To be damned by the devil is to be truly blessed.

The saying frames condemnation by an evil power as an inverted sign of virtue: if “the devil” opposes you, you must be aligned with what is good. In that sense, being “damned” becomes evidence of moral integrity, spiritual protection, or righteous nonconformity—akin to the idea that hostility from corrupt forces can validate one’s path. However, attributing it to a “Chinese proverb” is doubtful: the explicit figure of “the devil” reflects Christian/Western demonology more than traditional Chinese proverbial idiom, which more often invokes spirits, ghosts, Heaven (天), or fate rather than a singular devil. The line likely functions as a modern aphorism presented as a proverb.