These two sentences are from a couplet written by Zhang Yuanji, a scholar in Qing Dynasty. If someone simply speculates that Zhang Yuanji is a sophisticated man in have it both ways based on his life, and then mistakenly thinks that he is "giving gifts to flatter others", it is a big mistake.
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At the beginning of the 37-year Anti-Japanese War, Mr. Zhang Lao wrote a book "The Personality of the Chinese Nation" regardless of risks, in order to educate Chinese people, especially young people, to resist rape and rebellion.
Zhang Yuanji extracted eight stories from Historical Records, Zuo Zhuan and Warring States Policy, and translated them into vernacular Chinese, all of which belonged to heroes who were generous, brave enough to die and gave their lives for righteousness, such as Gongsun Chujiu who died for loyalty and Cheng Ying who died for faith. Wu Shang died of filial piety;
Tian Guang died for keeping his word, Fan died for fighting righteousness, Jing Ke died for defending his duty, and Gao Jianli died for revenge, all of which were "still alive though dead". At the critical juncture of national peril, Zhang Yuanji advocated such a national personality, and his intention was obviously very clear.
The dignity of this nation and its own personality are all contained in the "human feelings" of "doing everything in time". Scholars use pens to serve the country, and Zhang Yuanji best interprets this sentence with his own practical actions. If you can't hold a gun, you pick up a knife and go to the battlefield to fight, so you do your best with words.