Half an acre of square pond opened, and the sky was overcast.

Ask the canal to be so clear, because there is running water at the source.

[Notes]

1. Zhu: the word Hui, the name Hui 'an, was a philosopher, educator and writer in the Southern Song Dynasty.

2. Jane: Mirror. Open: open.

3. skylight: the scene of the sky.

4. Pronouns, it, here refers to Tang Fang. That: No way. So: so, so.

5. For: Because.

The first two sentences describe the scenery, and the last two sentences discuss the scenery. Questions and answers vividly express the poet's profound and unique reading feelings and implied philosophy.

This is a famous poem that takes scenery as a metaphor. Compared with the square pond, the whole poem vividly expresses a subtle and unspeakable reading feeling. The pond is not a pool of stagnant water, but often full of living water, so it is as clear as a mirror, reflecting the sky and clouds. This situation is quite similar when the same person gets through the problem, gains new knowledge and gains a lot of benefits in reading, and raises awareness. The aura, clear thinking, fresh and lively spirit and self-satisfaction of this poem are the author's personal reading feelings as a university scholar. Although this feeling expressed in the poem is only for reading, it has profound implications and rich connotations, which can be widely understood. In particular, the phrase "ask how the canal is clear, so that there is flowing water from the source" means that the clarity of water is due to the continuous injection of flowing water from the source, which means that if people want to be clear-headed, they must study hard and constantly supplement new knowledge. Therefore, people often use it as a metaphor to constantly learn new knowledge in order to reach a new realm. People also use these two poems to praise a person's achievements in study or art, which has its deep roots. We can also get inspiration from this poem. Only when the mind is always active, open-minded, accepting different ideas and fresh knowledge, and broad-minded, can we keep thinking and keep new water flowing out. These two poems are condensed into a common idiom "the source of living water", which is used to describe the source and motive force of the development of things.