
16. Formerly, Zhuang people depended on matchmakers to find a mate.
17. Traditionally, Zhuang people love to have many children as they needed to have more hands for the farmwork. But too many families do not have enough food and clothes, which makes the father die of hunger and the mother die of cold.
18. In a traditional Zhuang marriage, the bride and the bridegroom are usually brought together by a matchmaker.
19. Zhuang people marry their daughters when they are grown, and she will leave the family. They raise a daughter just because it is a parent’s responsibility, but they cannot rely on her when they get old. The proverb is said of a principal value of child rearing of Zhuang people. It reflects the Zhuang people’s view of preferring boys to girls.
20. Is referring to people who get married not because of true love but for another purpose, such as wealth or good looks.
21. Implies that the young generation is weaker than the former/old one.
22. Women play different roles in different cultures. Zhuang women play an important role in doing farmwork. They work in the fields every day in busy farming seasons from morning till night. When they come back from work in the dark, the children waiting at home used to hang the lamp on the fence or under the leaves so that their mother could easily find the way home.
23. Implies that sons are not as good as fathers, and the first generation is better than the next generation.
24. Sisters should love each other while still living because it’s too late to show love after death.
25. A patriarch or matriarch serves as the head of the family.
26. Cattle are widely used in farming so, Zhuang people view them as important as a man’s wife.
27. A child usually has his parents’ facial features, like the mouth.
28. Since ancient times, mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws do not get along well with each other.
29. Livestock farming is important for Zhuang people. Pigs are popular among the animals they breed at home. In their opinion, pigs are lazy and stupid.
30. The Zhuang consider that quarreling is common in a family since each person is different from others. Fighting with each other does not mean no longer love. ← 236 | 237 →
31. Fish have small fishbones so it’s dangerous for a child to eat; Ciba is too sticky for a dog to eat.
32. Zhuang people believe that everything in the world has a soul. When people die, their soul will leave from their bodies, so people make a path to send them to heaven.
33. Implies it’s easier to marry a daughter than to take a daughter-in-law.
34. Zhuang people regard the tiger the king of animals in the mountains. Only one tiger can be called the king on one mountain, and two tigers will fight with each other in order to be the king. In old days, a Zhuang man could take more than one wife, but a woman could not marry more than one man.
35. See note 15.
36. This proverbial saying is used in a sacrifical ritual when Zhuang people offer wine to the dead father and offer meat to the dead mother to show their respect.
37. Buddhism is one of the foreign religions of the Zhuang. There can be many Buddha statues in a temple. Zhuang people usually burn a stick with three incenses each time and put one in front of each statue. If there is one more Buddha statue in the temple, they need to burn one more stick.
38. In Zhuang culture, “dragon” is used metaphorically to describe a boy who is clever and becomes useful when he is grown up; “phoenix” is used to describe a girl in the same way.
39. Implies that a little child is bold enough. He does not care who is who, so he may say and do everything in front of an official.
40. Ants may build their homes underground below the dam, which can do great harm and destroy it.
41. Traditionally, the Zhuang young men who passed the imperial examination were employed as officials. They were granted land and money so the whole family had enough food and clothes.
42. In old days, it was a custom that the mother bathed her daughter and dressed her up before the bridegroom came for her. After she got into his sedan chair, the mother splashed a basin of water onto the back of the sedan chair to show her daughter was still a maiden and told the bridegroom it’s not too late to change his mind and not take her home if he was not satisfied with the lady until the moment they were to leave.
43. A well-grown tree is straight, while a tree that does not grow well becomes crooked. A child who is not taught is just like a tree, which is usually used for comparison, i.e., “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”
44. A daughter seldom comes back to her parents’ home after she gets married, but her mother keeps her bowl to show that she still has a place. When she comes back, she can use her own bowl for meals; when she leaves, the mother will put her bowl back in its place. This proverb also introduces an old custom where Zhuang people would overturn bowls and dishes on the table in order to keep them clean because they did not have a cupboard at home in old days.
45. A child is not scared of his mother but of his father.
46. Implies that one will reap what he has sown, i.e., “Self do, self have.”
47. Zhuang people of an old age still work at home, cooking, cleaning and taking care of their grandchildren.
48. I.e., “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” ← 237 | 238 →
49. Implies that an inquiry before doing something can get things easily done.
50. Implies that the human has descendants/offsprings.
51. This is similar to the English saying “a bad hair day.”
52. Zhuang people use the bamboo tube as a measuring tool.
53. In Zhuang culture, a specific number does not only have its literal meaning, it is also usually used with implied meaning, i.e., “3” means “several” or “many.”
54. It is as difficult to predict and understand a woman’s mind as to find a needle in the big ocean, i.e., “a needle in a haystack.”
55. A woman always changes her mind just like a cloud floating/moving all the time in the sky, i.e., “there are no trails through a woman’s heart.”
56. “A widow has much gossip in front of her house” because there may be many males coming and going to her home and giving her gifts as well. But a widower will not have even a hat to wear because a Zhuang man’s hat is always made by his wife.
Gwndaenj
生活
Everyday Life
1. This is said of a healthy diet habit.
2. In Zhuang culture, a religious professional is commonly possessed by a god. An evil man cannot have this sacred profession.
3. I.e., a long illness makes the patient a good doctor.
4. Zhuang people worship the gods and their family ancestors, and the rich offer fish and meat, while the poor have only wild vegetables.
5. The poor do not have rice left in the barn. They have to wait for the rice harvest to get fresh rice, while the rich have a lot of rice in stock.
6. Implies that the poor and the rich are different and they do not live with each other.
7. Implies that the poor are thin with long necks and the rich are fat with short necks.
8. Implies improper behavior.
9. Implies being too early to do something.
10. The older a doctor, the more experienced he is; the younger the tailor, the more dextrous he is.
11. Implies that many people seek to be perfect. They pursue a perfect love or a perfect marriage that is difficult to achieve, which may bring sadness or disappointment when they fail.
12. Zhuang people love singing and they have many singing festivals throughout the year.
13. Traditional Chinese calligraphy uses ink brushes. Historically, students in the schools used to grind ink for the teacher.
14. For instance, “one man’s meat is another man’s poison.”
15. Wood fish are percussion instruments also known as temple blocks.
16. Implies a marriage between two families of equal social rank.
17. Five organs refers to five vital internal organs of the human body; they are the heart, spleen, liver, lungs and kidneys. ← 238 | 239 →
18. Layue, the last month in the Chinese calendar, is the coldest month in a year.
19. A poor man feels humble and always bends his back when he stands.
20. Rice and fish are popular foods for Zhuang people.
21. Is said to encourage people to ask for directions when they get lost.
22. Is similar to the proverb “When cornered, a dog will jump over a wall.”
23. Dog meat is one of the most popular foods in winter for the Zhuang because it can keep the body warm and help people develop strong resistance against cold weather.
24. The Zhuang consider eating too much as a waste of food. They also strongly oppose gambling and view a gambler as a black sheep who may ruin a family.
25. Eating less is a healthy eating habit, and eating more may bring illness.
26. Unripe rice cannot be eaten just as unmatured fruits are bitter.
27. What the Buddhist scriptures to the monk is what folksongs to the Zhuang people.
28. People can walk as long as they can and climb up to a mountain top as high as they can.
29. Zhuang people put a string in an ox’s nose in order to keep it working well during field plowing.
30. I.e., “When the cat is away, the mice will play.”
31. Implies that we can not buy youth with money. In Zhuang culture, a specific number does not only have its literal meaning, it is usually used with implied meaning, i.e., “18 (years old)” means a young age.
32. Implies the frugality of the Zhuang who do not mind wearing old or mended clothes.
33. Implies someone is as poor as a church mouse.
34. Traditionally, the poor Zhuang did not have meat to eat but vegetables. This proverb is used as a piece of self-mockery.
35. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the liver plays a very important role in a man’s body and the kidney in a woman’s body. Men and women are physically different in the aging process, in which the liver and kidney have different functions in a man’s or a woman’s body.
36. Implies unrequited love. The falling flower implies the one who loves truly, and the running water implies the one who is loved does not love.
37. People are always running around earning a living.
38. The King of Hell is the god of death and lord of the underworld.
39. Implies frugality/thrift brings food and clothes.
Doxgyau
社交
Social Life
1. I.e., “Friends are lost by calling often and calling seldom.”
2. When you look into the mirror, you know what you look like, and it helps you to get dressed. A true friend is like the mirror because he/she tells what your mistake is and helps you to improve yourself.
3. A bamboo split looks like a snake.
4. One’s words may hurt others as an axe or a knife does. ← 239 | 240 →
5. This proverb comes from the story of Journey to the West about Xuan Zang who made a pilgrimage to India for Buddhist scriptures and was honored with Zhantan Buddha by Rulai Buddha Palm in the end.
6. This proverb comes from the Han ancient fable “Yugong Removing the Mountain.”
7. I.e., “the bigger you are, the harder you fall.”
8. What you eat may bring illness, and what you say may lead to trouble.
9. Implies that union is strength.
10. I.e., “All in the same boat.”
11. Implies a stingy person who does not show hospitality when there are guests at home.
12. Implies when a stingy host does not eat, the guest will not eat either.
13. I.e., “Truth will come to light sooner or later.”
14. I.e., “A friend in need is a friend in deed.”
15. How the words are said tells you what they mean, and the voice of the speaker can imply what he means.
16. Implies an improper behavior may do harm to both sides.
17. Hospitality is a virtue of Zhuang people. They treat guests with the utmost cordiality.
18. I.e., “Friends are lost by calling often and calling seldom.”
19. One will not attend an estranged acquaintance’s funeral as they did not communicate with each other and were not familiar to each other.
20. I.e., “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.”
21. An unbridled horse and an ox without trances present a danger.
22. Implies a life-or-death struggle.
23. I.e., “No discord, no concord.” This proverb implies that people usually become friends after they fight with each other. This proverb comes from one famous book of the four major classical novels, Shui Hu Zhuan, by the famous Chinese writer Shi Nai’n from the Ming dynasty.
24. Implies a united effort.
25. What is said and done is witnessed by heaven and earth. One should avoid evil deeds and bad words.
26. Implies that the owner of the dog you beat may cause you trouble.
27. I.e., “Respect a man, he will do it the more.”
28. Implies that one must apologize for rudeness.
29. Implies perfection or being good enough that nobody can find fault with it.
30. Traditionally, Zhuang people have wine to welcome a guest.
31. I.e., “It’s easier said than done.”
32. This is said of a person who only finds others’ weaknesses but not others’ strong points.
33. Zhuang people treat guests with the utmost cordiality, which makes them very tired.
34. Traditionally, Zhuang people had to respect officials. They believe it’s disrespectful to walk in front of an official, but they always step forward to meet a guest in order to show their hospitality and a warm welcome.
35. Implies making a groundless accusation, i.e., “catch the winds and grasp the shadow” and “make up a story.”
36. This is said of a person who doesn’t have his own opinion, i.e., “swim with the stream,” “drift with the tide,” “go with the crowd,” “go with the tide/stream,” etc. ← 240 | 241 →
37. This is said of a double whammy, i.e., “When it rains, it pours” and “Disasters/Misfortunes do not come alone.”
38. A person’s favor should be returned so it is heavy.
39. I.e., “Haste makes waste,” “A watched pot never boils.” Zhuang people make sweet dumplings with sticky rice, which is hard to swallow when it is too hot because it may burn your mouth.
40. I.e., “A little absence does much good” (French), “To preserve friendship a wall must be put between” (French), “A hedge between keeps friendship green” (German), “Go to your aunt’s house, but not every day.” These proverbs contain a truth that friends meet with more pleasure after a short separation. But keep in mind that “The dead and the absent have no friends” (Spanish), because “Friends are lost by calling often and calling seldom.”
41. June is the first month of summer. This proverb implies that harsh words can even turn a hot summer cold.
42. Zhuang people have to mill rice and sift out the rice from the husk before they eat. They have a long history of using stone mills, stone mortars and stones pestles for rice milling.
43. Great things may be done by mass effort, i.e., “Many hands make light work.”
44. Traditionally, Zhuang people did not have enough to eat and wear so they wished to have fewer people to share food and clothes within winter, though they needed more people when they worked.
45. This proverb reflects Zhuang people’s attitude towards “repaying a debt”; that once you get something from others you should always return more.
Guh Hong
生产
Labor
1. Implies that people who work hard with their hands get food and clothes and people who only speak without doing any work get nothing to eat and wear.
2. This proverb comes from a Zhuang tale about a pig that uses its mouth to work in the fields and a dog that carries rice seeds from the god in the sky to the people on earth.
3. A helper usually does not work hard enough.
4. The rain in Bailu helps grow insects that do much harm to the crops.
5. In rice farming, the management of rice seedlings is the most important step to bring a good harvest.
6. Zhuang people have a long history of pig farming. They eat pork regularly and consider it an important source of food.
7. Implies that the poor work in the day but the rich have entertainment at night.
8. This proverb describes a harvest year for a Zhuang family.
9. Implies that one should work hard and should not seek ease and comfort.
10. When a shaman performs during a religious rite, he uses an oil lamp which makes his hands oily and dirty.
11. This is said of a greedy tailor who holds back his customers’ cloth for his own use, for instance, to make his wife’s trousers. ← 241 | 242 →
12. Zhuang people believe women with big feet are diligent and they work hard to support the family.
13. A cat catches mice that eat rice. The Zhuang raise cats in order to protect rice from mice.
14. Implies a famine year.
15. The one who has a diligent mouth and tongue eats more and speaks more but does not work hard.
16. Traditionally, Zhuang people carried loads of goods with a shoulder pole. In the morning, people used to take a shoulder pole to the fields and carry back rice or vegetables in the evening. But the lazy people do not go to work, so they just put the shoulder pole away.
17. The Zhuang feed hens with rice in order to get chicken to eat.
18. Both crops and children need management to grow healthily.
19. In the Chinese lunar calendar, there are 24 solar terms during the year. Farmers do different field work on the day of different solar terms. On the first solar term, Lichun, also called Beginning of Spring, farmers start the sowing season.
20. This is used to encourage people to work hard; though the farmwork is tough, it won’t kill people.
21. Implies that people should have long-term plans in everything they do.
22. The Zhuang have a long history of rice farming and livestock raising. People choose the best rice seeds in order to yield a good harvest in the coming year. They also raise hens to get eggs and more chickens.
23. Implies a lazy man.
24. This is said of an old man with a humpback.
25. This is a picture of the Zhuang’s living environment.
26. Traditionally, Zhuang people live in a three-floor house with the ground floor holding animals and livestock, the first floor holding people, and the top floor used as for storage.
27. This is how work is done in a traditional Zhuang society and how people manage a family.
28. This is a Zhuang folktale about a frog turning into a silver ingot and rolling up to the bed of the man who is so kind to save its life.
29. Implies someone wants to reap without sowing or wants something for nothing.
30. Zhuang people have a long history of animal husbandry. It is believed that pig husbandry began as early as 7000 years ago.
31. The Zhuang worship the Thunder King because he brings rain and protects good men while punishing evil men.
32. This is said of an unproductive field that grows nothing.
33. Implies a man may unexpectedly lose good fortune.
34. Potatoes live in dry fields and rice in paddy fields.
35. The Zhuang make plant oil from tea seeds, reap seeds or peanuts and use the residue as fertilizer.
36. The Zhuang make tung oil from tung fruits and use the residue as fertilizer.
37. The Zhuang put the rice seedlings by the fields before they transplant them.
38. This is said of someone concentrating on trivial matters to the neglect of important ones, and he tries to save a little but loses a lot, i.e., “penny wise and pound foolish.”
39. Miao is one of the 55 ethic groups in China, and Sha is one branch of the Zhuang ethic group in China. ← 242 | 243 →
40. Implies that the fields need management and men get food from the fields.
41. Implies a poor family.
42. Implies abusing one over the shoulder of another.
43. This is a description of a slim and thin person.
44. This proverb tells how a spinning machine works.
45. In many places in the Zhuang area, people usually have two cropping seasons: the first starts in Spring and the second starts in fall when the first harvest has just been finished.
46. March 3 comes in spring when people start busy farming so it brings worries, while July 14 comes in early fall when the harvest of the first cropping season comes.
47. This is said of different kinds of fruits grown in Zhuang areas and their ripe periods.
48. The Zhuang are busy with rice planting in spring months and busy with harvesting in fall months.
49. This is said of the farming life of the Zhuang. They plant cotton and make clothes, and they grow paddy and eat rice.
50. On April 8, Ox Day, people set oxen free and give them five-colored sticky rice, Zongzi and other nice food.
51. In many places in the Zhuang area, people celebrate Ox Day in April and worship the Ox God so that oxen are viewed as elephants that do not grow in the Zhuang area today.
52. The headband is a part of Zhuang clothing.
53. Implies a dangerous action.
54. I.e., “Action speaks louder than words.”
55. Zongzi is made of sticky rice and it takes a long time to cook on a slow fire.
56. Implies unfairness.
57. An ox has to work hard in the fields but it cannot speak.
58. Dongzhi starts the cold winter, and Xiazhi starts hot summer.
59. Implies the young one is always fearless.
60. Implies unfairness.
61. In the countryside, Zhuang people grow economic trees like fir, bamboo, etc. The more trees they plant, the more they earn.
62. Implies that one should adapt himself to circumstances.
63. It is always the case that the strong bully the weak.
64. Implies that it is hard to depend on others.
Gwnzbiengz
自然
Nature
1. I.e., “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.”
2. The rain in Beilu and the wind in Hanlu are viewed as bad weather because they do much harm to the crops.
3. The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month falls in mid-autumn when the weather gets colder, so people turn to the stove to keep themselves warm.
4. The thunder in the eighth lunar month brings a lot of rain which does much harm to crops. ← 243 | 244 →
5. In many places in the Zhuang area, people have freshwater fish farming and they like to eat pond loach.
6. July is the seventh lunar month and August is the eighth lunar month in the Chinese lunar calendar.
7. The ancient Zhuang thought thunder was powerful and sacred. They believed when winter had already come in October, thunder was viewed as evil because it would bring a lot of disasters. However, the priestess was very happy to hear thunder in October as she could earn more by performing more funeral rites in such weather.
8. When there is snow or frost in October, the coming winter will be very cold, and the cold will kill the insects which harm the crops, so this predicts a good harvest in the next year. On the contrary, no snow or frost in October predicts a poor harvest as the crops will be damaged by the insects, so that in a shoulder load of rice there will be a half load of sterile rice which can be made into rice bran.
9. Implies that the weather is always changeable in winter and in summer.
10. The Zhuang believe their fate would be decided by their ancestors and what they have today, including their lives, are given by their ancestors, too. They worship their ancestors and offer sacrifices to them during traditional festivals or religious rites to show respect and to pray a better life.
11. In the Chinese lunar calendar, Yushui comes after Qingming, and seed soaking should come first before transplanting rice shoots. So it’s out of season to soak rice seeds in Qingming and transplant rice seedlings in Yushui. This proverb is used to describe the farming work that is improperly done in time.
12. July and August are two summer months.
13. Implies that spring is not as cold as winter.
14. Zhuang people follow Han people in using the lunar calendar in which there are 24 solar terms and 12 lunar months in a lunar year. A lunar month is arranged by the phases of the moon. Since prehistoric times, Zhuang people have watched the moon waxing and waning through its phases in a whole lunar month.
15. When Shuangjiang is rainy, it predicts good weather for farming in the coming winter and the next spring, but bad weather is predicted when Shuangjiang is dry.
16. Zhuang people burn plants and use the plant ash as fertilizer.
17. Zongzi is a traditional food Zhuang people eat during the Duanwu festival to remember Quyuan, a great patriot and poet of the Chu State during the Warring States Period.
18. If Dongzhi is sunny, the coming winter will be very cold and even the old water buffalo cannot stand the cold.
19. A sunny Dongzhi indicates very cold weather in the coming winter and the cold will kill insects that harm the seedlings and diminish the harvest.
20. The red clouds over the horizon predict a very hot day, and the heat can even make the shrimp die.
21. Insects are awoken soon after the first day of spring when Jingzhe comes.
22. A tung tree comes into flower in spring when the weather gets warmer, and people have to take off thick clothes.
23. Thunder in the first lunar month brings a lot of rain which help rice grow well, while the thunder in the second month indicates a drought-bringing year. ← 244 | 245 →
24. A cloudy day will bring rains, which makes it difficult to find dry firewood.
25. Implies that the spring wind is not very cold.
26. March is the beginning of spring. Spring starts with a lot of rain, so if there is no rain in March, it is not a real spring.
27. When spring comes, longer days and shorter nights warm the surface of water where plankton starts to grow and attract fish to come up to the beach for food.
28. The eighth day of lunar April is an important time to arrange solar terms in the Chinese calendar. It is the last cold day in a year and from then on, warmer days come.
29. In spring, there is usually a lot of rain, which makes half the day rainy.
30. Spring weather is always changeable.
31. Sanfu days of summer, the hottest days in a year, run from July through August. In English, the hottest days in a year are called Dog Days. Dog Days are the hot, sultry days of summer, which run from July 24 through August 24.
32. Zhuang people keep dogs to watch the door. Xiaohan and Dahan are very cold days in winter; dogs prefer to stay at home even when they are forced by the owner to go outside.
33. A peach tree comes into bloom in spring when the weather gets warmer, and people have to take off thick clothes.
34. Jingzhe is the coldest day in spring, and Dahan is the coldest day in winter.
Mbanj Ranz
乡土
Customs
1. The mother’s brother played a very important role in ancient Zhuang’s matriarchal society and was given respect, which is still practiced today.
2. Implies that a good neighbor is very important.
3. The Zhuang eat duck meat as that is the most popular food on the fourteenth of lunar July, a very important traditional festival, but they eat chicken most during Spring Festival, which lasts from January 1 to January 15. There is a taboo that people cannot kill living things on January 1, so they kill roosters for meals on January 2.
4. These are customs at Zhuang funerals.
5. On July 14, the most important traditional festival for the Zhuang, each family uses its chopping block in cooking different kinds of food as sacrifices to worship ancestors. This proverb implies doing something at an improper time.
6. July 20th is the Yawang Festival. Yawang is a goddess of rice who was transformed from a bird. She died on July 20th, but when people carried her coffin to the funeral, it was too late to cut wood for the coffin on that day. The family who is late to make Yawang’s coffin shows no respect to her, and thus will not get her blessing and protection.
7. It is a traditional Zhuang wedding custom that a bride should cry at her wedding because she is sad about leaving her parents.
8. Mogong and Daogong have different rites but what they do and what they say are similar to each other, which shows that Daoism, a foreign religion, has been merged into Zhuang indigenous religions. ← 245 | 246 →
9. It’s Zhuang people’s local etiquette to have wine for the meal to welcome guests.
10. The Spring Festival falls in cold winter when there is no harvest, so villagers feel anxious because they do not have food to eat. The Zhongyuan Festival, also called the Ghost Festival or July the Fourteenth, on the other hand, comes in late summer or early autumn during the harvest season, so people have rice and food to celebrate.
11. The Zhuang celebrate the Chunshe Festival at the beginning of spring before rice planting. They worship the Land God, and wine is one of the most important offerings to the Land God.
12. To give utmost respect to the mother’s brother is a custom of ancient Zhuang matriarchal society.
13. Zhuang people make Zongzi and cook it overnight during New Year’s Eve, because Zongzi is hard to cook as it needs a slow fire and takes a long time.
14. This is similar to the English proverb “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
15. Zhuang people love singing. They use songs to welcome guests at the door, and when they sit at the table, singing while making a toast to the guest is the best way to show respect and hospitality.
16. June is the hottest month in a Chinese lunar year. June the sixth is a traditional festival of drying things.
17. June (in the Chinese lunar calendar) is a harvest season. Zhuang people eat fresh rice to celebrate the harvest on June the sixth, which is called “Eating Fresh Rice” Day.
18. January 1 is the beginning day of the Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival for Chinese people, which is also celebrated by the Zhuang. On this day, men are responsible for cooking food as offerings for the worship of ancestors, but women are not allowed to do fieldwork, which may bring the family an entire year of hard work in the future.
19. This proverb introduces the Spring Festival customs. Zhuang people celebrate Kitchen God’s Day on December 23 and start to do house cleaning on December 24 to welcome the beginning of the new year.
20. In Zhuang culture, seeing snakes mating is considered taboo because it may bring misfortune to the one who sees it.
21. Zhuang people usually put in front of a grave a stone tablet with words inscribed on it to tell the dead person’s life, in order to show their respect and worship.
22. Zhuang people take the land left by their ancestors very seriously. They have many rites to worship their ancestors during the year.
Haenh Guek
时政
Politics
1. Implies it is hard to serve two ends or serve a double purpose.
2. Implies that officials struggle for position.
3. Implies the soldiers’ bad behavior of breaking into residents’ houses and taking people’s things by force. ← 246 | 247 →
4. The official is senior and high-status, but the servant is inferior and low-status.
5. A fir tree is hard at the root so when the tree is cut, the root will not die. A banana tree is a kind of large herb. Its stem is soft because it’s made of leafstalk, and it will not be hurt even the plant is burnt.
6. Chinese languages have a large number of pictophonetic characters, which show the meaning or the sound of each word. Soldier, the word “兵” in Chinese, is like a standing man that has two legs; Official, the word “官”in Chinese has two “口”(mouths).
7. Implies the hurt and damage that a war brings to people.
8. If a government has good agricultural policy, peasants will earn money easily.
9. This proverb describes the bodies of many soldiers who were killed on the battlefield.
10. An officer puts a seal on official documents to issue orders, while a peasant uses manure to fertilize crops.
11. In ancient times, landlords used to squeeze money from the landless poor people by renting land. They used an abacus to calculate how much the poor should pay.
12. This is said of the strong eating the weak.
13. This proverb comes from a Zhuang tale about a frog that comes last in a race but becomes the power holder.
14. The official system has a long history in the Zhuang area. The person with a higher rank can govern and rule the person with a lower rank. Many young people take the imperial examination, seeking the opportunity to be an officer. There are many stories about Xiucai, the persons who passed the imperial examination at the county level.
15. An officer puts a seal on official documents to issue orders, while a peasant must work hard with his hoe in the field.
16. All officials are greedy, and all dogs eat shit.
17. The Zhuang love singing. People will never feel old when there are songs in their life, and the folk songs they sing will never die away either. ← 247 | 248 →