“It’s not that idle people can’t be idle, but those who can be idle must not wait for idle people.” This sentence comes from Gao Fangshan, a poet in the Yuan Dynasty of my country. For the convenience of explanation, we can first feel the artistic conception of the whole poem.
The whole poem is as follows:
Looking at the sea with joy
(Yuan) Ko Fang Shan
Looking at Tsuen Wan against the mountain every day, Mao Shan is green No face change.
I asked Canghai when he got old, and Qingfeng asked me when I was free.
It’s not that idle people can’t be idle, but those who can be idle must not wait for idle people.
The vernacular translation of this poem is roughly like this. The poet looks at Tsuen Wan from the mountains every day. Mo Shan is always lush and the color never changes. I asked Dahai when he would grow old, and Qingfeng asked me when I could be leisurely. If you don't have extraordinary ideological abilities, you can't get leisurely. Then those who can get leisurely must not be mediocre people.
In these two short sentences, four words "Xian" are used. What do they mean? Are there any differences? Let me analyze it:
1. Qingfeng asked me how much time I have for leisure. The leisure here refers to leisure, a kind of leisurely contentment in mind.
2. It’s not that idle people have no time to spare. There are two “idles” in this sentence. The first idle person’s idleness refers to people who are extraordinary and have advanced ideas;
The second word "xian" that cannot be idle refers to a state of leisure and contentment, which has the same meaning as the "xian" in "Qingfeng asked me when I have free time" above.
3. Those who can be leisurely must not wait for idle people. There are two "xiaos" in this sentence. The first "xiao" is still a state of leisure and contentment, which is similar to the "qingfeng asked me when I am free" above. "Leisure" means.
The second word "xian" for idle people refers to mediocrity, and idle people are also called mediocre people, vulgar people.
So, taking a comprehensive look at it, there are only three meanings in this poem.
The first kind of leisure refers to ability, the ability to transcend worldly thinking. It is said that only by letting go can one gain great freedom. Only when people put aside those tedious thoughts in their own minds can they be at ease. For example, a master like Tao Yuanming, who doesn't care about other people's high official positions and salary, just picks chrysanthemums under the eastern fence and sees the Nanshan Mountain leisurely. This is a superb state that transcends the world.
The other kind of leisure refers to the state of life, the state of leisurely and contented life. This is easy for everyone to understand. Everyone wants a leisurely and contented life, but this kind of life under the east fence of picking chrysanthemums is Can everyone afford it? Even if they can afford it, can everyone live it?
The third kind of mundane refers to mediocre people, that is, vulgar people. Here, non-common people are used to indicate people with superb ideas.
"It's not that idle people can't be idle, but those who can be idle must not wait for idle people." In these two lines of poems, what the poet wants to express should be that he also yearns for the kind of leisurely and contented life, but it is not that he has extraordinary thoughts. People cannot escape from worldly affairs and cannot live a leisurely and contented life.
It’s not that idle people have no time to spare. This sentence applies to our modern times. The vast number of people who are busy with life are the people who cannot take time off. Even if there are people with detached thoughts who can live in seclusion in the mountains and forests, they will be considered weird by everyone, such as the people who lived in caves that were reported in the news two years ago. For ordinary people like us, even if we give you a cave, food and clothing, and allow you to live a day without the Internet, it is estimated that no one can survive. This is because idle people have nothing to do.
Those who can be idle must not wait for idleness. This sentence can also be understood according to our current meaning. That is not only extraordinary in thinking, you must also have the ability to be financially free, and then you can think Freedom, so I want the ability and capital to have leisure time.