 | Hau Kiou choaan |  |
A
COLLECTION
OF
CHINESE
PROVERBS
AND
APOTHEGMS.
ADVERTISEMENT.
NO truer judgment can be formed of the
temper and genius of any nation, than
from their common Proverbs. These could never
have prevailed, and become universal, if they had
not expressed the general sense of the people, who
adopt them. For this reason it was judged that
the following COLLECTION would be no improper
Supplement to a book, which professes to
give a picture of the CHINESE, as drawn by
themselves. The Sentences are extracted from
various Authors, but chiefly from those translations
of Chinese Pieces, which P. Du Halde and
the Missionaries have given us. They are of two
kinds, which in a larger collection, had more properly
been separated: but our materials were too
small to admit of a division. The first, are such
as are either professedly quoted for common Proverbs[1]
, or appear to be proverbially used: The
second, are select Apothegms or private Maxims
of Chinese Moralists. Of the former, almost
all were inserted that could be procured: of the
latter, such only as were thought to contain something
peculiar or striking, either in the sentiment
or manner of expression.
If some Proverbs are admitted, which appear
of our materials, which did not allow us to reject
any. If few of them are expressed with
that sententious brevity, which constitutes the
principal beauty of a proverb; we desire it may
be considered that they are only translations of
translations: and therefore must appear to great
disadvantage. A spirited conciseness is among
those peculiar beauties of an original, which can
be seldom transfused into a translation. This
holds true more particularly in Adages and Proverbs,
which being founded on national allusions
and peculiarities, require a circumlocution to render
them intelligible. A farther allowance must
also be made for the following specimens, that
they are translated from the most concise language
in the world, in which two words often contain
an intire sentence, and when translated, require
a multiplicity to unfold their meaning[2] . When
the Reader takes all these considerations into the
account, and reflects that this is the first attempt
of the kind ever made in Europe, it is hoped he
will pardon its imperfections.
A few parallel Proverbs from other languages
are occasionally inserted: chiefly where either they
serve to illustrate the Chinese, or where they shew
that other nations have hit on the same images.
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