Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/342

 330 CHINESE LITERATURE

they otherwise would be. All editors seem to be agreed upon the four opening lines, which state that the Son of Heaven holds heroes in high esteem, that his Majesty urges all to study diligently, and that everything in this world is second-class, with the sole exception of book- learning. It is in fact the old story that

" Learning is better than house or land; For when house and land are gone and spent, Then learning is most excellent?

Farther on we come to four lines often quoted as enume-* rating the four greatest happinesses in life, to wit,

" A gentle rain after long drought, Meeting an old friend in a foreign clime, The joys of the wedding-day, One?s name on the list of successful candidates?

The above lines occur a propos of nothing in particular, and are closely followed in some editions by more precepts on the subject of earnest application. Then after reading that the Classics are the best fields to cultivate, we come upon four lines with a dash of real poetry in them :

"Man in his youth-time' s rosy glow,

The pink peach flowering in the glade .... Why, yearly, when spring breezes blow, Does each one flush a deeper shade ? "

More injunctions to burn the midnight oil are again strangely followed by a suggestion that three cups of wine induce serenity of mind, and that if a man is but dead drunk, all his cares disappear, which is only another way of saying that

" The best of life is but intoxication."

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