hina is such a vast country that the local culture in one place could be hugely different from that of another. But that diversity is little observed by many foreign people. In fact, the local culture of a certain place, like Shanghai, may have much in common with the rest of China, but it may also have many distinctive features.

We are a team of five freshman students from the School of English Studies of Shanghai International Studies University. We want to help foreign people know more about the local culture of Shanghai, our home city. Our approach is to translate and explain selected Shanghai sayings which embody local history, customs, and values.

一日之际在于寅，一年之计在于春，一生之际在于勤。

A day's worth lies in the morning, a year's plan starts with the spring, a lifetime success derives from diligence.

This saying will be divided into three parts for better explanation.

1.一日之计在于寅

A day's worth lies in the morning.

Ancient people divided a day into twelve sections, and named them after the twelve Earthly Branches，which is known as ‘十二地支’ . It was believed that according to each Earthly Branch the corresponding kind of animal (the twelve Chinese Zodiac, known as ‘十二生肖’) were active in the wild. For instance, between twenty-three o’clock and one o’clock next day, rats are the most active, so Chinese people called that period of time ‘子时 (Zi Shi)’.  

In this saying, the word ‘寅’ refers to “寅时 (Yin Shi)”, the time between three o’clock and five o’clock in the morning. Ancient peasants indeed got up that early to prepare for a new day’s farm work. Work at this early period was crucial to the harvests. So they created this saying to treasure the early morning time.

2.一年之计在于春

A year’s plan starts in spring.

After thousands of years’ productive practice, the ancient civilians summed up this saying, which emphasizes the position of spring throughout the year. Spring sowing is vital in traditional farming, ensuring the quality of the crop. In addition, medical experts suggest that maintaining a good health in spring helps a lot all the year around. Therefore, we must cherish the time since the beginning of the year, striking out a plan for the whole year.

3.一生之计在于勤

A lifetime success derives form diligence.

Since ancient times, diligence has been one of the most important Chinese characteristics, and we probably value diligence more than any other country in the world. So far, China has the world's largest labor force and the labor force participation rate of Chinese people is 76 percent, the highest in the world.

Have you ever wondered why Chinese people bother to work so hard? The answer is as follows.

Chinese ancient peasants were always laborious and diligent. They had to work from dawn to dusk every day because only by working hard could they ensure basic food and clothing supply. When it comes to modern society, due to the largest population and limited social resources and opportunities, we Chinese people still have to face intense competitions. Under this circumstance, we believe more endeavors contribute to more chances of success, so we keep working hard every day, whether it is for agriculture, for higher education, or for employment. This is why we believe diligence is always the key to success.

The supervisor, Dr. Zhao Bi, is a lecturer of translation studies at School of English Studies, SISU.