One porridge and one meal are hard-earned, which tells us to cherish food, be diligent and frugal, and don’t waste it!

From sowing to harvesting, a grain of grain needs to undergo growth and development, irrigation and weeding, and prevention of pests and diseases. It takes a quarter to grow up slowly, and then the results are harvested by workers, put into warehouses, and then processed. Only then can they become the raw materials for making delicious food, and then after we cook them carefully, they will become porridge and a meal on the table. Therefore, we must cherish food and understand that porridge and a meal are hard-earned!

Relevant meaning sources:

Meaning: A meal of porridge or a meal should be thought of as hard-earned; half a thread or half a thread of clothing should also be thought of often. The production of these materials is very difficult.

Source: "Zhu Zi's Family Instructions" by Zhu Bailu, late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty.

Excerpt from the original text: Get up at dawn, sweep the courtyard, and make sure it is clean inside and outside. When you feel faint, you will rest, lock the door, and check it yourself. A porridge and a meal, when you think about the difficulty of getting there; half a thread, half a thread, always remember that material resources are difficult.

Translation: Get up at dawn every morning, first wet the ground inside and outside the courtyard with water, and then sweep the floor to make the inside and outside of the courtyard tidy; at dusk, you have to rest and personally check the doors to be locked. For a piece of porridge or a meal, we should think about the hard-won; for half a thread or half a thread of clothing, we should always think about how difficult it is to produce these materials.