Thursday, January 7, 2010

Chinese Proverb: Cackling Hens Do not Lay Eggs

To understand a proverb is not easy.

In Asian culture, oral traditions are kept alive by proverbs that throw light on our cultural values and perspectives, along with a dash of history. In Kerala, there are so many interesting proverbs that the elders quote but it also has layers of meanings that one needs to delve into.

I've found it interesting to think about proverbs because they are similar to legal maxims. read this Chinese proverb, "Cackling hens do not lay eggs," I liked it instantly. Another one is "Cats who like to mew can't catch mice." Both mean that boastful people do not really do what they claim or say.

What is the proverb that comes to your mind? What does it mean?

6 comments:

Mridula said...

It is not a proverb but I like 'sair kar duniya ki galib jindagani fir kahan!'

Anonymous said...

lovely quote..awsome!!

SG said...

Nice post. I am reminded of a couple of Tamil proverbs. Kuraikira naai kadikkaadhu (Barking dog will not bite). Peraasai Perunashtam (Too much greed will bring too much loss).

Sanand said...

@Mridula: Good one, thanks for sharing.

@Shraddha: Thank you!

@SG: We have the same quote in Malayalam too. Thanks for sharing.

Vinita Apte said...

'Birds of Feather, Flock Together' - It means people of the same nature, attitude or attitude, stick together.

Chinese said...

I love these clever broverbs. I'm trying to collect as many great ones as I can. Thanks for taking the time to post them.