A Proverb for Every Occasion: The Wit of Charlie Chan
Compiled from the books by Earl Derr Biggers
Note how the use of aphorisms increase in the later books, after talkative pictures featuring Chan began.
''As all those who know me have learned to their distress,
Chinese have proverb to fit every possible situation.''
Charlie Chan, Keeper of the Keys
The House Without A Key
On Life
1. ''What is to be, will be.''
2. ''The fates are busy, and man may do much to assist.''
3. ''The littlest said, sooner repairs are made.''
4. ''A picture is a voiceless poem.'' [Henry Chan says it, but where should he learn it but from his father?]
5. ''Patience are a very lovely virtue.''
On Detection
1. ''Finger-prints and other mechanics good in books, in real life not so much so. My experience tell me to think deep about human people. Human passions. Back of murder what, always? Hate, revenge, need to make silent the slain one. Greed for money, maybe. Study human people at all times.''
2. ''All cards should repose on table when police are called upon.''
3. ''Detective business made up of unsignificant trifles.''
4. ''Much may be revealed by the unsuspecting.''
5. ''Proof are essential in this business.''
The Chinese Parrot
On Life
1. ''Life would be dreary waste, if there were no thing called loyalty.''
2. ''Flattery sound sweet to any ear.''
3. ''Happiest walk of postman's life is on holiday.''
4. ''Chinese without accustomed dignity is like man without clothes, naked and ashamed.''
5. ''One wrong deed leads on to other wrong deeds, like unending chain. 'He who rides on tiger can not dismount.' ''
6. ''Patience are a very lonely virtue.'' [He says this in The House Without A Key and he has to keep on saying it in The Chinese Parrot]
7. ''Chinese knows he is one minute grain of sand on seashore of eternity. With what result? He is calm and quiet and humble.''
8. ''Where is the better place than a new home? Truly an earthly paradise where cares vanish, where the heavely melody of wife's voice vibrates everything in a strange symphony.''
On Detection
1. ''Successful detective is plenty often man on whom luck turns smiling face.''
2. ''Long experience has taught fatal consequence may follow if I get too addicted to a theory. Then I try and see, can I make everything fit. I can, and first thing I know theory explodes in my countenance with loud bang. Much better, I have found, to keep mind free and open.''
3. ''Many times in my life I find myself in that precise locality, [up against a stone wall]'' returned the detective. ''What happens? I batter old head until it feels sore, and then a splendid idea assails me. I go around.''
4. ''Detective business consist of one unsignificant detail placed beside other of the same. Then with sudden dazzle, light begins to dawn.''
5. Eden: ''Our theory blows up completely.''
Chan: ''Old habit of theories. Not the first to shatter in my countenance.''
6. ''Surprised detective might as well put on iron collar and leap from dock. He is finished. Mr. Madden's appearance staggering blow to me, but I am not letting rival policeman know it, thank you.''
Behind That Curtain
On Life
1. ''Falling hurts least those who fly low.''
2. ''Does the elephant disapprove of the butterfly? And who cares?''
3. ''The brightest eyes are sometimes blind.''
4. ''Coarse food to eat, water to drink, and the bended arm for a pillow - that is an old definition of happiness in my country.''
5. ''Man - what is he? Merely one link in a great chain binding the past with the future.''
6. ''For one word a man may be adjudged wise, and for one word he may be adjudged foolish.''
7. ''Strange events permit themselves the luxury of occurring.''
8. ''Death is the reckoning of heaven.''
9. ''The bluest hills are those farthest away.''
10. ''Long experience whispers not to strain fates too far. Their smile might fade.''
11. ''Let us ride away into the face of our problems.''
12. ''It was the wise K'ung-fu-tsze who said, 'He who is out of office should not meddle with the government.' ''
13. ''The fool questions others, the wise man questions himself.''
14. ''Occasional amazing occurence keeps life spicy.''
15. ''How loud the thunder, how little it rains.''
16. ''Muddy waters, unwisely stirred, grows darker still. Left alone, it clears itself.''
17. ''A wise man said, 'The dark clouds pass, the blue heavens abide.' ''
18. ''When you know, to know that you know, and when you do not know, to know that you do not know - that is true knowledge, as the master said.''
19. ''The ship with too many steersmen never reaches port.''
20. ''Can you speak of the ocean to a well frog, or of ice to a summer insect?''
21. ''...A good word has heat enough for three winters, while a hard one wounds like six months of cold.''
22. ''Suspicion is a wicked thing.''
23. [Charlie Chan, unfortunately, is a male chauvanist pig!] ''Women were not invented for heavy thinking. They should decorate the scene, like blossom of the plum.''
Barry Kirk doesn't agree. ''Yes, but they can't all be movie actresses. I don't mind a girl's having a brain if she doesn't act up-stage about it - and Miss Morrow never does.''
25. ''The wise man digs his well before he is thirsty.''
26. ''It is always darkest beneath the lamp... Just above our heads the light is blazing.''
27. ''No man loves the person who has guided his faltering footsteps to high-up rung of the ladder.''
28. ''Patience. In time the grass becomes milk.''
29. ''The happy man is the calm man.''
30. ''The guest who lingers too long deteriorates like unused fish.''
On Detection
1. Charlie repeats his dictum from The House Without A Key: ''Intricate mechanics good in books, in real life no so much so. My experience tells me to think deep about human people, human passions. Back of murder what, always? Hate, greed, revenge, need to make silent the slain one. Study human people at all times.''
2. ''It is wise in our work...that even the smallest improbabilities be studied. Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains.''
3. ''In this game, better if the opponent does not know what we are thinking. Assume great innocence is always my aim.''
4. ''Much may be revealed by the unsuspecting.'' [He says it in The House Without A Key and he says it again here.]
5. ''You will perceive I am no person's fool. I do not arrange arrest of butler in house where I am guest. I protect him, and I would do the same for the cook.''
6. ''Even great detective sometimes steps off on wrong foot.''
7. ''Surely you don't think...''
Chan: ''I have not decided what to think.''
8. ''There once was a man who pinched the baby while rocking the cradle. His work was not regarded a very large success.''
9. ''I can only guess. I may add, guessing is poor business that often leads to lengthy saunters down the positively wrong path.''
10. ''Time will reveal.''
11. ''You would chop down the tree to catch the blackbird.''
The Black Camel
On Life
1. ''A thousand-mile journey begins with one step.''
2. ''Death is the black camel that kneels unbid at every gate.''
3. ''Life was very sweet to her.''
Chan: ''It is sweet to all of us. Even the beggar hesitates to cross a rotting bridge.''
4. ''What is to be, will be.''
5. ''Anger is a poison that destroys the mind.''
6. ''It has been well said, 'Without dignity there can be no stature.' ''
7. ''The tongue of age speaks with accumulated wisdom, and is heard gladly, but the tongue of youth should save its strength.''
8. ''Do the dead gain if the living starve?''
9. ''It has been well said, 'those who live too conspicuously tempt the notice of Fate.''
10. ''A gentleman is always courteous.''
11. ''The bird chooses the tree, not the tree the bird.''
12. ''The man who sits in a well, sees little of the sky.''
13. He thought of the crane who waiting for the sea to disappear and leave him dry fish to eat, died of starvation.
14. ''Should I pause to think deeply, I would be prettly lonesome man in this new world.''
15. ''Work - and pay your way as you go. Then you need fear no midnight knock upon the door.''
16. ''The speech of some is like wind in empty space.''
17. ''Always think twice before you scatter tributes. If no one had praised the donkey's song, he would not still be singing.''
18. ''Hurry is the wind that destroys the scaffolding.''
19. ''When there is no oil in the lamp, the wick is wasted. In dealing with such a one, friendly words would bring best results.''
20. ''Always my daughters tell me I am too enormous for beauty. And beauty is, of course, my only aim.''
21. ''Frankness between friends is like warm sun after rain. The friendship grows.''
22. ''Who in this world finds what he looks for? Success - what is it? A bubble that explodes when touched by human hand.''
23. ''You must be very proud of them. [His eleven children.]
Chan: ''As proud as they will permit. At least, I have done my part to link past with future. When I move on, leaving eleven offspring, can any man say I have not been here? I think not.''
24. ''I might forgive you, but I find it difficult to forgive myself.''
25. ''The man who looks back sees his mistakes piled up behind.''
26. ''Only the churlish are mean-spirited in victory.''
27. ''A gem is not published without rubbing nor a man perfected without trials.
On Detection
1. ''The case would have been over before it even started.''
Chan: ''Cases do not permit themselves the luxury of such easy solution.''
2. ''Alas. I know so much that is none of my business.''
3. ''Perfect alibis have a way of turning imperfect without warning.''
4. ''To dig up the tree, we must start at the root.''
5. ''When a tree falls, the shade is gone.''
6. ''The man who is about to cross a stream should not revile the crocodile's mother.''
7. ''There you go - judging a man by his clothes again.''
Chan: ''Not by your clothes, which are silent, but by your tongue, which speaks.''
8. ''Those who know, don't talk. Those who talk, don't know.''
9. ''Circumstances upset cases.''
10. ''The wise man, knowing he is under suspicion, does not stoop to tie his shoe in a melon patch.''
11. Could he ever be sure in this world? Deceit sprouted everywhere and thrived like a weed.
12. ''I travel where my duty takes me.'' Would much prefer to loll in station house - but can you study swimming on a carpet? No - you must go where waters are deep.''
13. ''It is wisely forbidden to speak ill of those who have ascended the dragon, but sometimes we must let old rules go down the board.''
14. ''...I am firm believer in leading up. Suitable preparation removes the sting of rudeness.''
15. ''My brain moves, though my feet are still.''
16. ''Nobody is perfect.''
17. ''Ah, but for such brief moments of neglect [on suspect's part] we would get nowhere in this business.''
18. ''Only one claim I make for myself - when light at last begins to stream in, I do not close the shutters.''
Charlie Chan Carries On
On Life
1. ''Can good intentions atone for so many blunders? Can the morning dew fill a well?''
2. ''Oriental knows that there is a time to fish, and a time to dry the nets.''
3. ''Does the mosquito advise the lion?''
4. ''Looks are sometimes frightful liar.''
5. ''Many times honey in the mouth means poison in the heart.''
6. ''But, he perseveres. And that means much.''
7. ''What the gods have decreed, man may not alter.''
8. ''Always remember, we learn by our mistakes.''
9. ''He who accepts with a smile whatever the gods may send, has mastered most important lesson in life's hard school.''
10. ''What begins, must finish.''
11. Chan: ''...the turtle that enters the house at the rear gate comes finally to the head of the table.''
''Ah, yes - in the soup.''
Chan: ''Ancient proverbs must not be taken too literally.''
12. ''Haven't you an old Chinese proverb to comfort me?''
Chan: ''I have one which might have warned you. The deer should not play with the tiger.''
13. ''The ignorant are never defeated in argument.''
14. ''The drum which makes the most noise is filled with wind.''
15. ''Wise man has said, 'do not follow on the heels of a sorrow, or it may turn back.''
16. ''The wise elephant does not seek to ape the butterfly.''
17. ''Old saying has it, 'two ears, one mouth. Hear twice as much as you tell.''
18. ''A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.''
19. ''Life has made you a philiosopher, which means peaceful days ahead.''
20. ''I suppose you think I'm on the wrong track?''
Chan: ''Not all all.''
''What?''
Chan: ''Why should I think that? The stupidest man in the town may point out the road to the school.''
''And just what do you mean by that?''
Chan: ''Nothing. Old Chinese saying.''
21. ''To supervise his own destiny is task enough for any man.'' [unless you are speaking to one who is in love with a girl but dares not say it. Then you must reword the saying quickly: ''To supervise his own destiny is task enough for the timid man.''
22. ''When the dinner is ended, who values the spoon?''
23. ''There is no vision so restful to weary eyes then that of home.''
24. ''Talk will not cook rice.''
25. ''An idle brain is the devil's workshop.''
26. ''Under a strong general there are no weak soldiers.''
27. ''Even a peach grown in the shade may ripen in the end.''
28. ''The Emperor Shi Hwang-ti, who built the Great Wall of China, once said: 'He who squanders today talking of yesterday's triumphs, will have nothing to boast of tomorrow.''
On Detection
1. ''He who runs with a light conscience makes the most speed.''
2. ''Can you dispel fog with a fan?''
3. ''Too much haste may have fatal ending. Take plenty of time and know what you are doing before you do it.''
4. ''I only wanted to remind you that there is such a thing as legal procedure.''
Chan: "Which is usually the criminal's best friend....You are all friends of justice, I feel certain. You have no interest in that poor relation of same, legal procedure.''
5. ''I'm inclined to think I underrated you when we met.''
Charlie smiled. ''That is customary. I do not let it distress me. My object is to arrange so people are not still underrating me when we part.''
Keeper of the Keys
On Life
1. ''He who is cautious by nature is a safe companion in crossing a bridge.''
2. ''He who stands on a pinnacle, has no place to step but off.''
3. ''Ginger grown in one's own garden is not so pungent.''
4. ''Can the fallen flower return to the branch again?''
5. ''Those who are out of office should not meddle with the government.''
6. ''There is no such poison in the green snake's mouth as in a woman's heart.''
7. ''We live in age of science. Great marvels happen all times, and world gets less human by minute.''
8. ''He who hurries cannot walk with stately step.''
9. ''The fool in a hurry drinks his tea with a fork.''
10. ''Aged men should not consort with ruffians. Eggs should not dance with stones.''
11. ''As for the future - when you have reached the river, then is the time to take off your shoes.''
12. ''The fishes, though deep in the water, may be hooked' the birds, though high in the air, may be shot; but man's heart only is out of reach.''
13. ''Princes have censors, and fathers have sons.''
14. ''Public opinion is often an envious dog barking at the heels of greatness.''
15. ''Can an ant shake a tree?''
16. ''The travelling dragon cannot crush the local snake.''
17. ''He who keeps the friendship of a prince wins honors, but he who keeps that of a cook, wins food. My prefernce runs to the latter.''
18. ''The croaking raven thinks the owl can sing.''
19. ''Learning which does not daily advance, daily decreases.''
20. ''He who listens to the chatter outside the window, and neglects his books, is but a donkey in clothes.''
21. ''He who acts for the emperor, is the emperor. And he who acts for the sheriff, is the sheriff.''
22. Chan: ''Poverty has its advantages. The rats avoid the rice boiler of the lowly man.''
''And so does the rice.''
23. ''Dollars going into a gambling house are like criminals led to execution.''
24. ''Profit and pleasure so seldom found on the same street.''
25. ''Can you borrow a comb in a Buddhist monastery?''
26. ''Though we walk a thousand miles along the way with a friend, moment of goodbye is still inevitable.''
27. ''How does sparrow feel when hit by cannon ball? A little disturbed.''
28. ''From the black sky, white water falls.''
29. ''Thought is a lady, beautiful as jade, so do not fear I shall be lonely.''
30. ''Man who buries his treasure in the snow, forgets that summer is coming.''
31. ''Fate settles all things, and all things arrive at their appointed time.''
32. ''No tree in the forest bears cooked rice.''
33. ''Ah, this American passion for results. Yet the apple blossom is so much more beautiful than the dumpling.''
34. ''Do not poke your finger through your own paper lantern.''
35. ''Happiness is not a matter of geography.''
36. ''Patience. In time the mulberry leaf becomes silk.''
37. ''Man who has once been bitten by a snake, fears every rope in the roadway.''
38. ''A golden bed can not cure the sick, and good manners can not produce a good man.''
39. ''In this world, all sorts of men could help one another - if they would. The boat can ride on the wagon, and the wagon on the boat.''
40. ''After a typhoon there are pears to gather.''
41. ''Three things a wise man does not do. He does not plow the sky. He does not paint pictures on the water. And he does not argue with a woman.''
On Detection
1. ''Guessing is cheap, but wrong guess expensive.''
2. ''There is long, tortuous path to climb, and the wise man starts slowly, conserving his strength for a swift finish.''
3. ''It has been well said, 'In time of illness summon three doctors. One might be good.' ''
4. ''We get answer too quick, we may be wrong, like my children at algebra.''
5. ''...We have long journey to take togetehr. Often it will seem matter of upward, no road, downward, no door. But the man with a tongue in his head can always find the way.''
6. ''Only the thief oils his wheelbarrow, and only the guilty flee.''
7. ''We must collect at leisure what we may use in haste.''
8. ''He who fishes in muddy waters cannot tell the great catch from the small.''
9. ''When the melon is ripe, it will fall of itself.''
10. ''....a few minnows. But as you and I know, Mr. Holt, most innocent-looking minnow may suddenly enlarge to a whale.''
11. ''The secret [when talking to suspects] is to talk much, but say nothing.''
12. ''All the advantage lies with the side which attacks suddenly and unexpectedly.''
13. ''The less guns, the fewest gets killed.''
14. ''He who goes out on the hills to meet the tiger must pay the price.''
15. ''The man who would avoid suspicion should not adjust his hat under a plum tree.''
16. ''The dog, wherever he is, knows his master's mood.''
17. ''As all those who know me have learned to their distress, Chinese have proverb to fit every possible situation.''
This page uploaded January 15, 2003.
|
