# Post Two

> Xin Qiji's "Chou Nu Er": as a youth he forced sorrow into verse; now that he knows it fully, he only says what a cool autumn day it is.

Published: 2026-10-27

Xin Qiji, "Chou Nu Er: Written on a Wall Along the Road to Boshan"

When I was young, I didn't know the taste of sorrow. I loved to climb the high towers. I loved to climb the high towers, and forced out sorrow to write new verses.

Now I've tasted every kind of sorrow. I start to speak, then stop. I start to speak, then stop, and say instead: "What a fine, cool autumn day!"