Uyghur proverbs

Proverbs of the Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group.

If you do not protect your own honor, the crows will peck at your flesh.
- As quoted in "Amsterdam’s Lonely Uyghur vs Uyghur Restaurants–Or in Favor of Them?" by Abdurehim Gheni Uyghur, Bitter Winter (February 11, 2026)

The dog loves the one who beats it.
- As quoted partly to reflect on the Chinese Communist Party-enforced usage of the Mandarin Chinese language in the simplified Chinese script, instead of usage of the Uyghur language, by some restaurants in "Amsterdam’s Lonely Uyghur vs Uyghur Restaurants–Or in Favor of Them?" by Abdurehim Gheni Uyghur, Bitter Winter (February 11, 2026)

Let the rich man’s son speak, even though he is a dumb.
When evaluating a rich man, don’t ask how much money he has; just ask when he got it.
- As quoted by Shöhret Hoshur, "Uyghurs and Billionaires: Chamath Palihapitiya’s Problems with the Truth", Bitter Winter (February 10, 2022)
- As explained by Hoshur: "It is generally argued that in matters of (social) justice, a reliable speaker should be selected from those who are not deceived by money and are not afraid of threats. Put simply, the children of wealthy people tend to be stable, flexible, able to make independent decisions, and less self-centered than others. …The philosophy behind [the proverb about the rich man's son] is that wealth, no matter how great, cannot satiate the first generation of the family to whom it belongs; only the second or third generation can be satiated. This is reminiscent of Victor Hugo’s statement about the bourgeoisie: “Yesterday it was appetite, today it is plenitude, and tomorrow it will be satiety.” … Uyghurs believe that if a rich man has risen out of extreme poverty, satiety may not occur until the third or fourth generation. The first generations are not able to act like rich people even though they try to do so."

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