Master Wang Xizhi said: A woman’s companionship, over a lifetime of looking up and down, may be found in the depths of one’s heart through understanding her words; or it may be entrusted to someone and exist beyond the confines of the body
A person’s life is like a flash of lightning, fleeting and ephemeral. Like grass and trees flourishing in spring and withering in autumn, like the rising and setting of the sun and moon.
Yet, in this life, I have so many desires
Lying by the stream as a child, peeling lotus pods, busily releasing kites in the east wind, chasing after yellow butterflies
He also leaned against mulberry trees to learn how to grow melons; returning with a full meal after dusk, he would still lie beneath the bright moon without taking off his raincoat
Growing up, I hope to achieve distinction in the imperial examinations, have a beautiful companion by my side, enjoy endless wealth, rise through the ranks steadily, be surrounded by esteemed guests, and celebrate every night with music and revelry
Growing old, yet desiring health and longevity – welcome servants, await children, a game of chess, a close friend, a pot of wine, a courtyard, and enjoying family life
You see how people rush about, all for a few pieces of silver. Yet those few pieces of silver can resolve countless sorrows in the world.
A large number of people are still struggling to make a living, where do they have time to pursue meaning?
In fact, a person’s life is just an experience, like grass, trees, and the sun and moon, experiencing the cycle of desires
Not understanding life leads to the feeling that one is like a mayfly adrift in the universe, a grain of sand in the vast ocean. Sorrow for the brevity of my existence, envy of the endlessness of the Yangtze River. Understanding life brings joy in what you encounter, satisfaction with what you gain, contentment and self-sufficiency, unaware of approaching old age.
You can pursue wealth and fame, you can pursue poetry, wine, flowers, and tea; you can pursue the clear breeze on the river, or the bright moon in the mountains
But don’t be overly concerned with the outcome, as outcomes are fleeting
To exhaust a lifetime, arriving in this world, striving to experience as much of life’s joys and sorrows, birth, aging, sickness, and death as possible
I really like this line from Big Fish & Begonia
Our lives are very short, and we will eventually lose them, so why not be a little bolder? Love someone, climb a mountain, chase a dream. There are many things in life that have no answers, so why not be a little bolder?
I really like “The Pavilion of Prince Shaobo” and “Ode to the Red Cliffs.”
The cause of the feeling that arises when recalling people of the past is as if it were a contract. I have never failed to feel grief and regret upon contemplating literature, unable to fully grasp it in my mind. Indeed, I know that life and death are vain conceits, and equating all lives is a foolish fabrication. Those who come after will view us as we now view those of the past. Alas!