Tilling and Reading Life ⁽⁶⁾

In the main hall of the National Library reading room hangs a pale blue poster; its title is the line from the Analects, "Reading is like farming; diligent tillage brings an abundant harvest." I like this poster—it is clean and elegant, without a speck of…

Saturday; the weather in Beijing was sunny and warm. Though there was light haze, it did not interfere with outdoor exercise. My wife and I rode our bikes to the small vegetable plot at the foot of the Western Hills for "spring plowing" — each…

Unwittingly, Zizhuyuan Park had already filled with autumn colors. The autumn chrysanthemums were in full bloom and fallen blossoms lay scattered; nature's autumn dress was gorgeous and beautiful. I often trudged back and forth along the two-point line between home and the library, backpack on…

A few days ago I returned to my hometown to visit the elderly at home. I also took the chance to renovate the old country house; work on the house had started shortly after this year's Spring Festival. But several new projects, which my father…

This May Day, I decided to take a proper break. I declined all appointments; when relatives came to Beijing for tourism, I did not accompany them to the crowded popular sights. I chose to spend a few leisurely days with my family. We did not…

The craftsman Shi went to Qi, and when he reached Quyuan, he saw an oak tree at the shrine. Its crown could shade several thousand oxen; measuring it, it was a hundred spans around; it rose eight hundred feet above the hill before branching, and…