# "Japanese" proverb: Floating enemies, river sitting **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602 "2010-07-22T14:44:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/21 "2011-10-12T01:54:24Z")
Paul Theroux begins “Riding the Iron Rooster” with the Chinese saying “You have to stand on a hillside with your mouth open for a long time before a roast duck will fly into it,” suggesting that instead of patience, Eastern wisdom preaches getting off ones ass and doing something. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/22 "2011-10-12T01:55:23Z")
“If you sit by a river long enough, you’ll see the body of your enemy float by.” Or maybe you’ll fall in the river and drown and it’ll turn out your enemy is alive and waiting for you downstream. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/23 "2011-10-12T02:58:32Z")
The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs has this one listed as a “Modern saying, said to derive from a Chinese or Japanese proverb”. The earliest print citation given is from a 1995 _New Statesman_ article where the author attributes it to Confucius, so it may very well be a warped version of the saying cited by **Captain Amazing** above more than a year ago. Google Books gives me only about a dozen hits on this saying (the '95 _New Statesman_ article is the earliest), with the majority describing it as a Chinese proverb. I count three claiming that it is Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/24 "2011-10-12T05:23:54Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Google Books gives me only about a dozen hits on this saying (the '95 _New Statesman_ article is the earliest), with the majority describing it as a Chinese proverb. I count three claiming that it is Japanese. A 1995 New Statesman article is the earliest cite? None of these guys has Netflix? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/25 "2011-10-12T15:53:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “If you sit by a river long enough, you’ll see the body of your enemy float by.” > > Or maybe you’ll fall in the river and drown and it’ll turn out your enemy is alive and waiting for you downstream. Well, you’re his enemy, so you’ve thereby inadvertently proven the accuracy of the maxim! ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/26 "2011-10-12T15:57:02Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Dot or feather? For more politically correct than woo-woo or 7-11 ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/27 "2011-10-12T17:06:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A 1995 New Statesman article is the earliest cite? None of these guys has Netflix? I said the _New Statesman_ article was the earliest print cite listed in the Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs and the earliest cite listed in Google Books. Neither of these sources specialize in movie quotes. ---
**Author:** ![c296850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@c296850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c296850)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/28 "2013-11-06T12:58:50Z")
> [@Necros](#): > > I am not sure if there is any reference preceding its use in the 1993 movie _Rising Sun_, where Sean Connery utters the line: > “The Japanese have a saying: if you sit by a river long enough, you’ll see the body of your enemy float by.” This is not an exact quote. Sean Connery does not mention about Japanese in this cue. He simply says “If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy floating by”. See the [fragment from the movie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9bj3BF-3D8). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/29 "2013-11-06T13:09:45Z")
And your enemy will have become a zombie. c296850, you are about to learn that you should read the rules for posting and board etiquette before you leap without looking. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/30 "2013-11-06T14:24:30Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, **c296850**. I remember this thread and I for one am glad to have the new information. > [@Mr.Duality](#): > > And your enemy will have become a zombie. > > c296850, you are about to learn that you should read the rules for posting and board etiquette before you leap without looking. This is what the FAQ page says: > [@](#): > > - In Comments on Cecil’s Columns, Comments on Staff Reports, Games Room, General Questions, and Straight Dope Chicago: We’re less concerned about resurrected threads. The reasons we dislike zombie threads don’t usually apply. We’ll generally leave such threads open, unless there is some compelling reason for taking moderator action > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7697100#post7697100](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7697100#post7697100) ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/31 "2013-11-06T15:14:35Z")
In Spanish the proverb is “sit at your doorstep and you will see the corpse of your enemy go by” and it is sometimes said to be Chinese in origin and others Arab. It is said to someone who has suffered a wrong and the meaning is "just be patient and you will have the satisfaction of seeing your enemy suffer even worse. I have thought of this sometimes but then I think of how many people are sitting at their doorstep waiting to see my corpse go by and how many turns my funeral procession will have to take to pass in front of so many houses. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/32 "2013-11-06T15:27:48Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It reminds me of a saying by my grad school econ professor. “In the long run, everyone is dead.” And he was paraphrasing British economist John Maynard Keynes: [http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3689/john\_maynard\_keynes\_in\_the\_long\_run](http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3689/john_maynard_keynes_in_the_long_run) ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/33 "2013-11-06T15:34:30Z")
What if your enemy is sitting on the other side of the river? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/34 "2013-11-06T16:21:49Z")
Off topic, but I am curious if anyone can tell me why (and/or how) it came to be that this thread has received over 20,000 views. That is way out of range for a thread with 32 replies. Was it ever cross posted on another board, for example? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/35 "2013-11-06T16:26:46Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Off topic, but I am curious if anyone can tell me why (and/or how) it came to be that this thread has received over 20,000 views. That is way out of range for a thread with 32 replies. Was it ever cross posted on another board, for example? If a thread is posted long enough, sooner or later everyone on the Internet will view it. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/36 "2013-11-06T17:09:14Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If a thread is posted long enough, sooner or later everyone on the Internet will view it. Mind = blown ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/37 "2013-11-06T17:36:08Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > What if your enemy is sitting on the other side of the river? Open your mouth and wait for roast duck. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/38 "2013-11-06T22:21:25Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And he was paraphrasing British economist John Maynard Keynes: [http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3689/john\_maynard\_keynes\_in\_the\_long\_run](http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3689/john_maynard_keynes_in_the_long_run) Or **mssmith** studied under Keynes! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/39 "2013-11-06T22:56:14Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > In Spanish the proverb is “sit at your doorstep and you will see the corpse of your enemy go by” and it is sometimes said to be Chinese in origin and others Arab. Does it flood a lot in Spain? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602/40 "2013-11-06T23:06:22Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Does it flood a lot in Spain? The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain but I think you may be making some unwarranted assumption. “Sit at your doorstep and you will see the corpse of your enemy go by” meaning his funeral procession. Nothing is meant or implied about floats or floods. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-proverb-floating-enemies-river-sitting/547602.md?page=3)