Last words of Jin Shengtan, "contained in a sealed letter to his family as he went to his execution, as a joke upon the magistrate", as quoted and reported by Lin Yutang in The Importance of Understanding (1960), p. 468
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Eat pickled turnips with yellow beans. It gives the taste of walnut.

— Jin Shengtan

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Eat pickled turnips with yellow beans. It gives the taste of walnut." in the context of "Last words of Jin Shengtan, "contained in a sealed letter to his family as he went to his execution, as a joke upon the magistrate", as quoted and reported by Lin Yutang in The Importance of Understanding (1960), p. 468" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Jin Shengtan" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Jin Shengtan

About Jin Shengtan

Jin Shengtan (simplified Chinese: 金圣叹; traditional Chinese: 金聖歎; Wade–Giles: Chin Shêng-t'an) (1610?-7 August 1661), former name Jin Renrui (金人瑞), also known as Jin Kui (金喟), was a Chinese editor, writer and critic, who has been called the champion of Vernacular Chinese literature.