As you might know, Chinese people are very proud of the long history and culture. In this post, I am going to talk about 5 Chinese wisdoms a young person had better know before he turns 30.
So why 30? In Chinese culture, 30 is a very important age. There is a saying:三十而立( sān shí ér lì ) , it means: A person should set up his own life value and goals around 30 years old.
Of course, if you are over 30, don’t worry. It is always not late to learn something new. There is another Chinese saying: 活到老( huó dào lǎo )，学到老( xué dào lǎo ): Keep learning while you live. Even you are old, you still have to keep learning.
Now let’s take a look at the 5 Chinese wisdoms a young person had better know.
- 吃得苦中苦( chī dé kǔ zhōng kǔ ), 方为人上人( fāng wéi rén shàng rén ): No pains, no gains.
Chinese people strongly believe, only the person who can overcome adversity in life could become an extraordinary person. If a person wants to be successful, working hard is almost the only approved way to reach the goal.
Because of this belief, Chinese people work very hard. And we are proud of working hard. We always respect a hard working person. When we were little, our parents always tell us: 少壮不努力( shào zhuàng bù nǔ lì ), 老大徒伤悲 ( lǎo dà tú shāng bēi ): If you don’t work hard at young age, it is too late to feel regret at old age. From the very young age, almost every Chinese child knows the value of hard work.
When it comes to raise a child, especially the boy, Chinese believe, a parent shouldn’t spoil the boy, instead, a boy needs do some hard work to develop a strong will, so he will make some achievements in the future.
If a young person knows the value of working hard, he studies hard at school and works hard at his job, mostly, he will be successful in the future.
2. 读万卷书 ( dú wàn juàn shū )，行万里路 ( xíng wàn lǐ lù ): Read a lot of books and travel a lot of places.
Chinese people knows it is very important to learn knowledge from the books and the ancestors, however, it is not enough to just read books, a really smart person should also has real life experiences to get a real sense of the world and people around him.
To a young person, he shouldn’t just stay on campus focus on his own study, if he wishes to achieve something, he should also walk out the campus to explore the society to know the real people and the real world.
3. 在家靠父母( zài jiā kào fù mǔ ), 出门靠朋友( chū mén kào péng yǒu ): At home, parents are your backup, at outside, friends are your backup.
When a person is young, he has to depend on what his parents can provide him, however, when he grows up and walks of the family door, he has to make many friends to develop his own social networking.
Having a reliable social networking is very important. No one can be successful alone. As a young person, he should learn how to develop his people skills. If he has many friends, he will always get help and support from his friends.
4. 先成家( xiān chéng jiā ), 后立业( hòu lì yè ): Start a family first, establish your business later.
Since Chinese people put the family first, no wonder we always urge the person at the right age to get married. If you are a single person in China, don’t feel surprised if your friend, your neighbor, your colleague or a person who just met you wants to be the matchmaker.
Actually, it does make sense. Since establishing a business is a long process, if you could start a family first, you will have a spouse to support you, at the same time, you will have children at a right age. You will not miss the family time, at the same time, you could focus on establishing your business with your spouse’s help and support.
Don’t forget, most people get married at the right young age. When you are young, you have a lot of choices. If you miss the time, when most people are married, you are left with few choices.
5. 家和万事兴( jiā hé wàn shì xīng ): Happy family, happy everything.
Chinese people believe family is the anchor. If you have a happy family, you will have a strong backup and support, as a result, you could achieve a lot of things.
There is a Chinese saying: 夫妻同心( fū qī tóng xīn ), 其利断金( qí lì duàn jīn ): It means, if a husband and wife could work together, they has the power to do a lot of things.
It is always important to have a happy relationship with your spouse and trying to educate your children well. If your family is doing well, you will have more energy to focus on your own business.
As a young person, if you start a family, trying your best efforts to have a happy family. However, if you wish to have a happy family, firstly, you have to choose wisely who you are going to have a family with.
There is another Chinese saying: 娶妻娶德不娶色( qǔ qī qǔ dé bù qǔ sè ), 嫁人嫁心不嫁财( jià rén jià xīn bù jià cái ): Marry a woman based on her personality not her beauty, marry a man based on how much he loves you not how much money he has.
I hope you learn something from these Chinese wisdoms. For more Chinese wisdoms, please read these posts: How Chinese Parents Educate Children? These Sayings Are the Answer, Chinese Sayings and Quotes about Health and 8 Most Famous Confucius Quotes in English and Chinese, 8 Chinese Sayings That Can Change Your Life .
Our ancestors’ wisdoms have been approved and practiced by many generations. If you could apply what you learned into your practice, I am sure it will hope you a lot. Enjoy your reading!