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Colleague: Look, Xuemei, this is the Xingtan Pavilion.
Xuemei: Xingtan Pavilion？ What's that？
Colleague: Xingtan Pavilion is where Confucius taught.
Xuemei: Where he taught？ I don't think this is big enough for his students. Isn't it said that he had three thousand students？
Colleague: Xuemei, let me tell you. This Xingtan Pavilion was built in
the Song Dynasty in memory of Confucius. Back in those days Confucius sat right here and taught while playing the zither. His students gathered around him while listening to his lectures.
Xuemei: Oh, I see.
Colleague: Xuemei, do you know what this is for？
Xuemei: I've noticed lots of birds in this courtyard. Could this be an American-style bird-bath？
Colleague: Very imaginative, but this is not a bird-bath. Nowadays people know it's the end of the class when they hear the bell. But in the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius would light three sticks of incense here, and when the incense burnt out it was the end of the class.
