c. 1165 / China

Chirping Insects

Tags:: appreciation,; art criticism,; poetry,; sublime

Don’t read books!
Don’t chant poems!
When you read books your eyeballs wither away, leaving the bare sockets.
When you chant poems your heart leaks out slowly with each word.
People say reading books is enjoyable.
People say chanting poems is fun.
But if your lips constantly make a sound like an insect chirping in autumn,
you will only turn into a haggard old man.
And even if you don’t turn into a haggard old man,
it’s annoying for others to have to hear you.

It’s so much better
     to close your eyes, sit in your study,
     lower the curtains, sweep the floor,
     burn incense.
It’s beautiful to listen to the wind,
     listen to the rain,
     take a walk when you feel energetic,
     and when you’re tired go to sleep.

Single page /
Email

First Name Please enter a first name.

Last Name Please enter a last name.

Address Please enter an address.

Apt./Suite

City Please enter a city.

State Please select a state.

Postal/ZIP Code Please enter a valid
zip code.

Email Address Please enter a valid email address.

Country Please select a country.

Canadian subscribers add $10; All other international subscribers add $40.

More Voices in Time

Post a Comment

Name
Email
Remember personal info?

Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)
Verification

Note: Several minutes will pass while the system is processing and posting your comment. Do not resubmit during this time or your comment will post multiple times.

Published In

Arts & Letters

About the Author

Yang Wanli, “Don’t Read Books!” Born in 1127, the same year the Southern Song dynasty was established, Wanli is referred to as “the colloquial poet” for his simple diction.

Art is a jealous mistress, and if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture, or philosophy, he makes a bad husband and an ill provider.