Apparently, fireflies could not survive in the winter. But a man named Sun Kang in the Jin Dynasty, who also considered going to bed early as a waste of time, found another source of light. One night during winter, Sun Kang woke up from dreaming, and found some light coming in through the crack of his window. Curiously, he went out and saw that it was the moonlight reflected by the snow, which made it much brighter outside than it was indoors. Then, despite the cold, Sun brought his books outside and read under moonlight. Unsurprisingly, his hard work helped him to become erudite and he obtained a senior position in the government. The stories of Che Yin and Sun Kang was collectively called "鍥婅悿鏄犻洩锛圠ight from collected fireflies and reflected by snow)".
鍑垮鍋峰厜 (bore a hole on the wall to borrow the light)
As with Che Yin and Sun Kang, Kuang Heng, Han Dynasty, was also too poor to afford lamp oil. But instead of collecting insects or getting close to the nature, he used a slightly controversial method to to solve the problem. Next door to Kuang, lived a rich family, where it was always bright, even at night. So in an attempt to borrow some light from them, Kuang bore a hole through their shared wall, which allowed light to shine through. Thanks to his neighbor, who never found the damage in his wall, Kuang kept working hard with the help of the borrowed light, and finally became an outstanding scholar.
闂婚浮璧疯垶 (rising up upon hearing the crow of a rooster to practise sword playing)
While others tried find ways to utilize night time, Zu Ti, Jin Dynasty, chose to prolong daytime by getting up absurdly early. Zu and his close friend Liu Kun shared a common lofty ideal, to rejuvenate Jin Dynasty and play the part as the pillars of the state. One time, Zu heard a cock crow at midnight. He kicked Liu Kun awake, saying to him:"People say a cock which crows at midnight is inauspicious. But I don't think so. What about getting up to practice sword playing the moment we hear the cock crow from now on?" Liu agreed readily. So from then on, every day when they heard the cock crow, they got up and went to practice sword playing. This story is summarized as "闂婚浮璧疯垶 (rising up upon hearing the crow of a rooster to practise sword playing)".
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Mastery Image depicting the story of tying one's hair to the house beam, courtesy of 531springs.com
Article by Sun Jiahui (瀛欎匠鎱)
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