For scholars, writing is the work of a thousand years — fame and profit are all drifting clouds.
Tips
history
From Du Fu's (杜甫, Tang dynasty) 《偶题》: 文章千古事，得失寸心知 — 'Writing is a matter of a thousand generations; its gains and losses only an inch of one's own heart knows.' Du Fu's late-life manifesto: the writer's worth is judged by posterity, but only the writer knows whether each piece was truly done well.
usage
Almost always quoted together with the twin 得失寸心知 ('gains and losses, only the heart knows'). The couplet is the unofficial motto of Chinese literary criticism and is engraved in countless libraries and literary academies.
