About the Train Reader
There is a Chinese idiom du shu san yu (读书三余), which means to use the three windows of opportunity to read. More literarily, san yu refers to the three periods of spare time.
In ancient agricultural China, where peasants and cowherds spent all day toiling in the fields, the only breaks they could find were possibly only during:
- Wintertime (冬者岁之余) - When there was little farmwork to do during this time of the year. There was no such thing as winter farming or season extension in those days.
- Nighttime (夜者日之余) – Nobody worked in the fields after sunset. At least not before the invention of the electric bulb.
- Rainy days (阴雨者时之余) – Work generally ground to a halt when it rained. These ancient people were definitely more of the outdoor types than the couch potatoes of today.
Taking a leaf from the ancient wise ones who have mastered the trick of juggling their 24-hour or 12-shi chen (时辰) schedules, I have also found an excellent window to do my reading during the day – on the train while commuting to and from work.
This is one advantage of taking public transport. You don’t have to pay attention to the traffic on the roads and can focus your mind on the words in front of you. It helps if your ride isn’t too bumpy and the train isn’t too packed.
Truly, it is amazing how much you can learn, even during a 10-minute ride. I have been finishing magazines and books on the train just by flipping through a few pages, sometimes a chapter or two, during my rides.
Let me share some of the interesting reads I have done here.
The Train Reader
Even reading your about page made me learn something new, i.e. the san yu explanation.