"Spring blossoms and autumn moon—when will they end? How much of the past do we know?" and "Ask me how much sorrow I can bear—like a river of spring water flowing east." These beloved lines were penned by Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang kingdom. Yet this brilliant poet was politically weak and inept; his kingdom fell under his rule, and he surrendered to the Song dynasty, receiving the hollow title of "Imperial Guard General."
One day, Emperor Taizong Zhao Kuangyi strolled into the Hanlin Academy and saw Li Yu standing among the attendants, while Xu Xuan and Tang Yue, former ministers of the Southern Tang, were seated. Greatly surprised, he asked them, "Why are you sitting in the upper seats while your former master stands below?"
Xu Xuan glanced sideways at Li Yu, then bowed to Emperor Taizong of Song and replied, "Li Yu lacked the ability to govern the state or achieve great deeds; he only knew how to mock the wind and chant at the moon. It is quite fitting for such a fallen ruler to stand in attendance."
Later, the idiom "Mocking the Wind and Chanting the Moon" came to refer to works that describe superficial subjects like romantic or natural scenes.
Source: Zeng Zao (Song Dynasty), *Leishuo*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "嘲风咏月" came to describe works that describe superficial subjects like romantic or natural scenes.