I. Prologue
An offspring of the ancient Lord Kao Yang,
Po Yung was my noble father's name.
As Acturus ruled the month of the Tiger.
On a Tiger's day I came.
Reviewing the horoscope of my nativity,
My father began to confer auspicious names on me:
He named me "Pattern of Right"
Adding the epithet of "Celestial Harmony."
Lavishly endowed with inborn qualities,
I developed them by patient cultivation.
Clad in selinea and angelica,
I wove autumn orchids for my girdle.
I felt as though I was racing with the years,
Lest I had not sufficient time to achieve my goal.
In the morning I gathered magnolias from the hills:
In the morning I plucked the sedges of the islets.
Days and months pass without a halt;
Spring and autumn go in rapid succession.
Watching the trees and grass wither and fall,
I fear the beauty of my Beloved will soon pass its prime.
She cherishes not the flower of youth nor casts out the impurities.
Ah, why does she persist in her erring ways?
Ride a pure thoroughbred and course ahead!
Come, I will be your vanguard to show you the way.
How pure-hearted were the Three Kings of old!
In their garden all fragrant flowers found their home:
Pepper and cinnamon flourished together;
Angelica and orchids were interlaced to make garlands.
Oh the intense ardors of Yao and Shun!
By following steadily the Tao they found their high road.
But how careless and shabby were Chieh and Ch'ou!
Their fondness for shortcuts only led them to a dead end.
So with the sycophants of today, who know only to steal pleasures:
Their ways are dark, paved with pitfalls and traps.
It is not that I care for my own safety:
My only worry is lest the Royal Carriage be wrecked.
How earnestly I have moved around your chariot to protect it,
And to lead it into the tracks of ancient kings!
But my Fragrant One, instead of looking into my heart,
Put his faith in the slanderers and raged against me!
Well I knew that loyalty and frankness might bring disaster:
But I would rather face it than abandon my course.
I call upon the Nine Heavens to bear witness to
My single-hearted devotion to the well-being of my noble Lord.
At first he gave me his word:
Later he repented and went astray.
For me it is not hard to endure the separation:
Still it grieves me to see the fickleness of my Lord.
I sowed and watered nine acres of orchids;
I planted a hundred rods of melilotus;
I filled many a plot with sweet lichen and white rumex,
Mingling asarums with fragrant angelica.
I hoped that they would luxuriate, leaf and stem,
That in the fullness of time I could reap a fine harvest.
Although I have fallen into disfavor, what do I regret?
I only grieve to see the fragrant flowers stifled by the weeds.
The whole crowd outdo one another in greed and gluttony:
The more they have, the more they crave.
Self-forgiving, they judge others with harshness:
Even among themselves, they are secretly jealous of each other.
But what are the objects of their rush?
None of them has any importance to my mind.
My sale concern is lest the coming of old age
Find me still unworthy of being accounted a man of virtue.
At dawn I drink the dew as it drops from the magnolia:
At evening I eat the petals as they fall from the chrysanthemums.
If only my inner life be truly beautiful and simple.
What does it matter to suffer from poverty and hunger?
I bind the valerian with the roots of an evergreen;
I string together the fallen buds of lily flowers.
I trim sprays of cassia for plaiting the clover,
And weave the ivy into graceful trails.
Assiduously f have followed the pattern of antiquity,
A pattern which the world has long abandoned.
Out of harmony with the present generation,
I aspire to conform myself to the tradition of Peng Hsien.
II. Retracing His Steps
How often I have sighed and shed tears
When f think of the manifold sufferings of the people!
Lover of virtue, I have curbed myself with bridle and bit:
I remonstrated in the morning, and was replaced in the evening.
In disgrace, I continue to wear my girdle of orchids,
Redoubling their beauty with the flowering angelica.
For this is what my heart delights in:
Even if I had to die nine deaths for it, I will not repent.
What I do regret is the thoughtlessness of my Lord,
Who does not look into the hearts of men.
I am like a lady whose beauty has aroused the jealousy of common women,
Who have invented scandals about her, charging her with coquetry.
I marvel at the craftiness of this generation.
Putting aside the square and compass, they follow their own whims.
Discarding the ruled line, they seek after the crooked.
Their only standard of excellence is the ability to win the favors of the great.
Weighed down by sorrows, I know not where to turn.
Ah that I alone am fated to be frustrated in this generation!
But I would rather quickly die and vanish altogether
Than emulate their ways or indulge in self-pity.
Eagles do not fly in flocks.
This has been so since the ancient days.
There is no way of squaring the circle:
What have different ideals of life to do with each other?
To accept trials and disappointments with equanimity,
To endure slanders and insults with patience,
To keep pure and spotless at any cost, to die for what is right,
This has always been a cherished ideal with the former sages.
Ashamed that I did not have a clear vision of the Tao,
I halted to consider the ways of returning to it.
I must now turn my chariot and retrace my steps,
Before I am too far gone in the path of folly.
I pace my horse beside the orchid marshes,
Gallop on the pepper hill and rest awhile.
Since joining the Court has brought me nothing but sorrow,
It is time to retire and return to my original pursuit of perfection.
Let me make for myself a coat of lotus and water-chestnut,
And weave a tunic of hibiscus flowers.
What if I am not understood by the world,
So long as my mind is redolent of fragrant thoughts.
Let me make my hat higher still,
Let me lengthen my tassel and stud it with more gems.
Let fragrance and beauty be blended in sweet confusion,
To reflect the unwaning brightness of the core of my being.
On looking back, my eyes are at once regaled by new horizons.
I shall roam freely in this boundless universe.
My garland of many-colored flowers fills the air with its ethereal breath:
The farther it spreads, the more distinctive it becomes.
Every man has his own taste and delight:
I alone find my joy in spiritual cultivation.
I could never give it up, even if my body were mangled:
For who can ever do any harm to my soul?
III. Appealing to the Spirit of Shun
Nü Hsü, with her tangled feelings of a woman,
Keeps nagging at me, hoping thereby to change my purpose.
"Of old," she say, "Kun lost his life for his foolhardiness.
Was he not executed in the wilds of Yü?
"And you, why should you be so eager to perfect yourself,
Adorning yourself all alone with such an exuberance of virtues?
When thistles, thorns and curly ears fill the house,
Why do you remain so conspicuously different from the others?
"We cannot go from door to door to convert everybody:
How then can we expect others to discern what lies within us?
All men in the world go in flocks and form friendships.
Why do you dissociate yourself from society, paying no heed to my words?"
I have always looked to the former sages for my inward guidance.
With a heart filled with sightings, I have patiently endured these trials.
So I have crossed the Yuan and Hsiang and come to the south
To vent my mind before the spirit of Chung Hua.
"The House of Hsia began well with the Nine Songs and Nine Themes.
Its decay set in with K'ang who abandoned himself to pleasures.
He had no sense of responsibility and took no thought of the morrow;
So his five worthy brothers had to leave their home.
"Yi the Archer was addicted to hunting,
Loving nothing better than shooting at large faxes.
How could a disorderly life lead to an orderly end?
His own henchman Han Cho took his life and his wife!
"Han Cho's son, Chiao, endowed with the strength of a giant,
Indulged in his passions without any restraint.
He passed his days in sensual pleasures, forgetting his duties.
In the end, his head fell from his shoulders.
"Chieh of Hsia was confirmed in sin,
Which inevitably landed him on disaster.
Likewise, Ch'ou of Yin, who minced the body of his loyal minister,
Caused the premature collapse of his dynasty.
"On the other hand, how reverent and humble were Yü and Tang!
And how carefully the Founders of Chou walked on the approved path of the Tao!
All these sages knew how to exalt the virtuous and office the competent;
They followed the immutable principles of law and justice.
"August Heaven is free of partiality and favoritism:
He looks for the virtuous and makes them His ministers.
So, only the wise at heart are capable of splendid deeds;
Provided, of course, they are given a chance to exercise their power here below.
"Looking before and after, I have come to see that the supreme task
Of the ruler is to look after the needs of the people.
How can the selfish and unjust be entrusted with government?
How can the evil-doers command the respect of the populace?
"I realize my perilous position, how near it is to death:
But looking into my original mind I find no cause for repentance.
To straighten the handle without regard to the shape of the socket,
It was for this that the worthies of old were minced into meatballs."
How often I have sighed and groaned in anguish,
Lamenting the untimeliness of my birth.
I cull the tender lotus petals to wipe my tears,
As they come wave after wave, drenching the lapel of my coat.
Kneeling on my outspread skirts, I pour out my heart;
I see clearly that the spirit of Right dwells securely in me.
With the Phoenix for my chariot, I have yoked a team of jade-white dragons:
I wait only for the wind to speed my upward journey.
IV. Wild Roamings in Search of Love
In the morning I started from Ts'ang Wu:
In the evening I have arrived at the Mid-Air Garden.
I wish to tarry a little at this crucial Station of the Spirit,
But the sun is setting with a shattering speed.
I then order Hsi Ho, charioteer of the sun, to slow down,
To hover over the Yen-tzu mountains and not to rush in.
For my way ahead is endlessly long,
And I must go up and down in search of my heart's desire.
I water my horses at the Sun-Bathing Lake,
I hitch my chariot to the tree of Fu-sang.
I pluck soft sprigs of the orchid to brush the sun,
Wishing to enjoy a few moments of sportful freedom.
I order the moon to ride before me as my herald,
And the wind to follow me as my rearguard.
The Phoenix serves as my announcer:
But the Minister of Thunder tells me I am not yet prepared.
Then I bid the Phoenix to soar as high as she can,
To keep flying day and night without stop.
The Whirlwind gathers up its forces to obstruct my course,
Leading clouds and rainbows to confront me.
I am encompassed by a confusion of friendly and hostile hosts;
I am bewildered by the intermingling of all colors going up and down.
I bid God's gatekeeper to unlock the Gate of Heaven,
To stand at the door and wait for me.
The day is growing in gloom, soon it will be over.
All I can do is weave the orchids and wait.
In the meantime, the world remains muddy and confused:
It delights in besmirching beauty out of envy and jealousy.
At dawn, intending to cross over the White Waters,
I first climb the peak of High Winds and there tie my steeds.
Gazing from this peak, tears suddenly gush from my eyes;
For I can see no fair lady on the yonder high hill.
And now I find myself roaming in this Palace of Spring.
From its garden I have taken a jasper sprig to add to my girdle,
In the hope that before the jasper flowers fade and fall,
I may find some true lady there below worthy of receiving them.
I order Feng Lung to ride on the clouds
To find out the whereabouts of Fu-fei.
I take off my belt as a pledge of my word,
And ask Chien Hsiu to bring it to her as my spokesman.
But no one could be more evasive than that lady:
Slippery and capricious, she is hard to win.
In the night she retires to an unknown cave:
In the morning she washes her hair in the waters of Wei-p'an.
All she cares is to preserve her beauty and with it her pride.
She passes her days in revels and wanton pleasures.
Beautiful she is, but a stranger to virtue.
Come, let us abandon our pursuit, and try to seek elsewhere.
Again I gaze in all directions of the universe.
Having roamed through the skies, I at last descend to earth.
Looking at the lofty Tower of Jade,
I catch a glimpse of the lovely lady of Sung.
I bid the Falcon to pay my court to her,
But he says that it is not an ideal match.
The Magpie has gone, instead, with noisy chatterings,
But I loathe his frivolous garrulity.
My mind is full of waverings and scruples:
I want to go myself, yet something inhibits me.
For since the Phoenix was sent by Kao Hsin with his gifts,
I fear that she has already given her word to him.
I desire to flyaway and be at rest, yet I know not where I can find my rest.
I must therefore be contented with the freedom of aimless roaming.
My free roaming takes me to the house of the two Princesses of Yu,
Before they are wedded to Shao K'ang.
In this case, again, my reasons are weak and my matchmaker poor;
I am afraid that my suit will come to nothing.
For the world is a muddy turmoil and over hates the virtuous:
It delights in suppressing beauty and exalting ugliness.
Ensconced in the deepest recesses of the Palace,
The wise king slumbers and will not be awakened.
With my bosom pent up with unuttered thoughts and feelings,
How can I endure this agony to the end of time?
V. Resort to Divination
So I resort to the milfoil sticks
And ask Ling Fen to make divination for me,
Saying, "Tis said that when two beauties meet they cannot but form a union.
But who in the world will ever believe in excellence and fall in love with it?
"In view of the immensity of the Nine Continents,
Can it be that the ideal lady can only be found in this? "
"Have courage, " he says, "Go abroad without misgivings!
For what lover of beauty can pass you by?
"And what place in the world is devoid of fragrant herbs?
Why then are you so attached to your old house? "
Ah me! The whole world is steeped in darkness and easily duped by what glitters:
Who can any more distinguish the true from the false?
People differ more or less in their likes and dislikes;
But the taste of that clique reaches the acme of perversity.
They each wear a girdle of stinking mugwort,
Declaring that the lovely valley orchid must be discarded.
If they cannot even distinguish the qualities of the flowers,
How can they be expected to recognize the rarest jade at its true value?
Filling their perfume-bags with mud and filth,
They proclaim that aromatic herbs have no fragrance!
Although I wish to follow the auspicious oracle of Ling Fen,
Still my heart falters and wavers like the timid fox.
Hearing Wu Hsien is coming down in the evening,
I have prepared the peppered rice-balls to welcome him.
Lo, the spirits are coming like a dense cloud to herald his descent,
And hosts of nymphs have arisen from Mount Chiu-i to greet him.
His spirit radiates a splendid blaze of light,
Conveying to me a blessed message.
"Rise and move freely up and down, and scour the unlimited space
In search of one who shares with you the same ideals and standards.
T'ang and Yü, strict as they were, sought for their counterparts;
They found them in the persons of Yi Yin and Kao Yao.
"As long as your inner spirit is beautiful and pure,
There is really no need of using a go-between.
Yueh was plying his craft as a builder at Fu Yen,
When he was found by Wu Ting and entrusted with government.
"Lü Wang wielded the butcher's knife,
But as soon as he met King Wen of Chou, he was elevated.
Ning Ch'i was a cowherd, singing as he went:
When Duke Huan of Ch'i heard of him, he made him his trusted adviser.
"You are not yet advanced in age;
The fair season is not over.
Act before the bird of autumn utters its withering cry,
Causing the plants to lose their fragrance."
VI. Degeneration of Former Friends
Splendid indeed is my jeweled girdle:
But the clique spare no efforts to cover it up.
These fawners are devoid of good faith and conscience:
Consumed by jealousy, they would try to break my jewel.
In such a chaotic age, when morals have sunk into a morass,
How can I say any longer in courtly service?
Why, even the "Orchid" has lost its fragrance,
And the "Melilotus" has degenerated into straw.
Ah, why have the sweet-scented grasses of yesterday
Become today such nauseous mugwort and weeds?
There can be no other cause of this strange phenomenon
But that they have no love for cultivating and weeding.
I had thought that "Orchid" could be relied upon,
But he has turned out fruitless in spite of his nice appearance.
He has ruined his inner excellence by following the ways of the world,
His vanity being satisfied if he is listed among the elite.
"Pepper" has exploited his natural spiciness for the art of flattery.
Although he still wants to fill the perfume-bag, he is actually like the dogwood.
In fact, when your sole aim is to seek advancement and to be "in,"
You can have no care for true fragrance.
Yet, in the downward currents of the times,
Who can remain firm and unchanged?
If "Pepper" and "Orchid" have thus degenerated,
What can we expect from the cart-halt and selinea?
VII. Final Soaring
This makes me ponder how precious is the treasure I carry within me;
For it is only because they have abandoned it that they have fallen so low.
In me its fragrance is as fresh as ever, nor has its richness abated:
To this day its pure essence remains uncontaminated.
I will keep myself in tune with my own nature and rejoice in the harmony;
Let me continue to roam in search of my ideal lady.
Riding on the unabated vigor of my native adornment,
I will rove and look up and down through the universe.
Remembering the happy oracle from the lips of Ling Fen,
I have chosen a lucky day to start my far journey.
For my provision I have snapped a jasper branch to serve as my meat,
And ground jasper grains into powder to serve as my cereal.
Harness the flying dragons to my chariot!
Let my chariot be of pure jade and ivory!
Can separated hearts be united again?
So let me go away in complete detachment!
I veer my way toward the K'un-lun mountain.
Long is my journey and full of detours and whirlings.
My rainbow banners flap and shed a suffused glow;
The yoke-bells of pure jade tingle merrily along.
In the morning I started from the Ford of Heaven;
In the evening I have reached the outermost West.
The phoenixes protect me with their banner-like wings,
Soaring and circling with majestic wing-beats.
Suddenly I cross the desert of Moving Sand;
Sportively I drive along the banks of the Red Water.
I beckon the water-dragons to form a bridge for me,
And call upon the Lord of the West to ford me over.
As the journey is long and beset with difficulties,
I send my attending chariots through a shortcut to wait for me on the other side.
The road does not make a complete circle but turns off to the left:
So I point to the Western Sea for our meeting place.
Having arrived at this point, I marshal my thousand chariots,
That hub to hub we may go galloping together.
My team of eight dragons fly with gentle undulations;
My cloud-woven flags flap gracefully along.
Having curbed my desires and regulated my pace,
My spirit soars freely to the invisible heights.
I sing the Nine Songs and dance to the music of Shao:
In this way I wish to borrow some days of joyful play.
But alas, no sooner have I ascended to the majestic heights of Heaven
Than I get by accident a glimpse of my homeland down below.
My groom's heart is touched with sadness, and my horses become homesick;
Writhing like earthworms, the steeds refuse to go on!
The Renvoi
Oh, have done, have done!
In my own country there is not a single person who knows my heart.
Why then should I long for the old Court?
Nor have I found anyone with whom I can cooperate to bring about a good regime.
I will go to join Peng Hsien in his abode!