An easygoing mindset

A poet is walking down a narrow path of grasslands, with a small hand plow on his shoulder under the moonlight. He spent the entire day cultivating wildland but looks relaxed. As far as his wishes are kept alive, nothings can bother him even if heavy weeds cover up his beat spouts or evening dew soaks his clothes. What could his wish be? He must want to lead a peaceful life at the countryside as he dreamt of. It draws a sharp contrast against the life of a nobleman working around the clock to build wealth and reputation. In fact, the poet served as the governor of a small prefecture before quitting the job in less than three months. On the surface, the rationale was a refusal to get swayed by the government stipend, but in fact he had the record of resigning and returning home several times. This must be evidence that the poet was debating whether he should enjoy abundance in a mundane life or pursue a peaceful life at the expense of discomforts and hunger.

The poet readily left for a countryside when he had no trouble leading a life as a government official, and this shows that he considered his time in public office as “time locked up in a cage.” After escaping the cage, it was brought home to him that “there is distractions in the vast yard out there, and the empty room is full of freedom.” And the poet enjoyed his pastoral life to the fullest in the belief that “perusal is unnecessary when it comes to reading scriptures; browsing for a rough understanding should suffice.”