Clever Spring
Pi Rixiu
A spoonful of qiong liquid will make a fool look for a wise person. ①
If the desire to know does not change, it is still like drinking from the fountain of greed. ②
Inscription: Behind the Shenyun Hall of Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain, among the green bamboo forests, there is a square spring pool with a diameter of about two square meters. Beside the spring is an inscription with the words "Clever Spring".
About the author Pi Rixiu, also known as Ximei and Yishao, was born in Xiangyang (now Xiangfan, Hubei Province) and was born in a farm family in the 8th year of Yamato (834), Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty. He became a Jinshi in the 8th year of Xiantong. He served as Dr. Zulang and Guozi and deputy envoy of Piling. He later joined Huangchao's peasant uprising army. He died in the third year of Zhonghe (883) of Emperor Xizong of Tang Dynasty. He was a famous essayist and poet in the late Tang Dynasty, but his achievements in essays were greater than those in poetry.
Explain that it is said that Yin Zhongkan, a famous scholar from Jingzhou during the Jin Dynasty, came to Donglin Temple to visit the eminent monk Huiyuan. The two of them walked among the pines behind Shenyun Hall and talked about the "Book of Changes". Yuanxiao pointed to the clear spring on the side of the road and said: "The king's debate is flowing like this." After that, people called this spring "Clever Spring" and engraved Pi Rixiu's poem on the stele next to Cong Spring.
Notes
①analogy: comparison. Wangxian: a famous sage.
② Greedy Spring: There is Greedy Spring in Shimen near Guangzhou. It is said that once you drink from it, you will become greedy and insatiable.