Seeking SeekingThey say to find Chrysanthemum River,
go trace the waters of Green Creek,
follow ten thousand mountain turns
and a course of almost a hundred miles
splashing and crashing over riprap.
Deep calm color under the pines,
water chestnut and floating-heart ripple,
reeds reflect in limpid pools.
My heart remains plain and calm
and it's as pure as the river.
I only ask to stay on this flat rock
lingering with my fishing pole.
“Green Creek,” Wang Wei (699–759)
98
Diligence brings abundance.
Proverb
Wind and thunder
give us the image of increase.
A noble one adjusts to the good they see,
and they correct their own mistakes.
Yijing, Image of hexagram 42: Increase
100
On North Mountain in white clouds,
you have happily secluded yourself.
Starting the long climb to see you,
my heart soars with the wild geese above.
I might worry since dusk is falling,
but the clear autumn air lifts me.
Late in the day I see villagers heading home
waiting for the ferry on the gravel shore.
Trees pack the horizon in clumps,
the riverbank curves like a crescent moon.
Could you meet me and bring wine?
We'll drink to the Double Nine Festival!
“Climbing Orchid Mountain in Autumn, Sent to Zhang Wu,” Meng Haoran (689/691–740)
Water blocked by a mountain
is the image of obstacles.
A noble one turns inward
to cultivate virtue.
Yijing, Image of hexagram 39: Hindered
102
Pay attention to the waist area at every moment.
Keep the inside of your abdomen relaxed,
keep your breath-energy still, turn correctly.
Keep your tailbone centered, let your spirit penetrate to
your crown.
Keep your entire body light, gain by holding your head up as
if suspended.
Give great attention to the direction you face,
how you bend, how you stretch open, and how you close.
Listen freely.
Shanxi Wang Zongyue's Taijiquan Treatise, “The Song of Practicing the Thirteen Dynamics”
The sun angles below the western mountain range;
valley after valley plunges abruptly into dark.
The moon rises through pines, the night grows cold;
I listen to the wind and the stream, full and pure.
The woodsmen trudge homeward, wanting rest;
birds search through cooking smoke for perches to settle.
You promised to come and stay for a time:
I'm alone with my qin at this vine-draped path.
“At the Mountain House of My Teacher, Waiting in Vain for Elder Ding,” Meng Haoran (689/691–740)
104
The look of heaven. The color of water.
West Lake is good.
Creatures in the clouds are fresh,
gulls and egrets sleep idly.
I follow my routine, listening to pipes and strings.
Wind. Clear moon, slanting white, a perfect night.
One piece of jade field.
Who needs a horse or phoenix?
One person on a boat is an immortal.
“The Look of Heaven, the Color of Water,” Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072)
Among the ten thousand things,
Tao is the most profound.
It is the treasure of good people
and the protector of bad people.
Beautiful words are sold at the market.
Noble deeds can be presented as a gift.
But even bad people are not abandoned.
A king is enthroned as the son of heaven
and appoints his three ministers.
The nobles may present their jade disks
and parade their teams of horses,
but it's not as good as presenting Tao.
Why did the ancients prize Tao so much?
Was it not because
it could be had by any who sought it,
and that the guilty could find forgiveness in it?
That is why it is the treasure of the world.
Daodejing 62
Farmers hoe the grain, even at noon.
Sweat drips onto the grain, then the earth.
Who thinks of this over a plate of food—
that each grain comes from so much toil?
“Sympathy for the Farmers,” Li Shen (d. 846)
107
The master brings you to the gate:
self-cultivation depends on you.
Proverb
108
To enter the gate and to be guided on the route,
you must have verbal instruction,
but putting the principles into use
without violating the teachings
requires your own constant effort.
Shanxi Wang Zongyue's Taijiquan Treatise, “The Song of Practicing the Thirteen Dynamics”
Thunder in the center of the earth
is the image of returning.
The ancient kings closed the borders
at the solstice so that merchants did not travel
and kings did not tour the provinces.
Yijing, Image of hexagram 24: Returning
110
This is the road where rebels forced our surrender
when they overran the outskirts from the west.
I've lived in terror since then, even to this day,
and I haven't yet recaptured my soul.
We have just regained the capital city;
already I'm sent abroad and must obey.
I lack talent, and grow older each day:
I stop my horse to gaze at the thousand gates.
“Huazhou,” Du Fu (712–770)
111
Without passing through each effort
one cannot increase one's wisdom.
Proverb
Garrison drums cut off people's travels
along the frontier in autumn. A lone goose calls.
After tonight, the dew will turn to frost.
How bright the moon seemed in my hometown.
Although I have brothers, we're all scattered,
with no family left to ask if we're alive or dead.
Letters take too long and may not arrive.
This is how it is: war without end.
“Remembering My Brothers on a Moonlit Night,” Du Fu (712–770)
113
The bright moon rises above the sea;
the world should be joined in this moment.
How this lover laments the growing night—
my yearning builds as evening comes.
Snuff the candle, spare its brightness,
wear a sleeping robe as the dew grows.
I can't bear what I want to give you:
I lie down to dream of being together.
“Gazing at the Moon and Thinking of You Far Away,” Zhang Jiuling (673–740)
Rolling thunder
is the image of shaking.
A noble one searches
their own morals
with fear and dread.
Yijing, Image of hexagram 51: Thunder
115
People go hungry
when officials eat too much in taxes.
Hungry people
are hard to govern
when officials overly burden them.
People take death lightly
when it's too awful to seek life.
When people take death lightly,
it means we should let them live—
and value precious life.
Daodejing 75