Every school child knows the anguished words of Fan Zhongyan, spoken while over-looking Dongting Lake from Yueyang Pavilion: "If anyone on earth is in distress, then I must share it. Until everyone on earth is happy, I must not be content." Equally well-known are the musings of Lu Dongbin, uttered at the exact same spot: "Drunk once again at Yueyang Pavilion.
大陸作家余秋雨曾經拿范仲淹在洞庭湖岳陽樓朗聲悲抒的「先天下之憂而憂，後天下之樂而樂」名句，與呂洞賓在同一地點留下的詩句：「三醉岳陽人不識，朗吟飛過洞庭湖」相較。