General Information about Item:

• Verbal Folkore, Proverb
• Language: Chinese
• Country of Origin: China
• Informant: Raymond Hsu
• Date Collected: 10-20-18

Informant Data:

The informant is a Taiwanese American sophomore from outside Seattle. He was born and raised in the Seattle suburbs. At home, he speaks Mandarin with his parents and older sister who is also a Dartmouth student. His family celebrated most holidays associated with Chinese speaking regions. He also knows how to write in traditional Chinese characters. Raymond plays for the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, is majoring in Philosophy, and is also on the Pre-Health track.

Contextual Data:

Raymond learned this proverb from his Chinese teacher in Chinese school. This is most likely due to the fact that this proverb is one of the more common ones. Overseas Chinese schools, in addition to teaching grammar and vocabulary, also try to make sure that students are aware of what is common and popular in native Chinese speaking areas.

Item:

道不同，不相为谋

dào bù tóng, bù xiāng wéi móu

Literal Translation: Values not same, no mutually act.

Meaning: Men of totally different principles can never act together.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

• “dào bù tóng, bù xiāng wéi móu and that means men of totally different principles can never act together. And that is a phrase I learned from my Chinese school teacher ”

Informant’s Comments:

Raymond says he thinks of this proverb often when he is working on group projects for classes. It helps remind him that at times, there are valid reasons certain people do not get along. He also uses this proverb when he has disagreements with members of campus organizations to which he is a part of. Similarly, in these situations, he uses this proverb to remind him that underlying values may be fundamental in building a cohesive relationship.

Collector’s Comments:

What is interesting about this proverb is that while it has the similar two clause structure characteristic of many Chinese proverbs, it lacks character symmetry. There are three characters in the first clause and four characters in the second clause. It was also interesting to see that while this proverb is more negative, Raymond uses it in a constructive manor when dealing with hard situations with difficult group dynamics. 

Collector’s Name: James Wen

Tags/Keywords:

• Chinese
• Friends
• Thoughts
• Similarity