Clean Gun Sharpen Sword

Informant: Rebecca Liu, 18, F

Date Collected: 5/19/14

Genre: Proverb

Informant Data: Rebecca was born in Canada to Chinese immigrant parents, and then resided in California for 14 years. She currently attends Dartmouth College. Her background is Chinese-American, and speaks Chinese at conversational-level. She first heard the proverb in a conversation when she was in middle school. This proverb was collected through an interview at Dartmouth.

Text/Texture 

Chinese:

Literal Translation: Clean gun, sharpen sword

Free Translation: Be prepared to fight and make sure your weapons are ready.

Context: The proverb can be used when preparing for exams and planning ahead. Essentially, the proverb is used for situations when preparation is important to success.

Meaning/Interpretation: Rebecca provided no known origin for this proverb.