On the eve of the Opium War, Lin Zexu wrote "Ten Useless Mottoes" in Qian Shan after visiting Macau in September 1839, aiming at the disadvantages of the declining world:

Bad intentions, feng shui is useless;

It is useless for unfilial parents to serve God.

It's no use making friends if brothers are not in harmony;

It is useless to study badly;

It is useless to be fooled by cleverness;

It is useless to be arrogant and knowledgeable;

If you are unlucky, you will be bored;

It's no use taking other people's money for nothing;

Medicine is useless at the expense of vitality;

Lust, lust is useless.