Translation
Mountains do not depend on how high they are. Immortals (residing there) make them famous; water does not depend on how deep they are. Dragons (residing there) make them magical. This is a humble house, but because I (the owner of the house) have become famous for my virtue, it does not seem humble anymore. Traces of moss are green and grow up to the steps, and the green grass is reflected in the bamboo curtains. The people I usually talk to are all knowledgeable people, not uneducated commoners. You can play the undecorated guqin and read Buddhist scriptures written in gold. There is no loud music to disturb my ears, and no official documents to tire my body and mind. There is Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage in Nanyang, and there is the Xuanting of Yangziyun (Western Han Dynasty writer Yang Xiong) in Western Shu. Confucius said: "(Although it is a shabby house, as long as a person of high moral character lives in it) what is shabby?"
[Edit this paragraph]Theme, conception and theme of the work
From the perspective of the theme, "Inscription on a Humble Room" tries its best to describe the humble house as not shabby by describing the life interests of the people who interact in the room. The article "Inscription on a Humble Room" shows the author's attitude towards life that does not go with the world, is clean and self-sufficient, and does not seek fame and fortune. It expresses the author's noble and arrogant integrity and reveals the author's reclusive taste of living in poverty and enjoying life.
From the perspective of conception, "The Inscription on the Humble Room" uses foil to express the ambition of the object. And in a reverse conception, it does not mention the "hide" of the shabby house, but only writes about the "not shabby" side of the shabby house, and the "not shabby" is because of "virtue and kindness", thus naturally achieving the purpose of expressing feelings.
There are 81 words in the whole text. It can be said that every word is poorly written, but every word is not crude. The opening 16 words set the tone for the entire text to be well-written. "Mountains are not high, and immortals are famous. Waters are not deep, and dragons are spiritual." From the surface, "immortals" and "dragons" add color to mountains and water, but in fact they are the masters of a humble room. The owner of the shabby house lives in a shabby house, but his spiritual thoughts are so rich and fulfilling: "Hongru", "Jin Jing" and "Su Qin" not only describe the pursuit of the owner of the shabby house from the aspects of communication, learning and pleasure, but also " The three words "Hong, Jin, Su" have rich connotations, but they have nothing to do with embarrassment. As he himself said, "This is a humble house, but I am virtuous." He used the fragrant aroma to describe his noble thoughts and morals. This highlights that the owner of the humble house is not pursuing fame and fortune (the form of labor without official documents), but also It is not about glory and wealth (without the clutter of silk and bamboo), but about the purity of heart, the elegance of interest, and the sweetness of virtue. The author compares his shabby house to "Zhuge Lu" and "Ziyunting". We say that this is not excessive, but also highlights the owner's desire to "live in poverty and live in peace", so he said "what a shabby thing there is."
This inscription uses the expressive method of mentioning things and expressing ambitions. By praising the simple living room, it expresses the author's desire to maintain noble moral integrity and not to seek fame and fortune, and to live in poverty and contentment.
From this article, we can see the elegance pursued by the author and the richness of spirit. What makes people feel is that the shabby room is not shabby, which is the phrase that directly describes the shabby room: "The moss marks are green on the steps, and the color of grass enters the curtains." "Green" also makes people feel less "ugly" and gives people more of a hut shaded by lush green grass, full of vitality. It's really a shabby house.