Chu Hsi
Half an acre of square pond opened, and the sky was overcast.
Ask where the canal is so clear, because there is running water at the source.
The whole poem takes Fangtang as a metaphor, vividly expressing a subtle and unspeakable reading feeling. The pond is not a pool of stagnant water, but often full of living water, so it is as clear as a mirror, reflecting the sky and clouds. The last sentence tells us vividly and skillfully how to make a person's mood as clear as water and his spiritual world as clear as water. That is reading, books and knowledge are our "source of living water". Only by constantly absorbing new knowledge can we prevent the spiritual world from rotting and stinking, and prevent the spiritual world from being poor and lacking.