Many people can recite the first sentence of 'The Old Drunkard's Pavilion': 'All around Chu are hills.'
Tips
history
The opening of 欧阳修's 《醉翁亭记》, written in 1046 while he was prefect of 滁州. 朱熹 tells of a draft that first described the hills on every side in several dozen characters, cut in the end to these five.
grammar
滁 is the place 滁州, and 也 is the classical sentence-final particle that marks a statement: 'around Chu, all is hills'. The essay ends 21 of its sentences with 也.
