Illness

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

2.8

Word count: 376 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

I was troubled by red eyes, and someone said I should not eat sliced raw fish. I wanted to heed it, but my mouth would not agree, saying: "I am your mouth, and that is your eye. Why favor it and slight me? To forgo my food because of its ailment—that will not do." Zizhan could not decide.

Editor's review

This passage is very short, but its charm lies in turning a small dispute over "whether to avoid certain foods" into a dialogue between mouth and eye. The narrator is troubled by red eyes, and someone says sliced raw fish should be avoided; he wants to heed it, but his mouth retorts: you and I are the mouth, and that is your eye—why favor it and slight me, and forgo my food because of its ailment? The closing line "Zizhan could not decide" leaves an unresolved ending, giving the short piece a fable-like charm and tension. Its value lies not in offering a dietary conclusion for eye ailments but in presenting the ancients' delicate observation of the relationship between the body, desire, and advice: rational advice and appetite stand at odds, and the decision-maker is the one left in a quandary. The 2024 Bashu Press edition is suitable for reading as a classical short sketch or note-style piece, with emphasis on the personification of the dialogue, the sophistical logic, and the open space of "could not decide." It suits casual reading over tea, and also suits use in Chinese-language classes as short classical Chinese material for appreciation. A reminder: the text itself is not medical advice, and readers should not use it to decide whether to eat sliced raw fish during an eye ailment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Casual readers who enjoy classical short sketches and note-style curiosities
Students who want to use short classical Chinese material for language appreciation or writing practice
Readers interested in ancient views of the body, dietary advice, and everyday humor
Classical Chinese teachers or reading promoters who need short classroom cases

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking dietary or medical advice for eye ailments
Readers expecting complete stories, character arcs, and long-form narrative
Beginners with weak classical Chinese who are unwilling to check annotations
Those looking for systematic ancient health theory or a dietary therapy manual

Reading tips

Read the original text once, grasp the personified dialogue between mouth and eye, then use annotations to understand words such as kuai and red eyes.
Treat "Zizhan could not decide" as a question to ponder: why could he not decide? Write two or three sentences of your own judgment.
Read the mouth-and-eye debate aloud with friends in roles to appreciate the sophistry and humor in the short piece.
After reading, distinguish the text's playful interest from medical advice; do not use this dialogue to decide what to eat during an eye ailment.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
疾病

FAQ

Where does the core interest of this short passage lie?

The core interest lies in the personified dialogue between mouth and eye: the mouth argues for its own food and retorts by asking why its food should be forgone because of the eye's ailment, with humor in the sophistry; the closing line "Zizhan could not decide" leaves the difficulty to the reader, creating a short, open-ended space.

Who is Zizhan in "Zizhan could not decide"?

"Zizhan" is the courtesy name of Su Shi. The text ends with this form of address, describing him as unable to decide in the face of the mouth-and-eye debate. Readers may take it as the closing appearance of a figure in a short sketch and need not extrapolate detailed biographical stories beyond the text.

Can this passage serve as a dietary guide for eye ailments?

No. It is a short ancient piece with a fable-like interest, focused on dialogue, logic, and open space, not medical advice. Whether one may eat raw or cold foods, including sliced raw fish, during an eye ailment should be based on modern medical opinion, not inferred from this passage.

How can this material be used in class?

It can be used for appreciating short classical Chinese texts: have students sort out the respective reasons of mouth and eye, analyze personification and sophistry, and discuss the expressive effect of "could not decide"; it can also serve as role-reading material, short and easy to use in class.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.