#Pocket Library

A Book Is Like a Garden Carried in the Pocket — Chinese Proverb

Gardens can contain plants from distant lands, just as books transmit knowledge and culture across time and space. With a book, one can access the wisdom of ancient civilizations or the imagination of distant cultures, effectively carrying a curated ‘garden’ of humanity’s collective thought. The Chinese classic *Dream of the Red Chamber* (18th century) presents a rich literary landscape, offering readers a glimpse into Qing dynasty society—a true garden of cultural insight. [...]

A Book Is Like a Garden Carried in the Pocket – Chinese Proverb

Gardens in Chinese tradition represent harmony, contemplation, and cultivation of self. By likening a book to a pocket garden, the proverb situates reading within these ideals—echoing the scholarly retreats depicted in paintings of the Ming dynasty, where poets and philosophers found solace within both literal and literary gardens. [...]