This English version was translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The Chinese text is authoritative.
Confucius said: when three people walk together, one of them is sure to be my teacher. The Western world speaks of lifelong learning. Today’s world is prosperous as never before, and colourful in every way. In ancient China it was said: in each of the three hundred and sixty trades there is a top master. Today there are far more than three hundred and sixty trades; in how we live and how we learn, attitude matters most.
1. One day the character 我 (wǒ, “I”) lost its left-falling stroke and became 找 (zhǎo, “to look for”). To find that stroke again, “I” asked many people what the stroke stood for.
The merchant said money
The politician said power
The star said fame
The worker said wages
The student said marks…
In the end “Life” told “me” that the stroke was health and happiness; without them, everything is just floating clouds!
2. How much is a bowl of rice worth?
If a housewife steams it into a bowl of cooked rice, it is worth about one yuan; that is its most basic value;
If a merchant makes it into a few zongzi (rice dumplings), they might sell for two or three yuan;
Life is like a bowl of rice: everyone has their own value; the key is how to find it, develop it, raise it and magnify it.
3. Happiness depends on yourself; no one can pity you and share your grief;
Strength depends on yourself; no one will take pity on your weakness;
Effort depends on yourself; no one will stand still with you;
Cherishing depends on yourself; others are not willing to squander their own youth either;
Walking the whole road depends on yourself; no one can walk with you all the way to the end.
4. Life requires four kinds of cultivation:
First, being able to endure. Endure a moment’s anger and avoid a hundred days of calamity; being able to endure is not necessarily weakness.
Second, being able to see through. The greatest composure is not seeing through the vanity of the world, but still being able to love life after seeing through it.
Third, being able to take up. One must shoulder responsibility, not shirk or evade it, and face a bleak life squarely.
Fourth, being able to let go. Let go of obsession, let go of memories, let go of resentment, let go of desire — plain and calm, simple and easy.
5. If the years are calm and good, nourish body and mind;
If the times are dark, gain more seasoning.
The most perplexing thing in life is not that no one understands you, but that you do not understand yourself.
Without giving up, how can you have; without enduring loneliness, how can you see splendour?
However beautiful the past was, it is only empty talk on paper; the hardship underfoot points straight to tomorrow.
Whatever fate gives you, good or bad, much or little, must be faced seriously and met with composure. Only a life full of regrets is real life; only with occasional flaws is it genuine.
6. On the road of early life, we follow our parents;
On the road of school, we follow our teachers;
On the road of society, we follow famous people;
This has become the pattern of some people’s growth.
On life’s road, only the self is missing.
In fact, following is for learning to be independent, not for tagging along, still less for imitating. Let your heart blossom with flowers of its own and bear fruit unlike any other; though it may cost you and you may go through storms, it will make you proud and others envious.
7. Appreciating others is a level of attainment;
Treating others well is a breadth of mind;
Caring for others is a quality of character;
Understanding others is a sign of self-cultivation!
Those who deceived me broadened my knowledge;
Those who tripped me up strengthened my abilities;
Those who slandered me tempered my character;
Those who despised me awakened my self-respect;
Those who hurt me steeled my will.
8. Nothing is livelier than people watching people,
Nothing is more anxious than people waiting for people,
Nothing is more painful than people missing people,
Nothing is warmer than people helping people,
Nothing is more moving than people cherishing people,
Nothing is crueller than people harming people,
Nothing is more sinister than people scheming against people,
Nothing is more frustrating than people provoking people,
Nothing is more humiliating than people mocking people,
Nothing is more awkward than people begging people,
Nothing makes a fortune like people cheating people,
Nothing is more comfortable than people toying with people
Life is all about people and people!
