Time flies as quickly as a galloping horse. A man of virtue knows to treasure time for the precious gold that it is. The historian named Liu Shu (1032 – 1078 AD) in the Northern Song Dynasty (960 – 1127 AD) was known for his lofty character and noble aspirations. He was diligent in learning throughout his life. He was also a man of great self-discipline. He made a reasonable plan for each day in his life and never wasted time.
 
Liu studied the Confucian classics when he was young and tried every day to commit some part of them to memory. In fact, he was so interested in memorizing the classics of Confucius that he often forgot to eat or go to bed. When Liu Shu was eight, a guest in his home said Confucius didn't have any brothers. Liu Shu immediately quoted a relevant passage to prove that Confucius did have a brother. His response amazed everyone present. Liu Shu was always able to answer questions raised by his young friends. He told them that the answers could be found in the books and that they ought to read more to find the answers.
 
At the age of 18, Liu Shu had one of the highest marks at the imperial civil service examination. Yan Shu (991 – 1055 AD), the prime minister at the time, was impressed by Liu Shu's excellent answers on the classics, so he invited him to give lectures at the royal college. Yan Shu even took a group of government officials with him to attend Liu Shu's lectures. Liu Shu's profound knowledge and understandings of the classics, as well as his excellent character, were so mesmerizing that he inspired a trend to study the classics.
 
Once, Liu Shu heard that Song Cidao (1019 – 1079 AD), a scholar and government official in Bozhou, had a large collection of books, he traveled several hundred miles just to borrow books. Song Cidao invited Liu Shu to stay at his home and welcomed him with a feast. But Liu Shu said, "You, of all people, must know that I didn't come here for food or drink. Could I please ask you to remove all the dishes? I have come to seek knowledge in your excellent collection of books."
 
After Song Cidao took Liu Shu to his private library, Liu began to read and transcribe books day and night for over two weeks, until he had studied and transcribed all the books he was interested in. Song Cidao sighed, "It's admirable that you were able to endure such hardship." Liu Shu smiled, "What hardship? The more I read, the more clear-headed I become. It is an infinite joy to read!"
 
At the time, history books were not part of the curriculum for the civil service examination therefore many scholars ignored them. Only Liu Shu read a wide variety of books to gain a deep understanding of history that allowed him to perform clear commentary. He was familiar with the details of thousands of years of history like the back of his hand. When Sima Guang (1019 – 1086 AD) was compiling Zi Zhi Tong Jian, his first choice for editor was Liu Shu. Once, Sima Guang, Liu Shu and others went sightseeing at Mount Wanan. They found an ancient stone monument beside the mountain trail with the names of generals during the Five Dynasties (907 – 960 AD). Nobody knew who they were, but Liu Shu was able to chronicle each of their deeds from start to end. When people returned home, they examined the history records and found that Liu Shu had described each one exactly.
 
Liu Shu was a very forgiving and honest government official. He spoke the truth at all times. He advocated following the way of the two sage kings, Yao and Shun, and governed his people with kindness. Because he addressed the needs of his people and listened to their voices, they admired and loved him. He held himself to a very strict standard. Except for a small amount of time for sleep, Liu Shu spent all his available time studying and doing meaningful things. Regardless of what was going on around him, Liu Shu made sure that he studied every day. He once wrote a book in which he listed 20 mistakes he made and 18 things that he could have done better. He readily looked within himself in time to mend his mistakes. The honesty and courage Liu Shu manifested were truly commendable.
 
Since ancient times, all those who have harbored noble ambitions have treasured time. There was an ancient saying, "A sage will not value a foot-long piece of jade, but will an inch of time." Tao Yuanming (369 – 427 AD), a famous poet in the Jin Dynasty (266 – 420 AD), once said, "The prime of one's life does not come again as sure as the morning of a day will not reappear that day. I advise you to treasure time, for time will not wait for you." Their excellent cultivation of moral values and lofty character have given us a great lesson to learn.
 
惜时如金　君子之道
 
时间如白驹之过隙，瞬间即逝。惜时如金，君子之道。北宋史学家刘恕志洁高尚，一生勤奋好学，修养深厚，每天合理安排时间做事，从不浪费一分一秒。
 
刘恕从小就学习儒家经书，每日记诵，乐在其中，常常废寝忘食。八岁时，家有客人说孔子没兄弟，他立刻举《论语》“以其兄之子妻之”一句以对，一座皆惊。小伙伴们有问题问他，他没有不知道的，并告诉他们说其实书中甚么都有，只要多看书就都能知道。
 
刘恕十八岁时被举为进士，宰相晏殊见他对《春秋》和《礼记》的问题对答如流，请他到国子监试讲经书，晏殊亲自率官员前往听讲，人们被刘恕深厚的道德涵养和精辟的论理所折服，一时大家纷纷学起了经书。
 
一次，刘恕得知在亳州做官的学者宋次道家中藏书丰富，于是不远数百里跑去借阅。宋次道让这位远道而来的友人住在家里，办了丰盛的酒席款待他，刘恕却说：“您应该知道，我并不是为了享受佳肴美酒才跑到您这儿来的，请您把酒肴都撤走吧，我是慕名来借书求知的。”宋次道引刘恕进了藏书楼，刘恕每天在这里昼夜口诵手抄，坚持了十多天，直到把自己所需要的书本全部读完、抄完。宋次道赞叹的说：“您这种能吃苦的精神真令人钦佩。”刘恕笑著说：“哪有甚么苦啊？！越读书理越明，我觉的有无尽的快乐在其中啊！”
 
当时史书因非科举所急，学者多不读。唯刘恕学识渊博，深明史法，分析透彻。并对上下几千年间的史事，不论巨细，了如指掌。司马光修《资治通鉴》，首先推选的就是刘恕。一次，刘恕和司马光等人游览万安山，见山道旁边的古碑上写有五代时一些将官的名字，大家都不知道他们是些甚么人。刘恕一一讲出他们的事迹始末。回来后大家查看史书，果然像刘恕所说的那样，一点不差。
 
刘恕为人厚道，为官清正，凡事敢“是曰是，非曰非”。提倡弘扬尧舜之道实行仁政，做事讲合民心、顺民意，深受百姓的拥护和爱戴。他对自己要求非常严格，每日安排除仅够睡眠的时间外，其余时间都用于读书和做有意义的事情。无论身处任何环境，每天坚持读书且数十年如一日。他曾著书自讼，称自己有“二十失”、“十八蔽”，及时反省自己并改过，他这种“自攻其短，不舍秋毫”坦荡的胸怀，令人肃然起敬。
 
自古以来一切有远大志向者，无一不惜时如金。古人云：“圣人不贵尺之璧，而重寸之阴。”晋朝陶渊明曾说：“盛年不重来，一日难再晨，及时当勉励，岁月不待人。”古人这些优秀的道德修养和思想品格值得学习和借鉴。