Tián yán měi yǔ, sān dōng nuǎn; èyǔ shāngrén Liùyuè hán.*

甜言美語三冬暖, 惡語傷人六月寒。

Lit Sweet, nice words warm [one even in the] coldest days of winter; ill-intended, injurious words [will] chill [one even in the] heat of August.

Note [Cf. Xīxiāng Jì, Scene 2, Act 3; Jīn Píng Méi (JPM), chap. 76; note: sānjiǔ hándōng refers to the coldest days of winter, and the sixth lunar month generally occurs in late July or August.]

Topics HARM JPM sānjiǔ hándōng SPEECH WORDS Xīxiāng_Jì