The passing of time is like a man, and he never abandons day and night. This is a famous saying of Confucius, which means that time is gone like flowing water and will never return. From the Analects of Confucius "Zihan".

The original text is "Confucius said on the river: The deceased is like a man! He does not give up day and night."

It means: Confucius said by the river: "The rushing river is like this Hurry! Day and night flow continuously."

For the traditional explanation of "the deceased is like a man, not giving up day and night", Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentary on Four Books" is the best, and Zhu Xi is from the perspective of a Neo-Confucianist. Let’s summarize the meaning of this sentence into four words: “Continue to learn”, which means that we must continue to learn. This explanation is still very inspiring for our current learning attitude. The original meaning of Confucius also includes this meaning, which is consistent with Confucius's academic attitude of "not getting tired of learning" throughout his life. However, this is the essence of Confucius' thoughts when he was investigating the universe and experiencing all things. It has a more general meaning, that is, we should cherish time. Time is like water, flowing quietly around us, and we lose the best time if we don't pay attention. The saying that youth is fleeting and time is difficult is exactly this. This sentence always reminds us that we must cherish time and cherish time in the modern fast-paced life.