"Three Lights and Five Chickens" comes from the Tang Dynasty poet Yan Zhenqing's "Encouraging Learning".
Original poem:
Persuade to learn
Tang Dynasty: Yan Zhenqing
It was the night when men were studying.
black hair doesn't know how to study early, but white head regrets studying late.
Translation:
It is the best time for boys to study at midnight every day.
When I was a teenager, I only knew how to play, but I didn't know how to study hard. When I was old, I regretted why I didn't know how to study hard when I was young.
Wugeng Chicken: At dawn, chickens crow. Black hair: youth, refers to teenagers. Whitehead: my hair is white, which means old age here. Fang: Cai.
The first two sentences express that you should be diligent when you are young, and the last two sentences express that it is too late to study when you are old through the change of hair color. Encourage young people to cherish their youth, study hard and make a difference, otherwise, it will be too late to regret.
Extended information
Yan Zhenqing lost his father at the age of 3, and his family came down. His mother Yin had high hopes for him, implemented strict family education and personally supervised the school. Yan Zhenqing is also very studious, studying hard every day. This poem was written by Yan Zhenqing to encourage future generations.
"The cock crows in the third watch" refers to industrious people and diligent students who are still working and studying in the middle of the night, and the lights are still on in the third watch. After turning off the lights and lying down for a short rest, the cock crows in the third watch, and these industrious people have to get up and get busy again. The first sentence is written early with objective phenomena, which leads to the second sentence: study hard and get up early.
The third and fourth sentences say that you didn't study hard when you were young, but when you are old, it's too late to study now. In the sentence, "black hair" and "white head" are metonymic rhetoric methods, which refer to youth and old age. Through the method of comparison, it is emphasized that reading and learning should be done early, and it is not necessary to study until you are old and regret it.
From the perspective of study time, Yan Zhenqing advised young people not to idle away their time, and to study hard as early as possible so as not to regret it in the future. The poet conceived from the perspectives of the significance, function and attitude and method of learning, hoping that people would attach importance to the acquired learning in order to strengthen their own behavior cultivation.
Yan Zhenqing has been admired for generations for his calligraphy. Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy became good at first, and then he learned to write in Zhang Xu, completely getting rid of the demeanor of the early Tang Dynasty and creating a new style of calligraphy in the times. Yan Zhenqing's genuine calligraphy is magnificent and dignified, and its writing has changed from slender in the early Tang Dynasty to square, with a centripetal force.
The pen is thick and strong, and the center brushwork is good, which is full of bones and muscles and sharp edges. Generally, the horizontal drawing is slightly thin, and the vertical drawing, dot, skim and pinch are slightly thick. This book style is magnificent, full of strength and strength, and has the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.