Poems of Reflection on the Vicissitudes of Life
Ch’en Tzu-ang (661–702)
5
The men in the market pride themselves on their knowledge and craft,
But they are as ignorant as babes in regard to the Way;
Amidst the press and grab, they make boastful display of luxury—
They know not where their bodies will one day end up.
How could they ever see the Master of Dark Purity,
Who observed the world in a jade pot?
Frustrated, he left behind him heaven and earth,
And entered Infinity mounted on Transformation.
10
I dwell in seclusion and observe the creative process,
Inarticulate, my jaws quiver in an effort to speak;
Speakers of slander devour each other,
Profit and loss are fraught with deception.
Disputatious are the sycophants,
They contend with each other for glory;
Wu Kuang turned down the rule of the empire,
But a merchant will compete for a penny.
Have done with it all! Go pick the magic mushroom,
Ten thousand generations will be as a moment.
13
I dwell in the forest nursing a long illness,
The water and trees accentuate the solitude and stillness;
I lie here idly observing the changes in nature,
And meditate absentmindedly on ending rebirth.
In spring, buds are just beginning to show,
Then summer’s red sun arrives in all its fullness;
But death and decline begin from that moment—
Oh, when will my sorrowful sighs come to rest?
Translated by Victor H. Mair
Though he successfully passed the highest civil service examination in 684, Ch’en Tzu-ang was more than once unjustly imprisoned on various charges, and he eventually died while incarcerated. He was the forerunner of early T’ang literary reforms, which rejected the decadent style of the Six Dynasties period, advocating in its place the masculine style of the Han and Wei periods. There are a total of thirty-eight poems in this series.