I feel there is still a lot of room for improvement on my Chinese language, so I will try to learn some proverbs and idioms from time to time. I will share two of them related to plants here.
The first one is "花开堪折直须折，莫待无花空折枝。" which comes from the work《金缕衣》from the writer 杜秋娘. In simple terms, it means "When the flower is in bloom and the branch is soft enough, pick it. Don't wait till there is no flower to pick the branch.". The author is encouraging the receiver to seize the opportunity when it arises before it is too late. How interesting.
The second is "良禽择木而栖" which is from the famous Confucius (孔子). The second part is "贤臣择主而侍". Essentially, it translates to "A bird chooses a tree to rest and an able official chooses a master to serve.". Confucius was trying to say that it is never the case of a tree choosing the bird and advised that a gentleman should see clearly who can put one's intelligence and ability to best use. Yes, one should learn to be wise enough to discern which side to be on to one's own advantage.
All these are really wise teachings eh?
