Translation: Diligent study is like a spring seedling, which does not appear to grow, but actually grows slowly every day; laziness and indolence in study are like a sharpening stone, which appears to have no wear and tear. It's actually decreasing every day.

Studying diligently is like a seedling that rises in the spring, but it will grow if you don’t see it growing; dropping out of school is like a whetstone, but you will lose every day if you don’t see its growth. ——Jin Tao Yuanming

Appreciation: This sentence vividly illustrates the importance of learning and accumulation day after day. If you think that it doesn’t matter if you are lazy for a day, you will eventually become like a whetstone. Loss until he becomes useless.

Enlightenment: This sentence tells us that we must study hard and not get tired because of boredom, but persist.

Extended information:

1. Introduction to Tao Yuanming

Tao Yuanming (352 or 365-427), named Yuanliang, also known as Qian, private posthumous title " "Jingjie", known as Mr. Jingjie in the world, was born in Chaisang, Xunyang (now Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province). A great poet and poet from the late Eastern Jin Dynasty to the early Southern Song Dynasty. He once served as Jiangzhou Jijiu, Jianwei Army Joiner, Zhenjun Army Joiner, and Pengze County Magistrate. His last official career was as Pengze County Magistrate. He abandoned his post after more than eighty days and retired to his countryside. He is China's first pastoral poet and is known as "the sect of reclusive poets in ancient and modern times". He has "The Collection of Tao Yuanming".

2. Literary Thought

Tao Yuanming was a great thinker in the Middle Ages. His literary thoughts are an important part of the literary thoughts of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. His understanding of truth not only pays attention to the truth of history and life, but also pays more attention to the truth of thoughts, emotions and ambitions, which is the most perfect artistic truth. At the same time, his understanding of nature also reflects the uniqueness of his literary thoughts.

He does not teach or elaborate, but pays attention to the free expression of emotions and the naturalness of poetry. This is a very high state. However, whether we advocate truth in art or praise nature in literature, they are both for the purpose of expressing life in a hearty and detached way. This is the soul of Tao Yuanming's literary thought.

Tao Yuanming had a very clear understanding of the hypocrisy and darkness of social and human affairs, so his seclusion was not a passive escape from reality, but a profound positive significance of criticizing social reality. When he fell into the predicament of hunger and cold during his long life of seclusion, although he was hesitant and wavered, he still did not surrender to reality in the end. He would rather be poor and stick to his integrity for the rest of his life.

It is said that the county official sent a postal supervisor to see him, and the county official asked him to dress up to welcome him. He sighed and said: "How can I bow down to the village children for five bushels of rice!" From then on, it became a good saying not to bow down for five bushels of rice. Tao Yuanming likes to drink. "Send wine as a trace" expresses his unwillingness to join the corrupt ruling group, showing the poet's indifferent and far-sighted mind and aloof and noble character. It is precisely because of this that his works are plain and simple but poetic. abundant.

Tao wrote more than 140 poems and essays, and quoted allusions from Liezi and Zhuangzi as many as 70 times. It cannot but be said that he had a deep acceptance of Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts. Tao Yuanming admired the natural aesthetics of Lao and Zhuang, and at the same time lived and worked in the countryside. Naturally, pastoral life became his aesthetic objectification, and thus achieved the glory of Chinese pastoral poetry.

Tao Yuanming’s poetic thought of taking nature as beauty and truth as beauty shines in the poetry, illuminating the character’s personality and making readers strongly feel the poet’s arrogant and unyielding personality charm in pursuit of freedom; Reflected in the content, it introduced pastoral life into the poetry world and opened up a new world for the development of Chinese poetry; penetrated into the art, it produced a simple and distant artistic realm and an aesthetic style that dilutes nature.

This is the great poet Tao Yuanming. For thousands of years, his character, his poetry, his pastoral, and his leisurely style have become the objects of worship and study by later poets and readers. , which is enough to illustrate the endless vitality of his aesthetic thoughts.

Baidu Encyclopedia: Tao Yuanming