Chapter 353: 446 chapters, one who hasn't reached the Great Wall is not a true man

446 chapters, one who hasn't reached the Great Wall is not a true man.

446 chapters, one who hasn't reached the Great Wall is not a true man.

――――A red apricot branch sticking out of the wall (19)

Time flies in an instant, I still haven't finished talking about Xiangling learning poetry, and already several tens of hours have passed. Friends must have forgotten the previous topic.

It's all my fault.

I'm constantly tangled up in life's petty troubles, immersed in the chicken-feather-and-garlic-bits. Those chicken-feather-and-garlic-bits are nothing but bustling about for a living, while you, my friend, are focused on your career.

You're right; I have no choice but to be wrong.

This is how people are: you want to do something, yet you somehow can't go, can't do it; you think of something, yet it somehow won't let you obtain it.

Could this be fate playing a trick?

But some people contend with fate; what I want to obtain will surely be obtained. Only when 'the spring silkworm dies when its silk is exhausted, the candle burns to ash before its tears dry' — using a great person's poem: 'He who has not reached the Great Wall is not a true man!'

Not to mention far away, my friend Weiyun is that 'He who has not reached the Great Wall is not a true man' kind of person. He once said: 'The sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy experiences of life forever entwine our body and mind. Those with ambition must break through those spiderweb-like sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy experiences of life, forever keep a tranquil heart, unmoved by external things, transcending the material. In this world, everything has its own master. For example, bees and butterflies are the masters of flowers, flood dragons are the masters of the sea, phoenixes are the masters of high mountains, I want to be the master of punctuation marks…'

This is his pursuit, look how persistent he is! To achieve his career, one must transcend material concerns. If one is always digging for money, what can one accomplish? Only the spirit of 'He who has not reached the Great Wall is not a true man' can fulfill one's pursuit.

This person is hard to describe. I once doubted Su Dongpo's words. He said: 'Between heaven and earth, all things have owners; if something is not mine, I would not take even a hair. Only the clear wind above the river and the bright moon among the mountains — heard as sound, seen as color — are inexhaustible and endless; they are the boundless storehouse of the Creator, which you and I share.'

Su Dongpo is just a bit odd; his oddness makes him incomprehensible. When he boated on the river, he treated the birds and fish in the water as his friends — what future could such a person have? In fact, Su Dongpo is beyond what we can compare to. This shows my narrow and shallow vision. Therefore, great people have broad minds; those who transcend material concerns surely have great minds! My friend is also like that.

Writing this, I suddenly recalled whose poem it might be (perhaps Shakespeare's? Regardless, I dredged it from my mind to share with friends — anyway, everyone is just killing time, looking for fun. Then I'll talk about Xiangling and Daiyu studying poetry, because these lines seem related to her poetry study). Shaweng says――――

I consider this: all beings in the world (we are animals, and thus also beings).

They can flourish only for a short period (reminding us to cherish time; you, my friend, surely knew earlier than I to cherish time).

And the entire performance on this grand stage (the world is a big stage; everyone is an actor. Everyone plays different roles, speaks their lines, makes their moves. There are clowns, there are handsome roles. We clowns and handsome roles make the world lively and bustling. But when time comes, we exit. That's the rule. If you don't leave, you still have to leave — it's not up to you. So we must seize the time, play our roles well. Do not disappoint those watching our performance, or even point at our backs and scold.)

Nothing escapes the subtle influence of celestial omens (Shaweng said this is quite absolute, too fatalistic; you, my friend, had better not believe it. I also won't remember it — maybe I misremembered? My memory is terrible.);

I see humanity increasing like plants (nowadays there are more people than in Shaweng's era. This, more people means stronger competition; a little carelessness and society will eliminate you. Look at the plants in the wasteland — those relying seedlings, those just occupying space, not flowering, not fruiting, or just flowering but not fruiting — they will eventually be pulled out! Below is the bean number),

The sky above the branches equally inspires (Shaweng's wording is twisted; better to say: we all enjoy the sunshine's exposure. Or we all share the same blue sky — why do you bloom and bear fruit while I cannot? You are so handsome, yet I am born so ugly? You made a fortune, yet I cannot? Remember, in that bald thicket, a chill lingers…… You are already in the withered, branch‑remnant leaf‑scatter, strange blossoms blooming…… I too am young, just having written my maiden poem, my youthful pure heart — from now on, adding one more, forever united with your gentle, sweet, slightly intoxicating fragrance, we have formed an unbreakable bond…… The friend who studies punctuation says: I ponder endlessly…… What is he pondering? Is it the same topic as that Shaweng? Or……)______

Leaping with vigor in youth's spring, exceeding the peak and descending the slope (Leaping with vigor in youth's spring — what a vivid image! Quyuan also said: 'The sun and moon suddenly do not cover, spring and autumn take turns.' The sun and moon pass so quickly; even in youthful years, seize the time to do something for the world, otherwise, after passing this peak you will descend. What does descending mean? It means time waits for no one. No wonder Kongzi, facing the endless flowing waters, sighed: 'The departed flow on like this!' No matter how you say it, both of them are speaking about one topic: life's topic — cherish time, cherish life!)

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Having spoken at length, still not getting to the main point, I sit beneath the window, facing the quickly setting sunset, quietly pondering――――

The gentle breeze beneath the window among the flowers

Blowing a faint poetic feeling,

Winding around the setting sun

Now, I dare not utter that

That youthful phrase taken as a joke

"A new lyric, a cup of wine"

Last year's weather, the old pavilion and terrace.

When will the setting sun return in the west?

Nothing can be done as the flowers fall,

It seems as if the swallows have returned,

In the small garden's fragrant path I wander alone.

As the lyricist said, in late spring myriad flowers wither; a poet's work is like fallen blossoms. Now it is midsummer, the time when all things vie to grow. This just depends on who grows faster.

But my friend is out in the fields, sweating as he sows another kind of hope.

My friend,

Do not be troubled by the obstacles before you

Obstacles can be leveled

On your life's road

There are not countless obstacles

Have you leveled them?

You must continue to struggle against time

Hold your golden hope

Forever hang it on the branches of youth

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(Heart with the disaster area, emotion with the disaster area: may peace, courage, confidence, and strength accompany the people of the disaster area! Stay together!)