This poem is "Encouraging Learning" by Yan Zhenqing, a poet of the Tang Dynasty.
Original poem:
Encouragement to study
Tang Dynasty: Yan Zhenqing
It is the time for men to study when the lights are on at midnight and the chickens are on at five.
Black-haired people don’t know how to study early, and white-haired people regret studying late.
Interpretation:
The best time for boys to study is from midnight to when the rooster crows.
When I was young, I only knew how to play and didn’t know how to study hard. When I get older, I regret why I didn’t know how to study hard when I was young.
Update: In ancient times, the unit for calculating time at night was divided into five updates a night, with each update lasting two hours. There are three updates from 11:00 to 1:00 midnight. Rooster at dawn: The rooster crows at dawn. Black hair: youth, refers to a teenager. Baishou: The hair is white, which refers to old age. Fang: Talent.
Extended information
Purpose:
The first two sentences of this poem describe the learning environment to express that young people should be diligent when studying, and the last two sentences use hair color to express Changes to express that it is too late to read when you are older. We encourage young people to cherish their youth, study diligently and make a difference. Otherwise, they will achieve nothing and regret it when they grow old.
Creative background:
Yan Zhenqing lost his father when he was 3 years old, and his family was in decline. His mother, Yin, had high hopes for him, implemented strict family education, and supervised the school personally. Yan Zhenqing was also extremely studious and studied hard every day. This poem was written by Yan Zhenqing to encourage future generations.
Achievements of the poet:
Yan Zhenqing has the most handed down works with stele inscriptions. In regular script, they include "Duobao Pagoda Induction Stele", "Magu Immortal Altar Story", "Dongfang Shuo Portrait Stele", and "Yan Qin Li Stele" , "Yan's Family Temple Monument", etc., the running script includes "Manuscript of Fighting for Seats", and the handwriting includes "Manuscript of Self-address" and "Manuscript of Memorial to Nephew Ji Ming".
Among them, the "Yan Qin Li Stele" is more dignified and vigorous, but the thin strokes are different from other inscriptions. "Yan's Family Temple Stele", with rich calligraphy, is one of his proud works in his later years. Compared with his early works, it is more vigorous and majestic, and it is a masterpiece in his later years.
Yan Zhenqing first learned calligraphy from Chu Suiliang, and later learned calligraphy from Zhang Xu, and also discussed calligraphy with Huai Su. He conducted in-depth research on the calligraphy of Er Wang, Chu Suiliang and others, absorbed their strengths, completely got rid of the style of the early Tang Dynasty, and created a new calligraphy style of the era. Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy style is called "Yan style", and together with Liu Gongquan, it is called "Yan Liu", and has the reputation of "Yan Jin Liu Gu".
Yan Zhenqing summarized the experiences and lessons learned since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and advised Tang Dezong and Li Shi to open up their voices. Yan Zhenqing was not only proficient in Confucianism, but also practiced loyalty and filial piety, and was regarded as a model of self-cultivation by later generations of Confucians.