Proverbs commonly said to be Chinese Proverbs commonly said to be Chinese In English, various phrases are used and claimed to be of Chinese origin – "..., as they say in China" or "An ancient Chinese proverb says...", and may be specifically attributed to Confucius. Chinese has influenced English in various ways, and some such phrases have clear Chinese origins, while in other cases the attribution to Chinese is demonstrably false, and in other cases the status is less clear. Notable examples include: Other examples include phrases contained in fortune cookies, or sayings in the same style; fortune cookies are of Japanese American origin, and the
Palace of the Babies Palace of the Babies "Palace of the Babies" is a poem from Wallace Stevens's first book of poetry, "Harmonium". It was first published in 1916 and is therefore in the public domain. Bates takes this poem to signify that the author of "A High-Toned Old Christian Woman" was not altogether "the village atheist". The palace is a church, inhabited by believers for whom the walker has slight regard. They are immature if innocent "babies" nourished on dreams. But disbelief brings loss, as the last two stanzas imply. Night for the moonlight walker brings the harsh torment of crows' wings, not