In Chinese, the term "读书[dú shū]" carries two meanings: reading and learning (going to school). Reading is the foundation of all knowledge acquisition.
The phrase "书中自有黄金屋" -Books hold treasures of gold.- suggests that in reading, one can find treasures as valuable as gold. To me, the written word preserves and passes down the stories of humanity. Even before the invention of paper, humans recognized the importance of recording in written form. Ancient times saw cave paintings, followed by bamboo slips. Although cave paintings could not be carried away, and bamboo slips struggled to hold lengthy writings, those precious records left us invaluable historical memories. Today, we are fortunate enough to have books made of paper, advanced printing technology, and even the Internet, which allows us to freely write and read at any time.
Words Matter |言如玉