Like dogs
One of the second historians in the book talks about the people and how they behaved when things became rough for them. Instead of trying to better their lives, they became immoral, and involved in various practices considered morally deplorable. To highlight just how bad the situation was, the magister compared the people with dogs. The comparison had the purpose of making the reader understand just how low the people have gotten and how much they have changed.
An insect in autumn
Sung-ling lived a hard life, often in poverty and often struggling to survive. Despite this, he still found joy in life and tried to make his life better in whichever way he could. Sung-ling began writing when he was in his thirties and he admits that he was only able to create literature when he was depressed or in need. He would often search for his creative drive and he compared himself to an insect in autumn that was searching frantically for warmth to protect him and help him live. The comparison has the purpose of highlighting just how much Sung-ling felt the need to write and how important it was for him to succeed from a literary point of view.
Harvest from rocks
In the second part, the author presents a paragraph takes from The Local History talking about the state of the lands that were being given to the people. The author mentions how the lands were not good for agriculture as many were prone to flooding. He estimated that about one in ten harvests were good for the person who decided to use that land, showing just how tough it was to profit from those lands. To make the reader understand just how dire the situation was, the author of the book compares trying to farm in those lands to trying to farm on a bed of rocks. The comparison shows just how many difficulties the people were having when it came to finding enough resources for their families.
Like scales on a fish
In the second part, the author mentions a man named Chang Mao-te who once had his grains stolen. He tried to go to the soldiers and tell them the situation but the soldiers were reluctant to listen to him and instead of helping him, they beat Chang until he had bruised. The bruises were compared with the scales on a fish and the comparison has the purpose of making the reader understand with how much brutality the man was beaten by the people who were supposed to protect him.
State of chaos
In the second part, P’u Sung-ling talk about the people who were in charge when natural disasters struck and the people who were given the task of collecting tax money. He compared their efforts in trying to deal with the above mentioned problems with their ability to deal with bandits. The government was unable to help the people protect themselves from bands of bandits just like they were unable to protect them from natural disasters. This shows just how ill prepared the ruling class was to protect their people and how powerless they were when faced with different problems.
