Last night when I watched TV, I happened to
switch to Channel 1 of CCTV which was televising live Session III of Season IV
of Contest on Knowledge of Chinese Poetry and Lyrics. The former anchorwoman Ms
Dong still chaired the competition. One of the two distinguished guests present
was Professor Wang, my old acquaintance; another was a middle-aged female
professor surnamed Yang from Central South University. When the two ladies were
showing off their commonplace learning on poetry, Mr Wang kept silent and
listening. But when a thorny problem was presented, such as an astronomical one,
which the two ladies couldn’t tackle, he would give a satisfactory explanation
by quoting the classics.