— by Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty) Prince Dan of Yan was skilled at nurturing brave retainers,With a will to take vengeance against the mighty Qin.He gathered the finest among a hundred men,And at the year’s end, he found Master Jing.A gentleman dies for his soulmate;Drawing his sword, he departed from the capital of Yan.White…
Jingwei carries tiny twigs in her beak,Intending to fill the vast blue sea.Xingtian dances with his shield and battle-axe,His fierce resolve forever remains. Though mortal life is spent, no sorrow lingers;Transformed into strange beings, they harbor no regrets.The fierce ambitions of the past still burn within,But how could they ever wait for a time…
Han Feizi extends the jade metaphor: legal statecraft, like raw jade, is valuable yet opposed. Rulers must back reformers against elites.
Han Feizi tells He Shi’s jade story: true talent/statecraft is often misjudged and persecuted before its value is revealed.
– By Zhang Hua (Western Jin Dynasty) The wren is but a tiny bird –Born among weeds and wild grasses,Raised beneath garden hedges.It flutters and gathers within ordinary spaces,Yet its needs for life are fully met.