Wiping the Dust at the Five-Hundred-Stone Grotto Heaven, Vol. 1

When a man’s reputation is great, his official merit original: 功名 (gōngmíng). This refers to the rank, fame, and social status achieved through the imperial examination system and government service. is deemed great; for those of lesser reputation, their merit is considered small. For some, the path to merit is smooth; for others, it is adverse. Occasionally, there is a commoner or a low-ranking scholar in their midst, and everyone looks at him and says, "This man has no official merit." Even the man himself looks at his reflection blankly and says, "I have no official merit." One person shouts this and a hundred echo him, until an error is accepted as the truth. How ridiculous it is!

Zhao Weixin, a Sub-prefectural Magistrate original: 司馬 (sīmǎ). An archaic, literary title for a Sub-prefectural Magistrate (Tongzhi). from Wujin named Huaiyu, once said: "As long as one has poetic fame, it shall last for a thousand years; thus one knows a person’s worth does not depend on the height of their office." These two lines were widely recited by the men of that time.

However, in my reading of the Compendium of Poets of the Imperial Dynasty, I found that Wang Kanggu Mengxuan, a member of the Board of Civil Appointments from Xiushui, wrote: "Acquiring a good line of verse has always been better than acquiring an official post." Li Shitong Huaimin, a scholar from Gaomi, wrote: "Completing a poem is better than receiving an appointment." Mo Taike Yuanbo, a local education official from Gaoyao, wrote: "When a poem is finished to my satisfaction, I forget I am but a guest; Heaven has granted me a body of leisure—why must I have an office?"

The noble character and carefree spirit of these three gentlemen were certainly no less than that of the Sub-prefectural Magistrate Zhao, yet they were all men of the Qianlong era The reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735–1796), often considered the high point of the Qing Dynasty's cultural and political power..

I have often felt saddened by the unfulfilled ambition of Jing Qing Also known as Jing Ke (d. 227 BCE), the famous assassin who attempted to kill the King of Qin (later the First Emperor) to save his state.. While reading the Poems of the Daoyuan Hall by Qu Wengshan named Dajun, a loyalist recluse from the start of the dynasty of Panyu, I found five seven-character regulated verses original: 七律 (qī lǜ). A demanding poetic form consisting of eight lines with seven characters each, following strict tonal and structural rules. he wrote after reading the "Biography of Jing Ke." I felt an unintentional resonance with his words.

The first poem:

Setting out the wine at Huayang, the song is not yet over;
Beautiful women, rare horses, and jade platters abound.
Why was a dagger needed to exhaust his divine courage,
Only to make the General a hero among ghosts?
Ever since that mournful wind... A reference to the "Song of the Yi River" sung by Jing Ke as he left on his suicide mission: "The wind sighs, the Yi River is cold; the hero goes, and shall never return."