As a young man, Wáng Chōng (27–97) studied freely, literally and figuratively speaking, in the bookshops and stalls of Luòyáng, standing and reading away the days and nights, neglecting to eat and sleep.

According to the Guǎnzì(attributed to the early legalist philosopher Guǎn Zhòng, d. 644 BCE): "The walls have ears; there is always the peril of hidden plans leaking out to the world".

Analects ("Xiang Dang") says "Grain satisfactorily fine, Meat sliced satisfactorily thin." The primary purpose of food is to nourish; everyone should eat their full. "Each type of grain has its own flavor; something for everybody to fill up with," wrote Wáng Chōng in his celebrated work Lún Héng.

Hàn Feizi ("Wu Du") wrote: "Those who cannot get enough coarse feed grain to fill their bellies shouldn't strive after meat and millet dishes".

One feeds one's visiting family and friends, each according to age and rank and differently from one's own ordinary food. Cultivated people should go to great lengths and personal sacrifice to feed their guests properly with the maximum quantities and appropriate tastey dishes. Mèng Hàorán of the Táng wrote:

"Old friends prepared a millet chicken dish Inviting me into their rural house."

And a poem by Dù Fǔ goes:

"In night and rain the spicey greens of spring, In blazing heat the millet gathering."

The ‘spicy greens' are jiǔcài. (Japanese nira, Korean puchu)

Spinning thread, according to the little GB reader, refers to household chores in general; shì jīn is short for shì zhí jìn zhì (‘serve with towel and comb', i.e. wait on master and mistress hand and foot). The wéifáng is the curtained bedchamber of the husband and principal wife. Keeping a concubine in very ancient China was a priviledge limited to the aristocracy, extending down to the shì rank. According to the Zuǒzhuàn, cited in the old Cíhǎi: "By ancient custom, the Son of Heaven is entitled to nine women, a feudal king seven, a grand counselor one wife and two concubines, an ordinary official a wife and one concubine, and commoners are allowed one wife for each man, one man for each woman". Zhōu Xìngsì wrote the Qiānzì wén for a crown prince's benefit, so it speaks to this institution. Things had changed somewhat over the twelve turbulent centuries since the Spring and Autumn Period. Community norms in the fifth century varied; the Chinese have long said "when entering a village enquire about the norms and customs; when crossing a border, find out about the laws and prohibitions". The harmonious bond between husband and wife was only an ideal in many instances. A variation on the concubine/female slave theme was a qiéyíng, or ‘servant girl' that a bride was allowed to bring along into a marriage to help with household chores and economic activity.

A probable typographical mistake in the reader: the character for purity jié as in the earlier zhēn jié repeated when it should be a variant, pronounced xié and used in a comparative sense—yuánxié (‘moon-like', dead literally ‘circle-like'). (The avoidance of redundancy in graphs is a main theme of this work.) How elegant the fan held by the refined lady, how bright the light of the fine silver candleholders. The exquisite personal accesories and the elegance of the private chamber. In Zhōu Xìngsì's day, a poem by his contemporary Jiāng Yān (444–505) entitled "Bān Jiéyú's Fan" had similar language, cited in the reader:

"Silken fan like moon so round and big cast out by simpleness amidst intrigue."

This sad poem refers to the story of the woman Bān Jiéyú of Hàn Chéngdì's reign, a talented harem entertainment official brilliant at poetry and song, once the emperor's favorite, who was cast into disfavor and banished by jealous false accusations and trickery. She wrote of her pain in languorous verse.

The siesta at noon has long been a Chinese custom, no different from Zhōu Xìngsì's day. Nowadays, where practicable, it is ideally two hours long; employees resume work at 15:00. Schools, factories, and many other public institutions have quiet facilities for this rest. Lánsǔn refers to the lattice mattress of green bamboo, commonly called a mièxī. Xiàngchuáng refers to an elegant bedstead of carved ivory, again indicating the luxury and ostentaion of the bedchamber in former times.

The current fondness in China for drinking parties with musical and vocal accompaniment did not just start with the karaoke craze from Japan; evidently this was a common pastime of those who could afford it and their guests in Zhōu Xìngsì's time as well. Dù Fǔ of the Táng later wrote:

The host says that I look like I'm in pain Lift the cup, ten full rounds again! Now still sober after those ten more I feel my mind is stronger than before.

Upon taking the cup in hand, one was expected to down ten cupfuls of wine in quick succession before putting it down again. People in former times commonly said "Human life is fifty years".

The "Great Preface" of the Book of Poems says: "When words are not enough to say it all, unconciously the hands then start to dance, the feet as well begin to rise and fall". Here, men are encouraged to abandon their inhibitions and shyness and dance to the rhythm. They would dance individually with their male party companions, as is still sometimes the case in relatively conservative Asian countries like Korea where modesty is highly valued.

Only the sons of the principal wife, future queen in the case of Liáng's crown prince, are legitimate offspring and can join in conducting the sacrificial ceremony of ancestor worship. Zhēng and cháng are the winter and autumn sacrifices, respectively. According to the Book of Rites (the surviving Xiǎodàilǐjì mentioned above, "Wang Zhi") the ceremonies are yào (spring), dì (summer), cháng (autumn), and zhēng (winter).

Jīsǎng refers to a stage of kneeling worship from former times, when the forehead is knocked on the ground to show in utter sincerity to show grievous pain, reverence and fear before one's ancestors' spirits. The sage Xúnzǐ wrote, cited in the little Huáxià GB reader, "when (the kneeling body is) bent forward horizontally, that is called bài, or worship; when the head and torso start dropping, that is called jī shǒu, and the grounding of the head is called jī sǎng". Bài above refers to the entire process, to be repeated again.

In correspondence that you initiate, whether simple note or formal letter, stick to the essentials and be concise. In answering the enquiries of others, go into the necessary detail and cover all the aspects of the issue at hand in depth to the extent of your knowledge and wisdom. The wénxué (literature) section of the classic Shì shuōxīn yǔ (‘The New Language of Today's World') says "cí yuē ěr zhī dá": ‘words concise, point precise'.

Here is a famous analogy between physical and mental hygiene. ‘Bones', of course, mean ‘the body'. Just as we wish for a bath to wash off dirt, we hope some cool breeze will cool off a hot thing in our hands or, by extension, thoughts that are ‘too hot to handle': to wash the mind of dirty thoughts. The highminded individual, man or woman, bathes in morality for the mind as well as water for the body. Wáng Chōng says in his Lùnhéng ("Ji Ri") to use a "washbasin to clean the hands, a tub to clean the body". Confucians over the years have used this as a metaphor for keeping the mind clean: yù dé, or ‘bathing in virtue'.

This line should be read in context with the next. The setting is a close-knit agricultural society, a small village or hamlet. When a crime, fire, accident or disorder strikes a home, not only are the people's lives affected but those of their valuable animals too. When sensitive but dumb work animals and cattle suffer fright they can do damage or harm to themselves, each other or their masters, and their productivity suffers as well, causing loss to the family and community. This colorfully applies to domestic violence and dangerous ‘horsing around' as well—as the donkey has the same ‘jackass' connotation as in English.

Stern advice to the young prince of Liáng: deal with crime severely. Burglars, tricksters, highway robbers, lake and river pirates and the rest are to be rounded up and dealt with. Investigate them, try them, kill the ones who are to die, and punish the others by law. In the peaceful and prosperous times, the catching of a criminal suspect in the act would have been quite an event. The petty offender would suffer at the indignant hands of the community before being bound over to the magistrate for brutal interrogation and official punishment, probably a caning and the cangue (public humiliation in a wooden head stock) with a lot more to come. This is the conclusion of Chapter 6 of the Qiānzì wén, which discussed intellectual curiosity, eavesdropping, everyday domestic science and nutrition, entertainment, filial duties, written communications, morality, public security and criminal justice.