1. "Winter Night Reading Shows Ziyu"
Song Dynasty: Lu You
The ancients spared no effort in learning, and their skills were only achieved when they were young and old.
What you have learned on paper will eventually make you realize it, but you will definitely know that this matter must be carried out.
Translation: The ancients spared no effort in learning, and often did not achieve success until old age. After all, the knowledge gained from books is not perfect. If you want to deeply understand the truth, you must practice it yourself.
2. "Encouraging Learning"
Tang Dynasty: Yan Zhenqing
It is the time for men to study when the lights are on at three and the chickens are on at five.
Black-haired people don’t know how to study early, and white-haired people regret studying late.
Translation: The best time for boys to study is between midnight and the time when the rooster crows. When I was young, I only knew how to play and didn't know how to study hard. When I get older, I regret why I didn't know how to study hard when I was young.
3. "Reading"
Song Dynasty: Lu You
I returned to Zhining without a five-acre garden, and the original intention of reading was in Yuan and Yuan Dynasties.
Although my eyesight in front of the lamp is not the same as before, I still have to learn 20,000 words.
Translation: The ambition to return home and live in seclusion is still the same even without the five acres of farmland. The original intention of reading is for the common people. When I read under the lamp, my eyes are no longer what they used to be. But I still finished reading twenty thousand small words.
4. "Farewell to Dong Chuan"
Song Dynasty: Su Shi
His career was wrapped in coarse silk cloth, and he had the spirit of poetry and calligraphy in his belly.
I am tired of cooking gourd leaves with the old Confucian, and force me to step on the locust flowers with my son.
I have nothing to do but look for a young horse, and my eyes wander around looking at the car for choosing a son-in-law.
To be proud is worthy of praise from the secular world, and the edicts of Huang Xinshu are like crows.
Translation: In life, the body is wrapped in coarse clothes and poor cloth, and the intellectual temperament in the chest is naturally radiant. He didn't like to accompany the old Confucian and talk about the hard life of "cooking gourd leaves", so he decided to take the imperial examination with the officials.
If you don’t have money in your pocket, you won’t buy the “flower-looking” horse, but you will buy the dazzling “husband-selection car”. If I pass the exam, I can still boast to the secular people. My name is newly written in black letters like crows on the edict.
5. "Scholar Bai's Thatched Cottage"
Tang Dynasty: Du Fu
The scholar in Bishan burned silver fish, but the white horse went to live in the deep rock.
The ancients have used it for three winters, and now they have opened more than ten thousand volumes.
The clear clouds cover the house, and the autumn water floats down the steps and breaks through the canal.
Wealth must come from hard work, and a man must read five cars of books.
Translation: The war of the Anshi Rebellion caused Bai Xueshi to lose his official position. In the past, he used to participate in government affairs and outspokenly advise others. He built a thatched hut in the steep green mountains and lived in seclusion here. But he still studied hard like Dongfang Shuo, a writer in the Han Dynasty. Although he was young, he was already successful in his studies.
Looking outside the thatched house, the auspicious clouds are gathering as densely as the hood of a car, and the autumn water flows along the road like a torrent of water rushing through a canal. Since ancient times, prosperity and wealth must come from hard work. A wise man should read a lot of books like Bachelor Bai in order to gain fame.