There was a very talented poet, named Pan Dalin, in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Talented as he was, he lived a very poor life.
Just like other poets who loved writing poems to describe views, Pan also enjoyed writing poems about views, the views in autumn in particular.
One year, one of his friends wrote him a letter, asking whether he had created some good poems. He replied, “The views in autumn are very special. Many poets have written good poems about autumn, indicating autumn is the season that gives birth to good works. However, our social style is not very good, and my interest in writing poems is often ruined.”
“Take yesterday for example. I lay on the bed, looking at the continuous autumn rain and hearing the autumn wind, and thought it was very poetic. Then, I hurried to rise from the bed, and started to write a poem on the wall. However, just after my first sentence—The Double Ninth Festival is approaching amid the wind and rain across the town, I heard a loud knock at my door, and then a person broke in, and told me rudely, ‘Pay your rent now!’ My interest in writing the poem was completely ruined, so I will have to post this sentence to you.”
This story comes from ANight Talk at a Cold House. The proverb originally describes the view of an autumn rain, and now is often used to render the fact that people will start discussing the news after it flies apace.
