Chapter 384: 479 chapters, the river flowers at sunrise are redder than fire

479 chapters, the river flowers at sunrise are redder than fire.

479 chapters, the river flowers at sunrise are redder than fire.

——A branch of red apricot extending beyond the wall.

I have always had a longing for Jiangnan, a faint longing for 'green mountains faint, waters far away...' This longing comes from the depths; this 'faint', 'deep' longing lies hidden in my life, forming an awakening of some emotion in my life and the seeking of emotion's direction. Yu Qiuyu once said: a person's insignificance and greatness lie in the exhalation and inhalation of awakening to life's emotions. Needless to say, I certainly belong to the insignificant.

My longing for Jiangnan—that kind of—

"North of Lonely Mountain Temple, west of Jia Ting, the water surface is level and the clouds low."

"In several places, early orioles vie for warm trees; whose home has new swallows pecking spring mud."

"Wild flowers gradually dazzle the eye; shallow grass just covers horse hooves."

"What I love most is that the eastern lakeside walk is insufficient; in the shade of green poplars lies a white sand embankment."

"By the lakeside, a lone peak stands alone; the lone peak is inverted in the clear, secluded lake water. Looking out over the lake, the spring water has newly risen, the ripples shimmer, mist swirls, the sky's clouds hang low, water mist and clouds meet."

"By the lake, the sun first shines, new branches spread green, orioles sing, swallows dance, flower colors dazzle, fragrance drifts and penetrates, the waterside 'grass color looks distant but up close there is none', the embankment's white sand path, on both sides of the sand path, bird song and floral fragrance…"

"This Jiangnan is too full of poetic feeling and picturesque beauty."

"This. How can one not miss Jiangnan?"

"Of course I miss Jiangnan most, not only the 'river flowers at sunrise redder than fire, spring comes and the river green like blue' hazy Jiangnan beauty."

"What I miss most is still that poem, that person who wrote the poem."

"Perhaps I am too insignificant, insignificant to the point of romantic love."

"People in this world are of three grades and nine ranks, etc., not all the same."

"Some people spend their lives thinking only of big things, doing only big things; some people spend their lives thinking only of small things, doing only trivial matters (like us, Liu Guozong). Therefore Mengzi said there are the affairs of great persons and the affairs of petty persons. Someone can view the universe as small as a grain of rice: 'What matters to a husband that should worry him? He should view the universe as a grain of rice. The vast sea's surging is nothing to worry about; the myriad worldly affairs are nothing to consider. Only by managing one's own body and mind, keeping the sun and moon ever fresh and beautiful in one's chest.'"

"I have never had such a broad mind."

"And I only think of those small matters like 'planting beans south of the mountain, grass lush but bean sprouts sparse. In the morning I tidy the wild, carrying a moonlit hoe back home. The narrow path sees grass and trees grow; evening dew stains my clothes. Stained clothes are not worth regretting, as long as my wishes are not violated.'"

"This fully shows that what the old Master Meng said is completely right. No wonder the Way of Confucius and Mengzi gains much affection; even someone like me, a petty bean-lover, also likes it."

"So I still need to finish telling the story of that poem I miss most and the beautiful female poet who wrote it. As mentioned above—"

"Or go to the small riverbank and pluck a branch of spring wind"

"By the way, visit those small grasses striving to break through the ground"

"Then return home and brew a cup of new tea"

"Sit down and read a letter from a friend"

"The friend says in the spring of March the wind is mild and the day beautiful"

"He is about to publish a collection of prose poetry"

"That bit by bit of effort is like peach blossoms"

"Blooming on pristine paper"

"Those fragrant words"

"Although not as gorgeous as peach blossoms"

"Then let's just consider it done"

"A dream of green grass."

"The poet wrote for me this poem titled 'Dream of Green Grass'; its beginning uses a comma, the middle has nothing, and the end uses a period. I roughly understand the poem's meaning, but regarding the two punctuation marks in the whole poem, I am puzzled: using a period at the poem's end, does that also put a period on the whole process?"

"Carrying the doubt in my heart, I went to consult the punctuation expert Weiyun. Weiyun said: 'You need not worry; a period does not necessarily indicate the end of an matter. A period has several meanings.'"

"Several meanings?"

"Yes, several meanings."

"Having heard the expert friend say that a period has several meanings, that earlier worry seems to have eased somewhat, but I still am not at ease."

"Or should I trouble the expert friend to explain exactly what those several explanations of the period are?"

"You are really affectionate and righteous; you ask when you should, and you ask when you shouldn't. Since you asked, let me give you an explanation."

"How does the punctuation expert explain it to me? See the following breakdown................................"

"(Heart tied to the disaster area, emotion tied to the disaster area: may peace, courage, confidence, and strength accompany the people of the disaster area! Accompany)"