海枯终见底，人死不知心
You can see the seas’ bottom when it runs dry, but you can never read a man’s mind even when he is on his deathbed.
The phrase indicates that human hearts are hard to fathom.

 

海鸥的翅膀不是在窝里变硬的,而是在暴风雨里练出来的
The seagull’s wings did not become hardened and powerful by sitting inside the nest, but by fighting wind and rain.
The phrase is commonly used to mean that one who wants to be successful must endure hardships.

 

八仙过海,各显神通
The Eight Immortals cross the ocean, each showing his or her own magic power.
The proverb is used to mean that people each have their own way to prove their worth.

 

积土而为山,积水而为海
By accumulating earth you can create a mountain; by accumulating water you can make a sea.
This saying is commonly used to mean that great achievements originate from unrelenting small efforts.

 

水广者鱼大,山高者木修
When the waters are vast, the fish are huge; when the mountains are high, the trees are tall.
This saying is used to indicate that common traits often accompany each other.

 

水出于山而走于海,水非恶山而欲海也,高下使之然也
Waters flow from mountains and pour down into the sea. However, it is not that waters look forward to the sea and hate mountains. That is caused by the geographical conditions of the ground.
The phrase is used to highlight natural trends.

 

水火不相容
Fire and water are incompatible.
The phrase is used metaphorically to describe two sides that are in conflict and unable to reconcile.

 

水可载舟，亦可覆舟
Water serves to support a boat, but it is also used to capsize it.
The phrase is used metaphorically to mean that common people can support someone as a ruler but also overthrow him.