1. Come out of the mud without being stained. ——Song Dynasty Zhou Dunyi's "Shuo of Love Lotus"

Translation: Grows in the mud but is not polluted by the mud.

2. It’s not hard, it’s polished but not phosphorus. It’s not called white, it’s nirvana. ——The Analects of Confucius Yang Huo by Confucius in Pre-Qin Dynasty

Translation: It cannot be polished thin and dyed black. It is a metaphor for the character of steadfastness and purity, which will not change due to external influences.

3. In the mud of Zhuonao, cicadas are sloughed off from the filth, except for the floating dust, and do not get the filth of the world. They are immersed in the mud but not soaked. ——Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty, "Historical Records·The Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng"

Translation: Automatically stay away from the muddy water, get rid of the filth like a cicada sheds its shell, transcend the dust, do not be contaminated by the dirt of the world, be a pure white person A person who is clean and comes out of the filth without being stained. A metaphor for keeping oneself clean.

4. If you are helpful in doing something, and if you don’t get rid of the mud, you should go to the Holy Master. ——Western Jin Dynasty·Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms·Shu·Qin Mi Biography"

Translation: It describes being coiled in the mud without being polluted, and it is a metaphor for people who fail to achieve their ambitions but do not lose their integrity.

5. If you keep your body clean and keep the Tao, you will not fall into evil traps like others. ——Chun Qiu·Yan Ying "Yan Zi Chun Qiu·Neipian Wen Shang"

Translation: It refers to keeping oneself pure, even if people in the world do bad things, oneself will not join in the bad.