A motto is a type of inscription. Inscription, (in terms of the attribute of its noun), has two interpretations in the "Modern Chinese Dictionary":

(1) The words that record facts, merits, etc. on utensils and tablets;

(2) Be wary of your own words.

The term "motto" originated from Cui Yuan, a native of the Eastern Han Dynasty. "Selected Works·Cui Yuan's "Motto"" Lu Yanji's annotation: "Yuan's brother Zhang was killed by others, so Yuan killed his enemy, fled, and was pardoned. He wrote this inscription to warn himself and put it on the right side of his seat, so it is called a motto. "This is where the motto comes from. The general idea is: Cui Yuan's brother was killed. Cui Yuan avenged his brother, killed the murderer, and then fled, but was still arrested. Later, he was released after encountering an amnesty. He made a summary based on his rough experience and wrote a self-admonishment text, which was often placed on the right side of his seat, so he called it a "motto" rather than a "motto."

Later generations often use some famous aphorisms as mottos, which are often short and concise, and some even have neat contrasts, making them catchy to read. For example, Yan Ruochu, a native of the Qing Dynasty, collected ancient sayings and formed a motto: "If you don't know something, you will feel a deep shame; if you are questioned by others, you will rarely have peace." This expresses his tireless spirit of study. Lin Zexu, a famous official in the Qing Dynasty, used the word "control anger" as his motto to warn himself not to get angry. Pu Songling, the author of "Liao Zhai", carved a motto on the copper bar on which he pressed the book: "Those who have a will, things will come true. If the cauldron sinks the boat, a hundred and two Qin passes will eventually belong to Chu; if you work hard, you will not be let down by man and nature; if you lie on the salary and taste the courage, three thousand more armor can be swallowed up" Wu." This motivated him to never give up until he reached his goal, which led him to write the masterpiece "Liao Zhai". Mr. Lu Xun was late once when he was a child. He carved the word "morning" on his desk. This can be said to be the shortest and most concise motto. Zhou Enlai wrote this motto in his youth: "Have sex with courageous people and read from places without words." This expresses his ambition and extraordinary insight in his youth. Xu Teli has a couplet, which is also his motto: "Read books about the country often, and do nothing that is not beneficial to the body and mind."

There are also some poems and aphorisms of the predecessors that are regarded as mottos by later generations, such as Li Shangyin's "Looking at the virtuous countries and families in the past, success resulted from diligence and thrift, failure resulted from extravagance." For example, the sentence in "The Scholars": "It is good to study, to cultivate the fields, to learn well; it is difficult to start a business, and it is difficult to maintain success, but it is not difficult to know the difficulty." Such as the sentence in "A Dream of Red Mansions": "Everything in the world can be understood through knowledge, and human feelings "Learning is writing."

Of course, the motto only serves as a reminder, and what really matters is your own mind and heart. The best mottos don’t have to be written.