Su Shi 蘇軾
c. 1071 · Song China · Teasing his tall younger brother Su Zhe, then a schoolmaster in Chenzhou (Wanqiu)
The teacher of Wanqiu is as tall as a hill; the school of Wanqiu is as small as a boat. He bends his head all day reciting classics and histories, and when he suddenly yawns and stretches, the roof hits his head.
宛丘先生長如丘，宛丘學舍小如舟。
常時低頭誦經史，忽然欠伸屋打頭。"Teasing Ziyou"
In the same thread
Kamo no Chomei 鴨長明
1212 · Kamakura Japan · In his hut in the hills, after living through a great fire, a whirlwind, a famine and an earthquake
Only this temporary hut is peaceful and free of fear. Small as it is, there is a bed to lie on at night and a seat to sit on by day. It lacks nothing as a shelter for one body.
たゞかりの庵のみ、のどけくしておそれなし。ほどせばしといへども、夜臥す床あり、ひる居る座あり。一身をやどすに不足なし。Hojoki (An Account of My Hut)
Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫
c. 824 · Tang China · Said to have been written while demoted to the provinces
A mountain need not be high: with an immortal on it, it has a name. Water need not be deep: with a dragon in it, it has power. This is a humble room, but my virtue makes it fragrant.
山不在高，有仙則名。水不在深，有龍則靈。斯是陋室，惟吾德馨。"Inscription on a Humble Room"
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero
46 BC · Roman Republic
If you have a garden in your library, nothing will be lacking.
si hortum in bibliotheca habes, deerit nihil.Letters to Friends 9.4, to Varro
Gil Jae 吉再
early 15th century · Goryeo and Joseon Korea
In a thatched house by the stream I live alone, at ease. The moon is white, the wind is clear, and there is joy to spare. No visitors come; only the mountain birds talk. I move my couch to the bamboo bank and lie there reading.
臨溪茅屋獨閑居 月白風淸興有餘
外客不來山鳥語 移床竹塢臥看書Yaeun jip, "Setting Down My Mind"
1 in 100 Billion · The social network of those who came before us