From above we can find out that English and Chinese proverbs have similar origins from folk life, mythology, literary works and from other languages. From these similar origins we can see that English and Chinese people have similar social activities and emotional reflection and observation of the world. 2.2 Similar linguistic characters
Proverbs are created by common people and orally handed down from generation to generation again and again. English and Chinese proverbs are concise and vivid. 2.2.1 Conciseness
The cleanest water is spring; the most refined words are proverbs. Proverb diction is neat and simple. Proverbs use the fewest words to express the contents. They are concise, condensed and compact. Most of English and Chinese proverbs are simple sentences. E.g.:
(36) Easy come easy go.
(37) No pains no gains.
(38)人勤地不懒。
(39)人心齐泰山移。
Proverbs are simple and short sentences, so they can be remembered and handed down from generation to generation. 2.2.2 Vividness
Proverbs use rhetorical devices to attract the readers deeply. Many Chinese and English proverbs use the same rhetorical devices such as simile, metaphor, repetition and hyperbole, etc.
Simile is used very frequently. It is a figure of speech, in which a more or less fanciful or unrealistic comparison is made, using “like ”or “as”. Here are some examples:
(40)割麦如救火。
(41)剩秧如剩草，缺秧如缺宝。
(42) A good friend is as the sun in winter.
(43) A black plum is as sweet as a white.
Metaphor is a figure of speech, which concisely compares two things by saying that one is the other. It does not literally denote in order to imply a resemblance. E.g.:
(44) Time is father of truth.
(45) Failure is the mother of success.
(46)一寸光阴一寸金。
(47)谎言怕真理，黑暗怕阳光。
Repetition is another rhetorical device used to express strong feelings or emphasize some meanings. E.g.:
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