孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
与王二十一员外涯游枋口柳溪
The king with twenty-one officials visits the shores of Fangkou and Willow Creek
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万株古柳根 拏此磷磷溪 野榜多屈曲 仙浔无端倪 |
Ten thousand old willows take root Here beside this rushing creek. Their wild whips, gnarled and crooked, Banks full of immortals oblivious to all. |
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春桃散红烟 寒竹含晚凄 晓听忽以异 芳树安能齐 |
Spring peachtrees scatter pink smoke as Chill bamboo cherishes evening's sadness. With dawn, all sounds are suddenly different As you peacefully take in the trees' fragrance. |
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共疑落镜中 坐泛红景低 水意酒易醒 浪情事非迷 |
All doubts fall away on this mirrored surface As you float beneath a pink landscape. River thoughts, soon aroused by wine. Waves of feelings come, without confusion. |
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小儒峭章句 大贤嘉提携 潜窦韵灵瑟 翠崖鸣玉珪 |
Few scholars can write from the heights. Ancient worthies make excellent guides. From hidden depths, their divine music. On jade cliffs, their regal seals. |
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主人稷卨翁 德茂芝朮畦 凿出幽隐端 气象皆升跻 |
Our master is the ancient Lord of Grain Whose virtue flourished in small garden plots. His work was carved from hidden remoteness. His spirit prevailed, lifting everything up. |
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曾是清乐抱 逮兹几省溪 宴位席兰草 滥觞惊凫鹥 |
Once, pure music was cherished. Now Seize it here by this oft-visited stream. Dine among the orchids, sit in the grass, Let your drinking startle the wild ducks. |
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灵味荐鲂瓣 金花屑橙齑 江调摆衰俗 洛风远尘泥 |
Divine savour is offered by the bream with Golden flowers and an orange jam. River's melody sways with its weak current. Courtly manners now like distant dust. |
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徒言奏狂狷 讵敢忘筌蹄 |
Mere words are the offering of closed minds. Who can dare forget what is needed? |
-- 孟郊
废话
This poem of Meng Jiao's appears to be inspired by a visit of the Chu king and his court to Fangkou lake in the Taihang mountains. The Lord of Grain is Houji (后稷), originator of farming and variously described as a minister of Shun, the product of a virgin birth, and a god. There were a lot of virgin births in ancient China. A woman could hardly step into a big footprint, hear a thunderclap, or swallow an egg whole without giving birth to miraculous offspring. We know from the last three poems that Meng Jiao often visits Fangkou. It's not surprising he was inspired to do so by the King of Chu.
I suggested earlier that Meng Jiao must have been appointed to a post in Jiyuan near Fangkou. On the other hand, he could have visited here in his earlier free years and be writing from memory. But his remarks in the last poem about coming here often make it, in my opinion, more likely he was assigned here for three years.