This entry explains Chinese idiom “Da yan bu can”. Derived from Analects and shaped by Zhu Xi’s annotation, it criticizes shameless empty boasting, warning grand claims seldom get backed by real deeds.
A person of riches and rank should be magnanimous, and never be envious or stingy. Otherwise he would be acting like a mean person, and how then could he really enjoy his riches?
The pursuit of Daoist cultivation is a recurring theme in classical Chinese literature. For instance, Journey to the West’s Sun Wukong voyages to the Spirit Terrace, Square-Inch Mountain seeking immortality from Patriarch Subodhi (Subhuti).