“I sighed long enough to cover my tears, lamenting how difficult the people’s lives are.” It means “I sighed deeply and couldn’t help but shed tears, lamenting how troubled the people’s lives are.” This sentence is a famous line in "Li Sao" written by Qu Yuan, an outstanding statesman, thinker and great patriotic poet during the Warring States Period. It reflects Qu Yuan's thoughts of patriotism and love for the people.
Qu Yuan lived in the Chu State in the middle and late Warring States Period. At that time, the State of Chu was still a country dominated by the "patriarchal system". The court had long been dominated by large aristocratic families, competing for power and profit with each other. The people were in dire straits, and the country was declining day by day. At that time, after the Qin State implemented Shang Yang's reforms, it quickly became stronger and "wanted to annex the princes." The struggle between Qin and Chu entered a life-and-death stage. Although Qu Yuan was born in the Qu family of the royal family, in the face of national crisis, in order to revitalize the Chu State and improve people's lives, he advocated reforms and carried out diplomacy of "building strong neighbors with foreign countries" to realize the ideal of national peace and prosperity. Due to the collusion between the nobles of the Chu State and the anti-Chu forces of the Qin State, the reform failed, and Qu Yuan himself suffered various persecutions. Despite the adversity, Qu Yuan still cared about the people and insisted on sharing the hardships with the people and the motherland. He picked up his pen and used poetry as a weapon to violently expose and criticize the crimes of the corrupt court. Qu Yuan's loyal and patriotic thoughts and practices were deeply respected by the people and became the soul of the Chinese nation.
The famous saying "Be anxious when the world is worried first, and be happy when the world is happy later" comes from the "Yueyang Tower" written by Fan Zhongyan, a writer in the Song Dynasty. It means "you should be sad before the world is sad, and enjoy after the world is happy." This famous saying is a high-level summary of Fan Zhongyan's thoughts on worrying about the country and the people. Since his youth, Fan Zhongyan has determined to be a person who is beneficial to the world. After serving as an official for decades, he rebelled against Yan Zhijian in the court and launched the Qingli New Deal. Although this political reform failed due to the opposition of conservative forces, it created the atmosphere of scholar-bureaucrats discussing politics in the Northern Song Dynasty and spread reform ideas. Everywhere he went, Fan Zhongyan built water conservancy projects and made outstanding political achievements. He truly achieved the goal of "serving an official for one term and benefiting a place." In life, he was rigorous in managing his family and very frugal. At home, his wife and children only needed food and clothing for food and clothing. Until his later years, Not even a decent mansion was built. He attached great importance to cultivating talents. Many of the wise men at that time grew up under his guidance and recommendation.
"Death means that everything is in vain, but the sorrow is not the same as that of all nine states." This is a sentence from the poet Lu You's "Shi'er". This poem was written by Lu You before his death. It is his last and most famous poem. What the poet never forgets is not personal life and death, but the unity of the motherland. The poet warned his son: On the day when the Song Dynasty army completely regains the northern territory, when you are worshiping your ancestors, you must not forget to tell me the news of victory. The mood of this poem is tragic, but the lines are filled with an optimistic spirit that firmly believes in victory in the end.
“Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world” is the famous saying of Gu Yanwu, a patriotic thinker in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties of our country. At that time, facing the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, Gu Yanwu issued a call that "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world." The reason why this sentence has been passed down to this day lies in the thought-provoking word "common man". These two words tell us: The world belongs to the people, not to individual people. Therefore, everyone has an unshirkable responsibility for the rise and fall of "the world". Gu Yanwu's proposition that "every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world" is a manifestation of patriotism and love for the people with lofty ideals in the past dynasties.