1. Between Heaven and Earth

Man (ren) is, in the Chinese representation, one of the Three Powers together with Heaven (tian), the Yang principle, and Earth (di), made of the Yin principle. Though a harmonious cultivation of both principles is often recommended, the characteristics of Yang, positive, high and light, make of it the supreme attainment: the best part of man, his hun souls, made of pure breath (qi), ascend to Heaven when the body dies.
This longing towards a higher level, be it a purely intellectual yearn for knowledge and refinement or a religious drive towards the realm of deities and immortals, is thus expressed in many Chinese poems and sayings. Below, a few examples.

	A short poem by Wang Zhihuan titled Deng Guanque Lou (Ascending Guanque Tower).	This poem basically describes the view from the tower, the mountains and the Yellow river flowing into the sea, but its last two lines, which literally mean "if you wish to look farther, go up another store", actually express a passionate exhortation to open one's mind through diligent study and love for knowledge. They have of course become a traditional saying to encourage students and children.
	"Watching the sky from the bottom of a well"	That is, watching only a small portion of it thinking there is no more; being narrow-minded. This is what a bird says to a toad that sat all its life long on the bottom of a well without seeing anything but a small circle of sky.
	"Man moves upwards like water flows downwards"	So if man tends to better his condition, that's because of his natural disposition, like water can't help flowing from high places to lower ones.
	"Man has to move to live, while trees would die if they moved"	Once again, it is natural to man to change his condition, like it's the nature of trees to be born and die in the same place.