Lou Shi Ming (陋室铭) — Liu Yuxi
A free printable Chinese handwriting worksheet for Liu Yuxi's classical Chinese essay "Lou Shi Ming (陋室铭)", with pinyin, stroke-order guides, and Chinese writing practice grids.
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Original Text
山不在高，有仙则名。水不在深，有龙则灵。斯是陋室，惟吾德馨。苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青。谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁。可以调素琴，阅金经。无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形。南阳诸葛庐，西蜀子云亭。孔子云：何陋之有？
Pinyin
shān bù zài gāo， yǒu xiān zé míng。 shuǐ bù zài shēn， yǒu lóng zé líng。 sī shì lòu shì， wéi wú dé xīn。 tái hén shàng jiē lǜ， cǎo sè rù lián qīng。 tán xiào yǒu hóng rú， wǎng lái wú bái dīng。 kě yǐ tiáo sù qín， yuè jīn jīng。 wú sī zhú zhī luàn ěr， wú àn dú zhī láo xíng。 nán yáng zhū gě lú， xī shǔ zǐ yún tíng。 kǒng zǐ yún： hé lòu zhī yǒu？
English Meaning
A hill need not be high — if an immortal dwells there, it is famed. Water need not be deep — if a dragon lives there, it has spirit. This is a humble room, but my virtue makes it fragrant. Moss climbs the green steps; grass color enters the blinds. In talk and laughter, great scholars; in coming and going, no ignoramus. Here one may tune the plain qin and read golden scriptures. No strings-and-bamboo din assails the ear; no dossiers weary the form. Zhuge's hut in Nanyang; Ziyun's pavilion in west Shu. Confucius said: 'What humbleness is there?'
Key Vocabulary
Each term links to its word page with more readings and examples.
Practice the Characters
Every character page has a stroke-order animation, step-by-step breakdown, and common words.
About the Text
An inscription (ming) by Liu Yuxi (772–842), written — tradition says — after a hostile magistrate twice shrank his lodging. The humblest room becomes proof that virtue, not size, makes a dwelling noble.
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