Xunzi's calligraphy works of encouraging learning

"Encouraging Learning" Xunzi's original text and translation are as follows:

Original text of "Encouraging Learning":

Xunzi

The gentleman said: You can’t stop learning.

Green, derived from blue, and green from blue; ice, derived from water, and cold from water. The wood is straight and the rope is in the middle. It is shaped like a wheel and its curve is regular. Although there is violence, those who no longer stand up are the ones who make it happen. Therefore, if wood is supported by a rope, it will be straight, and if metal is sharpened, it will be beneficial. A gentleman who is knowledgeable and reflects daily will know how to act without making mistakes.

I spend the whole day thinking about it, which is not as good as what I have learned in a moment; I stand on my knees and look at it, but it is not as good as climbing up to gain broad insights. When you climb high and make moves, your arms are not lengthened, but the sight is far away; when you call along the wind, the sound is not faster, but the sound is louder. A fake horse can travel thousands of miles without benefiting from its feet; a fake boat can run a thousand miles without benefiting from the water. A gentleman's life is not different, he is good at things and fake things.

When soil accumulates, mountains become the wind and rain; when water accumulates, the abyss becomes abyss, dragons emerge; when good deeds accumulate, virtue becomes virtuous, and the gods are satisfied with themselves, and the holy heart is prepared. Therefore, if you do not accumulate steps, you cannot reach a thousand miles; if you do not accumulate small streams, you cannot reach a river or sea. A horse can't take ten steps with one leap; a horse can ride ten times, but it's hard to give up.

If you persevere, the rotten wood will not be broken; if you persevere, the gold and stone can be carved. Earthworms don't have sharp claws and teeth, nor strong muscles and bones. They eat earth and drink from the underworld. They have the same intention. The six crabs kneel down and clasp their claws, which is why they are impetuous if they are not in the snake and eel's cave and have nothing to rely on.

Translation:

A gentleman says that learning should never stop. Indigo is extracted from indigo, but it is greener than indigo; ice is condensed from water, but it is colder than water.

The wood is as straight as a straightened ink rope. If it is heated and bent to make a wheel, its curvature can be consistent with a compass. Even if it is dried in the sun, it will not be straight again. This is It's because it's artificially bent like this.

So the wood is straight when measured with the ink line, and the metal tool is sharp after being ground on the whetstone. A gentleman who studies extensively and checks himself every day will be wise and clear, and his actions will not make mistakes.

I once thought about it all day, but it was not as rewarding as studying for a moment; I once stood on tiptoes and looked out, but it was not as broad as climbing up to a high place. When you wave from a high altitude, your arms are not lengthened, but people can still see it from a distance; when you shout along the wind, your voice is not louder, but the listener can hear you clearly.

Those who use carriages and horses cannot walk fast, but they can reach thousands of miles away; those who use boats cannot swim by themselves, but they can cross rivers. The nature of a gentleman is no different from that of ordinary people, he is just good at using external things.

Heaps of soil form mountains, and wind and rain rise from there; water flows merge into abyss, and dragons grow there; if you accumulate good deeds and form good character, you will gain the highest wisdom and have the ideological realm of a saint.

So, if you don’t accumulate every small step, you can’t reach a thousand miles; if you don’t collect the trickles, you can’t form a river or sea. A good horse can't go ten steps with one jump; a bad horse can go far in a carriage for ten days. Its success lies in not stopping.

If you use a knife to carve something, if you stop in the middle, the rotten wood will not be able to cut; if you keep carving, you can carve gold and stone successfully. The earthworm does not have sharp claws or strong bones, but it can eat soil and drink spring water because it is single-minded; a crab has six legs and two large clamps, but there is no place for it to live in a cave without an eel. Because of his impetuous mind.