“Words need only convey the meaning.” This sentence appears as a complete, one-line chapter in the Wei Ling Gong book of the Analects. Ci means wording, while da means enabling the meaning to get through. The point is not to reject style, but to put successful communication before ornament.
Nor does it mean that any rough approximation will do. Complex matters still require accuracy and suitable structure. When writing an email, report or instruction today, we can first ask whether the reader can understand it and act on it, then consider whether the sentences are elegant. Brevity is not making language as short as possible; it is preventing the expression from hiding what must be conveyed.
https://ctext.org/analects/wei-ling-gong
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