From Su Shi's Yu Qian Monk Lu Yunxuan

The full text is as follows:

It is better to eat without meat than to live without bamboo.

No meat makes people thin, no bamboo makes people vulgar.

People are thin and fat, but most people are incurable.

Others scoff at this, so high that they are stupid.

If you still chew this, how can there be Yangzhou cranes in the world?

It means living without bamboo is better than eating without meat. Without meat, people will be thin, without bamboo, people will be vulgar. The reason is that people are thin and fat, and it is difficult to cure them.

Extended data:

Su Shi likes bamboo very much. He would rather not eat meat than have bamboo as his company. They all have quite elegant taste in their living environment, which is a high evaluation of bamboo. Since ancient times, there have been four friends: Mei, Zhu, Ju and Lan.

Humanize these plants, and bamboo represents otherworldly, fresh and elegant. This sentence also represents the harmonious coexistence between man and nature, which complement each other. Bamboo must grow where you live, even if it is too far away from the city and there is no meat to eat. Without meat, at best, people lack strength, and life without bamboo will make people fall into the ranks of laity.

Bamboo, with its elegant demeanour and quality, has become the embodiment and model of noble personality. In bamboo, we can see the integrity and character of being a man, infatuation and persistence-the reason why the literati of the past dynasties, such as "dancing proudly in the wind" and "holding bamboo in white", are obsessed with bamboo forests is not only to escape from the real society, but also to find a spiritual sustenance. Indulge in nature is a way to make up for psychological defects and obtain temporary psychological balance. Green bamboo forests and quiet and elegant environment have become an ideal place to go.