When I was growing up I heard this old saying quite a bit. My mother had been a school teacher and business college professor, and flavored her speech with a variety of old adages, proverbs, metaphors and similes. Undoubtedly this was the spark that kindled the flame in me for my later interest in studying and writing about them.

In spite of claims that this is an old Chinese proverb, or that it even came from Confucius, there seems to me to be no supporting evidence of this. The root likely came from Russian writer Ivan Turgenev in Fathers and Sons, published in 1862. His version was:

“A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound.”

The near-perfect versions of our modern proverb, however, are from Fred R. Bernard’s ad title in the Dec. 3, 1931 edition of the advertising trade journal, Printer’s Ink which promoted use of images on the sides of streetcars. He states:

“One Look is Worth a Thousand Words.”

But on March 10, 1927, Barnard used the phrase again, as “One Picture is Worth Ten Thousand Words,” labeling it "a Chinese proverb." By his own admission this was done so people would take it seriously. It seems that the perception caught on, and sadly, some folks still quote this as an old Chinese proverb.

If you have a phrase you would like to see featured here, please text Stan at 931-212-3303 or email him at stan@stclair.net