Lu You's poems tell us

What you get on paper is so shallow that you never know what you have to do.

I didn't know what to do until I got a superficial understanding on the paper-it came from Lu You's godson's poem "Reading at Winter Night", which was written at the end of the fifth year of Ningzong Zhuangyuan (A.D. 1 199). The poet talked about his views on knowledge acquisition from two aspects: one is to spend effort, and the other is to "practice". The ideas expressed in the poem are not only the experience of reading on a winter night, but also the summary of the poet's diligent study.

Lu You's Reading on a Winter Night and Zi Yue

The ancients learned nothing,

Young people never grow old.

What you get on paper is superficial,

Never knew it needed doing.