Fang Zhiyu asked Xiao Chunqiu what he meant.

"I know that I am young, and I ask you in the Spring and Autumn Period." It means: (after this incident) I realized that I was ignorant, just like a cicada who died in summer and autumn (or died in spring and summer) didn't know the changes of the four seasons.

The word "Fang" in the sentence means "talent", and "seeing small" means shallow knowledge. Hu Hui is a kind of cicada. It is born in spring and dies in summer, or summer dies in autumn. Its life span is very short, it can only live for two seasons, so it doesn't know the spring and autumn of a year at all, and it doesn't know the spring and autumn seasons.

The first sentence is self-mockery, and the second sentence is allusions. Many people use the metaphor of cockroaches to show that life is short and knowledge is limited. Now it can be used to ridicule some people for their short-sightedness and ignorance.

Extended data

This sentence comes from Zhang Dai's Tianku Ji in Ming Dynasty.

Original text:

Read it thirty times, and there is one or two in a million. I know I'm young, and I ask you in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Shi Peng and Jiamao, what they see is just as naive. If you want to ask the old man, you can't get lost.

Looking back at the precipice, the bare vines are only Ficus pumila. When you are away from home, you can't help but look forward to it.

Translation:

Even if you look at 30 cars, it can only be one in ten million. Only then did I know that I was ignorant, just like a cicada that lives in summer and dies in autumn (or "lives in spring and dies in summer") and doesn't know the changes of seasons.

Shi Peng and Jiamao, they look like children. I wanted to go in and ask the old man, but I got lost and couldn't get there.

Looking back at the cliff, there are only crazy vines and Ficus pumila. I regret it. You can only dream when you go out.