Inscription of A Humble House
The fame of a mountain is by an immortal in it, not by its height. The spirit of water is by a dragon in it, not by its depth. This is a humble house where I am the only person who regards the virtue as fragrance. Traces of lichens growing on steps show the green and a sight of green grass comes in through the screen. My laughter burst out in chatting with great knowledgeable people and the illiterate is barely among the associates. I can play an elegant melody on my plain zither and read Buddhist Scriptures in it where there is no music on the ear to be vexed and no official documents to fatigue my body. There had been Zhuge's thatched cottage in Nanyang and Zhiyun's pavilion in western Sichuan. Confucius said: "How could you consider it to be humble?"
《陋室铭》 作者:刘禹锡
山不在高,有仙则名。水不在深,有龙则灵。斯是陋室,惟吾德馨。苔痕上阶绿,草色入帘青。谈笑有鸿儒,往来无白丁。可以调素琴,阅金经。无丝竹之乱耳,无案牍之劳形。南阳诸葛庐,西蜀子云亭。孔子云:“何陋之有?”
白话文