Selected Couplets from the Study: Reading (1)
When it comes to reading couplets, my favorite is Mr. Lu You’s two poems:
Ten thousand volumes of ancient and modern books fade away forever, and the dim dawn through a window sends the fleeting years away.
Mr.'s original poem is composed of seven rhymes, and the title of the poem is "Inscribed on the Wall of Laoxue'an":
The livelihood in this life has become more and more desolate, and there are only a few rafters in the bamboo thatch shàn mao máo.
Thousands of books, ancient and modern, disappear forever, and the dim dawn through a window sends the fleeting years away.
The common people are happy and have no worries. They are old and withered and sleep less.
Call the lame boy from Nancun, make tea and sweep the floor.
This seems to be the purest reading couplet. The upper and lower couplets do not talk about anything else but reading. There is no secular utilitarian purpose, just enjoying the fun of reading itself - immersing yourself in a lot of books, traveling to ancient times for a while, and returning to reality for a while; I saw the window outside the window was dark for a while, and then white again. (Dawn), day after day, year after year, just passing by like this.
However, in Mr. Fang Weng’s poem, “The dusk through the window sends the fleeting years away” does not refer to reading, but to his simple and repetitive life day after day. But if you take these two sentences alone as a reading couplet, you can understand them as "reading all day and night, forgetting to eat and sleep".
Ji Xiaolan, a great talent around Qianlong, was a life-long book addict. He once joked that he was "a silverfish in the Book of Life and Death", like a moth in the book, burrowing into the book and refusing to come out. It is also very vivid and picturesque.
Mr. Yang Yisun (1812-1881), a master of seal script in the late Qing Dynasty, once wrote a poem - "Standing on a building a hundred feet high, looking at thousands of books", reading it makes people full of pride and excitement. Self.
Let’s first look at the first couplet “A hundred feet upstairs”. Although there are many high-rise buildings above "100 meters" nowadays, in ancient times, this "100-foot building" could be regarded as beyond the world. It could "not be afraid of the floating clouds to obscure its eyes" and communicate with the spirit of heaven and earth alone. Li Bai also said, "A dangerous building is a hundred feet high, and you can pick the stars with your hands"!
Look at the second line of "Looking across thousands of books", in which the word "looking" is written with full force, calmness and joy. When Mr. Shan Tianfang talks about storytelling, he often likes to say that the heroic swordsman has profound skills, "his eyes are like lamps". Just imagine, this is what it feels like to "look broadly". The two eyes are like two searchlights, trying to shine a light on everything in the thousands of books - what is written literally and what is hidden behind the words.
Speaking of "eyes like lamps", let's look at the Qing Dynasty scholar Zhang Tingji (1768-1848)'s "When I hear from afar, my heart is always filled with good friends, and I still have a clear eye when I see different books". My old eyes are dim, but when I see a good book, my eyes will still shine!
Mr. Tan Yankai (1880-1930), who was the chairman of the Republic of China government, wrote a poem: "Sitting in the book city, he looks domineering, evenly dividing the moon, the earth, and the foot of the sheep."
Everyone looks at the first couplet, "Sitting in the book city, I am domineering." The study is my small universe, and I have the final say on my territory. The word "domineering" vividly depicts his "arrogant and arrogant" and "arrogant" mood in the study.
The second line of the second line "The Moon and the Earth are equally divided and the Foot is the Sheep", which probably means - the moonlight falls gently on the earth, and I roam freely and carefree under the moonlight.
Why do you say "divide the moon and the earth equally"? Because the moonlight shines on the earth, the rich will not get one more point, and the poor will not get one less point. They are impartial and everyone is equal, so it is said to be "equally divided." It is exactly what Su Dongpo said in "Ode to the Former Red Cliff" - "You can take it without restraint and use it inexhaustibly. This creator has endless treasure. And I and my son are the most suitable." The so-called "three parts of the world are bright moonlit nights, and two parts are Yangzhou" is just the poet bragging about his beloved Yangzhou.
The word "Xiangyang" in the second line comes from "Li Sao", which means "wandering, lingering, wandering". In human words, it means "wandering around casually". The original sentence in "Li Sao" is as follows:
The road is long and long, and I will search up and down.
There are still horses left to drink in the salty pond, and there are always more bridles left than hibiscus trees.
Fold the wood to brush against the sun, and chat happily to look at the sheep.
Wangshu in the front will lead the way, and Feilian in the back will rush to his subordinates.
Speaking of this, I accidentally thought of Mr. Tan, a fellow from Hunan who once wrote a song "Ode to the Baby":
Sitting alone in the pond is like a tiger crouching,
The green poplar tree Nourish your spirit.
If I don’t speak first when spring comes,
Which insect dares to make a sound?
Since the second line says "equally divided", it might be better to change the first line to "stand alone".
Sheng Yu (1850-1899), a talented scholar from the Qing Dynasty royal family, wrote: "Planting bamboo is like cultivating good children, holding the power of writing to worship the small princes." Although the tone is gentle, it is also a generous and grand gesture—— Alone in the study, looking around at the shelves full of books, I feel like a prince inspecting his ministers and his people.
The following is the ink of the modern educator Mr. Ma Xiangbo (1840-1939), "Reading is everywhere in the pure land, and behind closed doors is the deep mountains." His tone is not as high-profile as the previous ones, but it is surprising in the ordinary, his words are close and his purpose is far-reaching, and his artistic conception is very unusual. Although "Bai Chi Lou", "Fan Fan", "Domineering", "Princes", etc. are very ambitious, they can't help but have a big air, which cannot be achieved unless they are rich and powerful. Ji Lunquan passed the Jinshi examination and worked as a deputy envoy for the Salt Transport of Zhejiang and Zhejiang Provinces. He had social status and economic foundation. Tan Yankai, Sheng Yu and others were even more wealthy and powerful than ordinary scholars.
Mr. Tao Yuanming once wrote, "The house is in a human environment, without the noise of carriages and horses. How can I ask you? Your mind is far away and you are biased." This saying, "Reading can be found in the Pure Land, and behind closed doors, you can find yourself in the deep mountains." It seems to have the same meaning but the same purpose. Not to mention the bright moon in the sky and the lush greenery, but also on the crowded subway or in the noisy shopping mall. Where is this not a pure land for reading? Every fragment of time is precious. Opening a book at any time and entering the state at any time are the basic skills for scholars in today's fast-paced life.
Of course, it would be better to go home and hide in the hut. As soon as the door is closed, you will be hiding in the mountain of books like the sea, regardless of winter, summer, spring and autumn. There are no four seasons in the mountains, and you don't know the year when it is cold. You don't know the Han Dynasty, regardless of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Just wait for "dinner is ready, come out to Missi" - and then pull you back to the real world.
Speaking of the scholar’s hut, Mr. Huang Yi (1744-1802), a painter, calligrapher, and seal engraver in the Qing Dynasty, wrote: “A small house is like a boat that can accommodate a knee; different books become friends and we share the same heart.” - A small house It's like a boat, you can only put yourself in it. The material conditions are a bit more difficult, but so what? I have good books and unusual "unusual books". Like old friends, we welcome the dusk and bid farewell to the passing years together, understanding each other and having endless fun. Apart from that, what else can I ask for?
Yuan Kewen (1890-1931), the second son of Yuan Shikai, wrote: "There is music, music, and music, but no noise of carriages and horses." This famous gentleman, Mr. Yuan, is full of style, and his writing is also unconventional.
(To be continued)
Attached: Other ink marks