Dynasty: Song Dynasty Author: Lu You
The ancients learned nothing, and it takes time to grow old.
What you get on paper is so shallow that you never know what you have to do.
Translation:
The ancients spared no effort in their studies, and often achieved nothing when they were old.
After all, the knowledge gained from books is not perfect. If you want to understand the truth deeply, you must practice it yourself.
Creation background
This poem was written by the poet Yu Qingyuan in the fifth year (1 199) in Yin Shan to his 2 1 year-old son Lu Yu. On a cold winter night, the poet is immersed in his study and likes reading poetry books. In the silent night, I can't restrain my surging emotions. I wrote this philosophical poem and gave it to my son affectionately.
Lu You (1125-1210) was born (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang), the grandson of Lu Dian. Lu You was a famous poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. When I was young, I was influenced by patriotic thoughts at home. When Emperor Gaozong was young, I should try it, which Qin Gui admired. Filial piety makes a scholar. Middle-aged into Shu, devoted to military life, the official to Baozhangge to be built. In his later years, he retired from his hometown, but his belief in recovering the Central Plains remained unchanged. He wrote many poems, including more than 9,000 poems, which are extremely rich in content. Express political ambitions, reflect the sufferings of the people, and be unconstrained; Describing daily life is also a new work. The amount of words is not as large as that of poems, but it runs through the patriotic spirit of swallowing the remnants like poems. Yang Shen said that the beauty of his ci was similar to that of Qin Guan and that of Su Shi. He is the author of Poems of Jiannan, Collected Works of Weinan, Book of Southern Tang Dynasty, Notes on Old Ann Studies, etc.