Yojijukugo
The Chinese proverbs reflect traditional life and form the quintessence of the life experience of the Chinese people.
In the proverbs, Chengyu are (Chinese成语/成语, Pinyin Chéngyǔ, firmly shaped phrases ) and Yanyu (谚语, the actual proverbs) distinguished. The boundaries between them are not always clear.
Status
China is known for its "saying culture." To express themselves adequately on the basis of a classical work, evidence of education. In classical rhetoric quotes of famous personalities were considered as the most important stylistic device. The frequent citation of proverbs even today testifies of good style.
A Chinese German student reports from the different place occupied the proverbs in Germany and China:
This circumstance is due to the fact that the inherent power is in Germany at the center, while in China more emphasis is placed on learning from others and their appreciation.
Chengyu
Best known are the Chengyu (literally: to be saying ), four-membered phrases that often have a literary background. Chengyu are shortenings of longer utterances. Often the background stories are forgotten, while the phrase has remained.
Examples of Chengyu
Yanyu
Yànyǔ (谚语) are wisdoms, which have become folklore. With its direct statements they are - unlike the highly stylized Chengyu, which presuppose a certain level of education - understood by the common people.
Nongyan
A separate group is formed by the peasant proverbs ( Nongyan农 言/农 言). This refers to the sign that have to do with agriculture, and to proverbs, concerning the date of sowing and reaping. They correspond most closely to the German-speaking country lore.
Xiehouyu
A special type are the Xiehouyu (歇后语/歇后语; literally expressions with unspoken conclusion ).
Xiehouyu are a special form of Chinese idioms; they are mainly found in the spoken language. It involves two-tier phrasemes, which is usually from a pictorial A part and a B part idiomatic - made - sometimes the remains unspoken. The images from the A-section describe especially things from everyday life in China, but also historical persons and events. The idioms of the B- part fall within the scope of the Chinese colloquial language.