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Chu Hsi (1130–1200) was born in Fukien province, but he spent most of his life elsewhere. After a precocious childhood he served in a series of provincial posts and academic positions in the central government in Hangchou. But he was better known as one of the great neo-Confucian writers and philosophers of the Sung dynasty. On this occasion he incorporates his philosophy of the mind in a poem about a pond. The Chinese called the mind the “square-inch” (fang-ts’uh). Here, like a Chinese bronze mirror kept covered until needed, the mind opens to reflect the world of light and dark, sunshine and clouds. And like a pond, it is constantly refreshed by the inexhaustible water of the Tao.

Reflections While Reading—I

CHU HSI

A small square pond an uncovered mirror

where sunlight and clouds linger and leave

I asked how it stays so clear

it said spring water keeps flowing in