"Flowers should do everything, but stones can't be said to be the most pleasing", from Lu You's Seclusion in the Southern Song Dynasty. The original poem is:
Since Shan Weng's victory is real, many foreign affairs have nothing to do with him. There are many things like flowers, but stones can't be the cutest. Clean the window a few times, and put a black towel on the bamboo side. Old people have their own blue sky management, that is, there is no cone and no poverty.
Vernacular translation:
Call yourself Shan Weng lazy, and other external things have nothing to do with yourself. If flowers can read people's minds, they will give birth to a lot of business, while stones can be loved although they can't speak. Bright windows, plain coffee tables, black angle towels, strolling in dense bamboo forests. When you get old, God will naturally take you in, even if your place is small, it is not necessarily barren.
Extended data
Poetry appreciation
The phrase "stone can't be said to be the cutest" in the whole poem describes a realm that people who play with stones yearn for. The stone is silent, but the vicissitudes of life have left intriguing traces and distinctive features on it. As long as stone appreciators communicate with it attentively, they can appreciate its unyielding and tenacity from its unique personality and proud quality.
The contrast between the former sentence "flower-like explanation" and the latter sentence "stone can't be said to be the cutest" shows the poet's love for stone without words. Although many flowers are gorgeous, they are loved by many people. If they can really talk, there will be a lot of right and wrong, and stones are silent and reliable. Although they can't speak, they are loved.