Chapter 370

464 chapters, miss, you're awesome.

464 chapters, miss, you're awesome.

―――――A branch of red apricot extending over the wall.

Still, I should first mention how Xiangling learned poetry from Daiyu; otherwise, the clues in this article will keep increasing, endless, the more you sort them, the messier they become.

Friend, speaking frankly, I simply cannot handle as many plotlines as in Dream of the Red Chamber, and I cannot endure the loneliness and solitude that Cao Xueqin suffered for ten years; it even tortures people to death.

I still have to earn a living; no matter what, first fill my stomach, then chat with friends about everything, talk heart-to-heart.

I write works (I don't know if they can be called works), just like chatting with friends, like idle talk.

I always regard the readers of my works as my close friends; meeting on Qidian is fate.

Otherwise, there are tens of thousands of works on Qidian alone; among these tens of thousands of works, how did you choose "Open Your Eyes to See the World"? Your choice moved me deeply. I often turn that feeling into motivation, digging out the best in my life, writing the essence, and dedicating it to you, my friend. I do my utmost not to disappoint you.

Nowadays, in the bustling market, how many scholars can one find?

Those who can read are surely noble people, free of lowbrow tastes. In literary works, though the beautiful prose is beautiful, because it is beautiful, no one pays attention to it.

Those who can sit down to read beautiful prose are even more noble, even more free of lowbrow tastes.

Friend, I am praising you!

Because of this, I must write even better. I will say out all the best words in my heart for you to hear, so that hearing my words fills your heart with joy and pleasure.

Otherwise, in this scorching heat, friends are busy with life and can't keep up. Reading articles was originally meant to dispel bodily heat and relieve summer heat.

Only by reading good articles can one dispel heat and relieve summer heat; reading articles that make one feel suffocated and angry would be letting down friends.

I think a truly good article lets people read, lets them be entertained, gives them confidence and courage to overcome difficulties, and leads them toward brightness.

This article also includes poetry and songs, as well as other literary and artistic works.

Every reader's taste differs. You like skits, I like drama; you like war films, I like kung fu movies….

Human emotions are fickle. Now information spreads so quickly, and online works are so numerous. Especially Qidian Chinese Network, it provides an extremely vast reading space for the broad readership. In this vast space, friends can freely soar, freely choose, and also freely wield.

Qidian's works. One could say every piece has high taste, because they are screened by Qidian's editorial department, with much sand and gravel blocked at the gate.

I have read many Qidian works. My reading mainly consists of works by Qidian writers. Many works are treasures; using a popular word, they are "cool"! Indeed they are essences, even capable of being passed down through generations.

I still say: "In this scorching heat, the best way to beat the heat is stillness and purity."

As the saying goes, a calm mind brings natural coolness. Friends, calm your hearts, quietly read an essay, a sketch, a short story, a random note, cultivate your body and mind, elevate your quality of life—isn't that also a great thing? Why waste time on many trivial matters?

Look at that pretty maid Xiangling in Dream of the Red Chamber. Her duty is to serve people, equivalent to a hotel waiter (my metaphor is inappropriate; I've always wanted to do this job, but sadly had no introduction or recommendation.). Xiangling, besides work, as a little girl, can relax a bit, look at flowers and grass, learn some needlework, yet she insists on learning poetry, wanting to be a poet. In the era of Dream of the Red Chamber, if someone nowadays went to study poetry, people would surely say the maid has a bit of air in her head.

Because nowadays poetry, nobody reads it anymore (my statement isn't comprehensive—not that nobody wants it, but it's worthless; the term "poet" has become a derogatory word, often hearing people shout "Liu the poet" at me; whenever I hear that, I know their intention: they think I'm useless. I was also openly humiliated. Being publicly humiliated, feeling that taste in my heart—is it bearable? No, it's not bearable, but I must endure it.

In this world of seventy-two trades, who made you choose the unlucky profession of writing poetry? Also blame my younger self, who was a "simpleton," lacking strategic vision; if I had chosen another trade, with my wisdom I would have become rich early. But I chose to write poetry, published several poetry collections, stacked against the wall, soon rotting into a "shit collection"; do I regret my initial choice? My friend who studies punctuation marks is no better off; tests show his IQ is several times that of his classmates. Yet his classmates, running a flower and tree business, have become multimillionaires. And he and I are alike: still singing the lofty lines "The road is long and far, I will seek high and low," "The silkworm spins silk until death, the candle burns to ash, tears dry." This lifetime truly is beyond remedy.

This girl Xiangling truly has a strong temper! Why did she choose to learn poetry, a money‑losing pursuit?

This strong‑tempered girl said to Daiyu: "We have met and understood each other by fate; please at least teach me poetry! I have already made poetry part of my life; this is my fortune, my choice, which cannot be changed in this lifetime."

Look, this girl's attitude is how resolute!

Daiyu herself was originally an enthusiastic girl; seeing Xiangling's attitude so firm and decisive, she had the spirit of a hero who goes forward and never returns. Without hesitation she told Xiangling: "Miss, well done! If you truly want to learn poetry, I will teach you; you are willing to learn, I am willing to teach."

Xiangling studying poetry reminds me of an ancient story——

Once, Kongzi wanted to go to the Nine Yi.

The Nine Yi was a place with blocked transportation. Due to the blocked transport, the economy was extremely backward; the people there were still unenlightened, having no civilization to speak of, let alone accepting advanced culture.

"Ah, Master, you can't go to that place; why would you think of going there? The people there are too ignorant; how could you associate with ignorant folks? They are basically a bunch who only know eating and drinking…." Kongzi's disciples all urged him not to go there.

But Kongzi did not listen.

He told his students his reason: "Haven't you heard that where the sun rises is a barren land? Yet the place where the sun rises has become a destination longed for by all under heaven. Haven't you heard the saying 'A gentleman dwelling there, what shame is there?'"

"A gentleman dwelling there, what shame is there?" Kongzi's words are sour, the sourness too strong. I translate it plainly: "

"Where a gentleman lives, what is there that is blocked?"

Kongzi's students finally understood why the teacher wanted that backward, blocked place: to spread civilization.

Yes, where the sun rises, what darkness could still be there?

Dusk enters tall buildings, enters fields, like mountains and forests, enters the earth. In the ever‑darkening twilight, Kongzi's words "A gentleman dwelling there, what shame is there?" seem to bring a hint of comfort and light to my lonely heart.

In this hint of comfort and light, I again thought of those lines by Tang Dynasty's Liu Yuxi——

"Mountains need not be high; if there are immortals, they gain fame. Waters need not be deep; if there are dragons, they become spirited. This is a humble abode, but my virtue makes it fragrant…." Liu Yuxi was a scholar; scholars are best at finding words to comfort themselves.

In the past, scholars had to pursue an official career to become wealthy, to buy houses and such. Not like now, when any channel can make money; someone who barely knows a few characters, after wandering outside for a few years, if they get lucky, can have everything.

It wasn't possible before. Look, that Tang Dynasty surnamed Liu studied for most of his life, yet in the end he still couldn't buy a house; he only lived in a humble dwelling, self‑comforting and self‑chanting: "Mountains need not be high; if there are immortals, they gain fame. Waters need not be deep; if there are dragons, they become spirited. This is a humble abode, but my virtue makes it fragrant…." Kongzi said: "What shame is there?"

Although "Mountains need not be high; if there are immortals, they gain fame. Waters need not be deep; if there are dragons, they become spirited." is a kind of self‑consolation, this self‑consolation carries a bitterness and hardship that ordinary people find hard to understand; yet how could "This humble abode, but my virtue makes it fragrant" not also be a spirit?

This "This humble abode, but my virtue makes it fragrant" expresses a spirit of unyielding, unwilling, unsubmissive, never bowing to fate——

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(Heart tied to the disaster area, emotion tied to the disaster area: May peace, courage, confidence, and strength accompany and stay with the people of the disaster area!)