Translation:
People say that birds should not be kept in cages. I have never disliked birds. There are only ways to raise birds. If you just want to raise birds, why not plant more trees? Let hundreds of trees surround the house, with lush branches and leaves, and become a paradise for birds.
(Every morning), just after waking up from sleep, while still tossing and turning in the quilt, (you can) hear the chirping of birds, just like hearing "Cloud Gate" and "Xianchi" (Waiting for the music) was playing; when I got up and put on my clothes, washed my face and mouth, and drank tea, I saw them flying with colorful wings, flying here and there, and even my eyes couldn't see them.
The kind of fun you enjoy is not comparable to the fun of a bird in a cage.
Original text:
It is said that birds should not be raised in cages, and I do not dislike birds, but there is a right way to raise birds. If you want to raise birds, there is no better way to grow more trees, so that hundreds of trees surround your house, and they are sparse and dense, making it a home for birds.
At the end of the day, when I woke up from my sleep, I was still lying on the quilt, listening to a chirp, such as the music of "Cloud Gate" and "Xianchi"; I got up, put on my clothes, rinsed my mouth and sipped tea. , seeing it fluttering and vibrating, coming and going quickly, and the eyes are overwhelmed, it is not just the joy of a cage and a feather.
Source: From "The Way to Raise Birds" in "Banqiao Family Letters" written by Zheng Banqiao in the Qing Dynasty.
The weirdo Zheng Banqiao is a bit like Jigong Living Buddha. The "weird" always contains a bit of sincerity, a bit of humor, and a bit of sourness. Whenever he saw corrupt officials and traitors being paraded through the streets, he would draw a picture of plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos and stones and hang them on the prisoners as a screen to attract the audience and serve as a warning to the people.
Extended information:
About the author:
Zheng Banqiao (1693-1765), formerly known as Zheng Xie, also known as Kerou, also known as Banqiao , known as Mr. Banqiao, is from Xinghua, Jiangsu, and his ancestral home is Suzhou. He was a scholar of Kangxi, a scholar in the tenth year of Yongzheng, and a Jinshi in the first year of Qianlong (1736). He was the magistrate of Fan County and Weixian County in Shandong Province. He had outstanding political achievements. He later lived in Yangzhou and made a living by selling paintings. He was an important representative of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou".
Zheng Banqiao only painted orchids, bamboos and stones throughout his life. He called himself "the orchid that never fades in all seasons, the evergreen bamboo with a hundred knots, the unbeatable stone through the ages, and the unchanging person through the ages." His poetry, calligraphy and painting are known as the "Three Wonders" in the world. He is a relatively representative literati painter in the Qing Dynasty. His representative works include "Building Bamboos and New Bamboos", "Clear Lights", "Orchid and Bamboo Fragrance", "Gan Valley and Chrysanthemum Spring", "Crossing Orchids and Thorns", etc. He is the author of "Collection of Zheng Banqiao".
Zheng Banqiao's calligraphy uses official script mixed with regular script. He calls himself "Six and a Half Calligraphy" and is known as "Banqiao Style". Most of his paintings are based on orchids, grass, bamboo and stones. Orchid and bamboo are almost part of his soul. Zheng Banqiao's calligraphy art is unique in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
It can be inferred from "Ouyang Xiu's Ode to Qiu Sheng in Xiaokai" written when he was 23 years old and "Zhi Shi in Xiaokai Fan" written when he was 30 that Banqiao learned calligraphy from Ouyang Xun in his early years. The font is neat and elegant, but a little restrained: this is related to the neat and elegant Guange style that was prevalent in the calligraphy world at that time, and it was used as the standard font for imperial examinations.
In this regard, Zheng Banqiao once said: "If your regular script is too uniform, it will damage your soul if you work hard for a long time." After he became a Jinshi at the age of 40, he rarely wrote anymore. Zheng Banqiao's calligraphy is most praised for his "six-and-a-half-point script", which is a unique "Banqiao style" that uses "Han Bafen" (a type of official script) mixed with regular script, running script and cursive script.
Zheng Banqiao advocates that people should live in harmony with animals, create a free world for animals and plants in nature, and only by raising them in a good way can they be happy. Then there is this "The Way to Raise Birds".
Baidu Encyclopedia-Zheng Banqiao