1. Plum blossoms are less white than snow, but snow is less fragrant than plum blossoms. ——(Song Dynasty) Lu Meipo's "Snow Plum Part 1"
Translation: The plum blossoms make the snowflakes crystal clear and white, but the snowflakes lose the fragrance of the plum blossoms.
2. If you want to see a thousand miles away, reach a higher level. ——(Tang Dynasty) Wang Zhihuan's "Climbing the Stork Tower"
Translation: If you want to see enough of the scenery thousands of miles away, you have to climb to a higher tower.
3. Black-haired people don’t know how to study hard early, and white-haired people regret studying late. ——(Tang Dynasty) Yan Zhenqing's "Poem to Encouragement to Study"
Translation: Only when you are old will you regret why you didn't know how to study diligently when you were young. When you get older, you will regret why you didn't know how to study hard when you were young.
4. How can you get the fragrance of plum blossoms without a bone-chilling cold? ——(Tang Dynasty) Zen Master Huang Chang's "Ode to the Discourse in the Hall"
Translation: Without going through the bone-chilling cold, how can there be the fragrant fragrance of plum blossoms.
5. Thousands of sails pass by the side of the sunken boat, and thousands of trees spring in front of the diseased tree. ——(Tang Dynasty) Liu Yuxi's "Reward for Lotte at the First Banquet in Yangzhou"
Translation: By the side of the sunken boat, thousands of sails are competing; in front of the diseased tree, thousands of trees are in spring.