1 This couplet was written by Gu Xiancheng, leader of the Donglin Party in the Ming Dynasty ("Ming Lian Tan Qu" 275). Gu founded Donglin Academy in Wuxi. After giving lectures, he often commented on government affairs. Later, people used it to advocate "reading without forgetting to save the country", which still has positive significance today. The first couplet combines the sound of reading and the sound of wind and rain, which is both poetic and profound. The second line contains the ambition of harmonizing the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world. The wind is against the rain, the home is against the country, the ears are against the heart, it is extremely neat, especially the overlapping words in conjunction, like hearing the sound of books.

2 It is still of great significance today: scholars should not only read good books, but also care about the country, politics, and world affairs, and pay more attention to understanding the various situations in the world instead of reading rote books.

3 This means that scholars should not just read books, but should care about everything that happens in the world. Reading is not about reading because you can read. Reading is about reading to care about the world and benefit the world! Be a person who is beneficial to society. The scholar

The first couplet expresses that students should study hard. But reading good books is not enough for a scholar. The second line indicates that we should care about everything from small things at home to big things in the country.

I think this connection is a rhetorical device that intertextualizes meaning. It means that readers should not only care about the knowledge in textbooks, but also care about all kinds of situations in the world, so that they can be knowledgeable and versatile.