When the age is corrupt,
you’re
a curly- eeced ram, When the times are fair, you’re a ne, swift horse.
Hanshan - 01
4 The color of the peaks reaches my weedy gate. I pluck leaves to thatch my home in the pines, Dig a pool, channel the stream water there. Already content to give up all a airs,
8 I’ll pass my last years gathering mountain greens.
1 This poem mentions a variety of remedies and talismans meant to protect the life and longevity of the wearer/consumer.
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90
寒山詩
HS 79
益者益其精，
可名為有益。
易者易其形，
4 是名之有易。 能益復能易， 當得上仙籍。 無益復無易，
8 終不免死厄。 HS 80
徒勞說三史，
浪自看五經。
洎老檢黃籍，
4 依前注白丁。 筮遭連蹇卦， 生主虛危星。 不及河邊樹，
8 年年一度青。
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Hanshan’s Poems 91
HS 79
By “bene t,” I mean “bene t one’s essence”; This could be called “bene cial. ”
By “change” I mean “change one’s form”;
4 This is termed “changeable. ”
If you can bene t, if you can change,
Then you’ll be placed on the roster of Transcendents; But with no bene t and no change,
8 You’ll never escape the calamity of death. 1
HS 80
Vain to toil in reading the Three Histories;2 A waste to peruse the Five Classics.
I’ll be listed in tax rolls until I’m old,
4 Always registered as a commoner. 3
Casting my fate, always “obstruction” comes up;4
A life ever governed by the “barren” and “danger” stars. 5 It would be better to be a riverside tree,
8 That gets to turn green once every year.
1 This very Daoist poem is a versi cation of a passage from “The Private History of Emperor Wu of the Han” (Han Wudi nei zhuan 漢武帝內傳), in which the Queen Mother of the West explains to the emperor the secrets of longevity.
2 These are the rst three of the o cial histories: Shi ji, Han Shu, Hou Han shu.
3 That is, no matter how hard the speaker studies, he will never pass the examinations
and will always keep his commoner status.
4 A reference to hexagram #39 in the Yijing: jian or “obstruction”.
5 Xu (“barrens”) and wei (“danger”) are two of the twenty-four asterisms that are used
in Chinese astrology. They govern disaster and loss.
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92
寒山詩
HS 81
碧澗泉水清，
寒山月華白。
默知神自明，
觀空境逾寂。
HS 82
我今有一襦，
非羅復非綺。
借問作何色，
4 不紅亦不紫。 夏天將作衫， 冬天將作被。 冬夏遞互用，
8 長年只這是。 HS 83
白拂栴檀柄，
馨香竟日聞。
柔和如卷霧，
4 搖拽似行雲。
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Hanshan’s Poems 93
HS 81
Clear stream water in the emerald dale; Moonlight white on Cold Mountain.
In the silence, I know Spirit is itself bright;
I look into Emptiness: realms ever more quiet.
HS 82
Today I have a jacket,
Not fashioned of gauze or patterned silk. You may ask what color it is—
4 It’s not crimson, nor is it purple.
In summer it makes do for a shirt,
In winter it makes do for a coverlet. Winter and summer, I switch its uses—
8 Through my long life I only have this.
HS 83
A white y-whisk, with sandalwood handle;1 One can smell its fragrance throughout the day. Gentle it is, like billowing mist,
4 Wafting gently, like moving clouds.
1 Fly whisks were commonly used by abbots and other authority gures in the Buddhist church as an aid to rhetorical gestures in their sermons and conversations.
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94
寒山詩
禮奉宜當暑，
高提復去塵。
時時方丈內，
8 將用指迷人。 HS 84
貪愛有人求快活，
不知禍在百年身。
但看陽燄浮漚水，
4 便覺無常敗壞人。 丈夫志氣直如鐵， 無曲心中道自真。 行密節高霜下竹，
8 方知不枉用心神。 HS 85
多少般數人，
百計求名利。
心貪覓榮華，
4 經營圖富貴。
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Hanshan’s Poems 95
O ered politely, it’s good for dealing with the heat; Raised aloft, it can remove dust too.
And sometimes, within the abbot’s cell,
8 It’s used to point the way for those who are lost.
HS 84
Greedy and covetous, there are people who seek for happiness, Unaware that disaster resides within their mortal bodies.
Just look at a single ame that oats upon the froth;
4 Then you’ll realize how Impermanence defeats and ruins us.
An upright man’s willful force is as straight as iron;
And through his never-crooked mind the way is naturally true. Dense in growth with lofty joints, that bamboo under the frost:1
8 We can know then that it’s not a waste to exert the mind and spirit.
HS 85
So many di erent kinds of men:
With many schemes they seek fame and pro t. Their minds are greedy as they seek their glory,
4 Laying plans, plotting for wealth and status.
1 Because of bamboo’s ability to withstand cold weather, it became a symbol for thriving under adversity. Here there are other plays on words as well: “dense in growth” could mean “careful in conduct,” and “lofty joints” could mean “lofty self-restraint. ”
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96
寒山詩
心未片時歇，
奔突如煙氣。
家眷實團圓，
8 一呼百諾至。 不過七十年， 冰消瓦解置。 死了萬事休，
12 誰人承後嗣。 水浸泥彈丸， 方知無意智。
HS 86
貪人好聚財，
恰如梟愛子。
子大而食母，
4 財多還害己。 散之即福生， 聚之即禍起。 無財亦無禍，
8 鼓翼青雲裏。
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Hanshan’s Poems
97
Their minds never have a moment’s rest, Rushing about like a surging fog.
A large family’s truly all around them;
8 A hundred assents to every summons.
But seventy years have not passed by
When the ice melts away and the tiles will shatter. He’ll die, and all earthly a airs will end;
12 Who then will stand to inherit?
It’s like water soaking a ball of mud— You’ll know then there’s no wisdom in it.
HS 86
Greedy people who like to hoard wealth Are just like the owls who love their chicks. When the chick gets big it eats its mother;
4 When wealth is great it will harm you. Get rid of it, then good fortune is born; Collect it and disaster arises.
No wealth, and then no disaster—
8 You can beat your wings amid the blue clouds.
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98
寒山詩
HS 87
去家一萬里，
提劍擊匈奴。
得利渠即死，
4 失利汝即殂。 渠命既不惜， 汝命有何辜。 教汝百勝術，
8 不貪為上謨。 HS 88
嗔是心中火，
能燒功德林。
欲行菩薩道，
忍辱護真心。
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Hanshan’s Poems 99
HS 87
You’re away from home ten thousand leagues, Drawing your sword to strike the Xiongnu. 1 If you get the advantage, then he will die;
4 If you lose it, you will perish.
Since you don’t care if he lives or dies, What guilt does your own life bear?
I’ll teach you the art of a hundred victories:
8 Not coveting is the best plan of all.
HS 88
Anger is a re in the mind
That can burn down your forest of merit. If you wish to travel the Bodhisattva’s path, Forbear, and protect your true mind.
1 The Xiongnu were northern nomads frequently involved in border wars during the Han dynasty. After the Han, they became a standard literary term for enemy peoples to the north, particularly in frontier poetry.
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100
寒山詩
HS 89
汝為埋頭癡兀兀，
愛向無明羅剎窟。
再三勸你早修行，
4 是你頑癡心恍惚。 不肯信受寒山語， 轉轉倍加業汨汨。 直待斬首作兩段，
8 方知自身奴賊物。 HS 90
惡趣甚茫茫，
冥冥無日光。
人間八百歲，
4 未抵半宵長。 此等諸癡子， 論情甚可傷。 勸君求出離，
8 認取法中王。
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Hanshan’s Poems 101
HS 89
All of you bury your heads away, foolish and muddle-headed. You love to seek the cavern of the demon Ignorance.
Over and over, I’ve urged you to start your practice early;
4 It’s you who are dim and stupid, your minds lost in a daze. You’re unwilling to put your trust in Cold Mountain’s words; More and more, ever increasing, your evil karma ows on. Just wait until your head’s cut o and you are split in two;
8 Then you’ll know that your own Self is just a slave, a bandit.
HS 90
How limitless the Three Evil Paths;1 Murky and dark without a sun. Eight hundred years of human life
4 Don’t ll out half a night-time there. All the fools of this type
To tell the truth, are really pathetic. I urge you sir, to seek release,
8 And acknowledge the Prince of the Dharma. 2
1 The three unfortunate paths of rebirth: animals, hungry ghosts, and the Hell realms.
2 The Buddha.
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102
寒山詩
HS 91
世有多解人，
愚癡徒苦辛。
不求當來善，
4 唯知造惡因。 五逆十惡輩， 三毒以為親。 一死入地獄，
8 長如鎮庫銀。 HS 92
天高高不窮，
地厚厚無極。
動物在其中，
4 憑茲造化力。 爭頭覓飽暖， 作計相噉食。 因果都未詳，
8 盲兒問乳色。
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Hanshan’s Poems 103
HS 91
In the world there are men with “great understanding” Who are foolish—only su er and toil.
They don’t seek the good of their future lives;
4 Only know how to create evil karma. The Five Perversions, the Ten Evil Acts, The Three Poisons they take as kin. 1 And once they die, they enter Hell,
8 Held there as long as good-luck silver. 2
HS 92
The Heavens are high—high and forever; The Earth is deep—deep and endless. Living things dwell between them,
4 And rely on them to produce transformations. They vie in seeking contentment and warmth, Lay plans to devour each other.
Of causes and results they understand little:
8 Blind men asking about the color of milk.
1 The Five Perversions are: Killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, destroying the harmony of the sangha, and shedding the blood of a Buddha. The Ten Evil Acts are: killing, robbery, illicit sex, wild speech, lying, slander, attery, greed, anger, and perverse views. The Three Poisons are greed, anger, and ignorance.
2 Silver kept in one’s warehouse permanently for emergencies; such silver was also thought to suppress bad luck and preserve good fortune. The term literally means “suppression warehouse silver. ”
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104
寒山詩
HS 93
天下幾種人，
論時色數有。
賈婆如許夫，
4 黃老元無婦。 衛氏兒可憐， 鐘家女極醜。 渠若向西行，
8 我便東邊走。 HS 94
賢士不貪婪，
癡人好鑪冶。
麥地占他家，
4 竹園皆我者。 努膊覓錢財， 切齒驅奴馬。 須看郭門外，
8 壘壘松柏下。
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Hanshan’s Poems 105
HS 93
The various kinds of people in the world, To tell the truth, have their di erent aspects. Old lady Jia had so many husbands,
4 While Old Huang never had a wife at all. The Wei clan’s boy was quite charming, While the Zhong family girl was ugly indeed. If he decides to head o to the west,
8 Then I will run to the east. 1
HS 94
A worthy gentleman controls his greed, While the fool is fond of his alchemy. 2 He’ll occupy the elds of others,
4 Claim bamboo and gardens as his own. Flexing his arms, he seeks out wealth; Grinding his teeth, he drives a worn-out nag. He should look beyond the city walls,
8 At the mounds piled up below pine and cypress. 3
1 This poem simply emphasizes the arbitrary aspects and tastes of human beings. Commentators spend much energy linking each of the four people mentioned in lines 3–6 with speci c historical actors, with greater or less plausibility; but I suspect the author is mostly using each surname in the manner of a “Mr. Smith” or a “Miss Jones. ” The last couplet should not be taken as the author’s preference, but simply as another example of human perversity—if someone does one thing, someone else is bound to do the opposite.
2 I. e. , experiments in creating gold. 3 Grave mounds.
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106
寒山詩
HS 95
嗊嗊買魚肉，
擔歸餧妻子。
何須殺他命，
4 將來活汝己。 此非天堂緣， 純是地獄滓。 徐六語破堆，
8 始知沒道理。 HS 96
有人把椿樹，
喚作白栴檀。
學道多沙數，
4 幾箇得泥丸。 棄金却擔草， 謾他亦自謾。 似聚砂一處，
8 成團也大難。
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Hanshan’s Poems 107
HS 95
“Mid shouting and bustle you buy sh and esh, And bear it back home to feed wife and child. But why must you take the life of another
4 And use it to sustain your own existence? Those aren’t conditions that lead to Heaven; They’re purely the dregs of Hell. ”
The words of Xu Six have hit the mark,
8 You’ll know then that this makes no sense. 1
HS 96
There are people who would call the ailanthus2 By the name of white sandalwood.
There are many who study the Dharma,
4 But only a few who will nd nirvana.
They’ll cast away gold and carry weeds instead, Deceiving others and deceiving themselves. Like piling up sand in one place—
8 You can’t make it form a ball.
1 The identity of Xu Six is not known. It may just be another one of Hanshan’s hypothetical speakers. Here he lectures the poem’s persona on vegetarianism.
2 A tree known not just for its unpleasant odor but for the uselessness of its wood.
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108
寒山詩
HS 97
蒸砂擬作飯，
臨渴始掘井。
用力磨碌甎，
4 那堪將作鏡。 佛說平元等， 總有真如性。 但自審思量，
8 不用閑爭競。 HS 98
推尋世間事，
子細總皆知。
凡事莫容易，
4 盡愛討便宜。 護即弊成好， 毀即是成非。 故知雜濫口，
8 背面總由伊。 冷暖我自量， 不信奴脣皮。
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Hanshan’s Poems 109
HS 97
Steam sand, planning to make rice— Digging a well only when you thirst.
Use your strength to polish a piece of tile—
4 When will it ever become a mirror? 1
The Buddha’s words hold all things equal, Always possess the nature of True Suchness. 2 If you really think carefully about it,
8 It’s useless to vie and struggle.
HS 98
Examine the a airs of this world: Carefully, so you know all: Common a airs are hardly easy;
4 All love to seek what they prefer.
In defense they’ll turn the bad to good,
In slander they’ll turn what is true to false. So you know that those who endlessly debate
8 Are just secretly choosing what they want. I’ll judge the hot and the cold for myself: In this I won’t trust what those guys say.
1 A proverbial expression for useless e ort in seeking enlightenment—most famously expressed in a story in which the early Chan master Mazu Daoyi 馬祖道一 persuades Nanyue Huairang 南嶽懷讓 that meditation is like polishing a tile to create a mirror.
2 “All things equal” explains the Sanskrit term samatā, which can mean equanimity as well, the ability to not cling to things. True Suchness (zhenru) is bhūtatathatā, a Mahayana term used to express ultimate reality.
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110
寒山詩
HS 99
蹭蹬諸貧士，
飢寒成至極。
閑居好作詩，
4 札札用心力。 賤他言孰采， 勸君休歎息。 題安糊䴵上，
8 乞狗也不喫。 HS 100
欲識生死譬，
且將冰水比。
水結即成冰，
4 冰消返成水。 已死必應生， 出生還復死。 冰水不相傷，
8 生死還雙美。
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Hanshan’s Poems 111
HS 99
Stumbling along, those poor scholars,
Their hunger and cold have reached the extreme. In their idleness they like to write verse,
4 Toiling away, using all their brains.
They’re low-ranking, so who will prefer their words? But I urge them not to sigh about it.
If you were to write your verse on a cake,
8 A dog wouldn’t eat it if you asked him. 1
HS 100
Would you know a likeness for life and death? Then try comparing water to ice.
Water freezes and turns to ice;
4 Ice melts and returns to water. Already dead; you’ll live again. Another life; you’ll die once more. Ice and water won’t harm each other:
8 Life and death are a paired delight.
1 Or “even a begging dog wouldn’t eat it. ”
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112
寒山詩
HS 101
尋思少年日，
遊獵向平陵。
國使職非願，
4 神仙未足稱。 聯翩騎白馬， 喝兔放蒼鷹。 不覺大流落，
8 皤皤誰見矜。 HS 102
偃息深林下，
從生是農夫。
立身既質直，
4 出語無諂諛。 保我不鑒璧， 信君方得珠。 焉能同泛灩，
8 極目波上鳧。
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Hanshan’s Poems 113
HS 101
I think back on the days of my youth, When I’d go hunting toward Pingling. 1
A position as state courier was not my wish,
4 And I never thought the Transcendent Way worth praising. I galloped about upon my white steed,
Called out hares, let loose my gray hawk.
Then unawares, I went into a great decline:
8 White-haired, who is concerned for me?
HS 102
I hid away in a deep wood,
Taking up life as a farmer.
I established myself as upright and straight,
4 Never uttered attery or slander.
I protect my unexamined jade,2
I’ll leave it to you to nd the pearl. 3
How can I join them in the drift and ow?
8 At the edge of my sight, those ducks on the waves.
1 A fashionable suburb of the capital in Han times; later, it was used in poetry to describe neighborhoods of the elites.
2 Probably a reference to the famous piece of jade discovered by Mr. He 和氏 in the Warring States period. He attempted to persuade di erent rulers of its value, but instead found himself brutally punished. Finally the value of the jade was discovered and was fashioned into a precious disk. Since then, the story has become a metaphor for unrecognized talents. Here, the speaker says he prefers to live as a recluse rather than seek o ce.
3 I take this to refer to the active desire to attain o ce or status. Various commentators nd speci c allusions here, but none strike me as satisfactory.
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114
寒山詩
HS 103
不須攻人惡，
何用伐己善。
行之則可行，
4 卷之則可卷。 祿厚憂積大， 言深慮交淺。 聞茲若念茲，
8 小子當自見。 HS 104
富兒會高堂，
華燈何煒煌。
此時無燭者，
4 心願處其傍。 不意遭排遣， 還歸暗處藏。 益人明詎損，
8 頓訝惜餘光。
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Hanshan’s Poems 115
HS 103
No need to attack the other’s faults;
And what use to aunt your own virtues?
If you’re going to take action then go ahead;
4 If you’re going to withdraw, then do that too.
Salary generous—worry about your great duties;1 Advice profound—fret that your connections are weak. Hear this, all of you, and remember!
8 You young ones will discover this for yourselves.
HS 104
Wealthy lads assemble in the high hall;
Their fancy lanterns—how bright they shine! Just then, a man without a candle
4 Wants to stay at their side.
You wouldn’t think he’d be refused, ejected,
Sent home to dwell alone in darkness.
How is it less bright when light is shared with others?
9 How surprising—they begrudged their extra light.
1 I accept that the correct character for 積 (“accumulate”) here should be 責 (“duty”), in keeping with other editions.
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116
寒山詩
HS 105
世有聰明士，
勤苦探幽文。
三端自孤立，
4 六藝越諸君。 神氣卓然異， 精彩超眾群。 不識箇中意，
8 逐境亂紛紛。 HS 106
層層山水秀，
煙霞鎖翠微。
嵐拂紗巾濕，
4 露霑簑草衣。 足躡遊方履， 手執古藤枝。 更觀塵世外，
8 夢境復何為。
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Hanshan’s Poems 117
HS 105
There are clever scholars in the world, Who toil way, plunged in writings obscure. They stand alone with their Three Tips,1
4 Surpass all others in the Six Arts. 2
The force of their spirit is manifestly unique, Their brilliance goes beyond the common crowd. But they don’t know the Central Import,3
8 And bustle about the world in frenzied disorder.
HS 106
Scene upon scene, the landscape superb;
Mist and rosy clouds enclose the distant mountain green. Fog brushes and dampens my silken head cloth;
4 The dew soaks my raincoat made of straw. My feet tread in wanderer’s shoes,
My hand grasps an old rattan sta .
If you look beyond this dusty world,
8 What is there other than a realm of dreams?
1 The “three tips” (brush, weapon, and tongue) are skills in writing, marital arts, and oratory.
2 The traditional six arts of early Confucianism are: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmetic.
3 That is, the Buddhist dharma.
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118
寒山詩
HS 107
滿卷才子詩，
溢壺聖人酒。
行愛觀牛犢，
4 坐不離左右。 霜露入茅簷， 月華明瓮牖。 此時吸兩甌，
8 吟詩五百首。 HS 108
施家有兩兒，
以藝干齊楚。
文武各自備，
4 託身為得所。 孟公問其術， 我子親教汝。 秦衛兩不成，
8 失時成齟齬。
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Hanshan’s Poems 119
HS 107
Filling the scroll, a talented man’s verse;
Filling the jug, wine of the Sage. 1
When walking, I love to go see my oxen and calves;
4 When I sit, scroll and jug never leave my side. Frost and dew penetrate my thatched eaves; Moonlight brightens my ramshackle window. 2 Now is when I’ll sip a few cups,
8 And chant ve hundred poems!
HS 108
The Shi family had two sons,
Who with their skills sought jobs in Qi and Chu. One was versed in civil, the other, martial a airs;
4 So they committed themselves and found a place. Master Meng asked after their method;
“My sons will tell you themselves:
Your sons both failed in Qin and Wei;
8 Their timing was bad, and so nothing went right. ”3
1 Wine of the Sage was a clear, strained wine, as opposed to Wine of the Worthy, which was muddy and considered of lower quality.
2 Literally, “jug-window,” a window frame formed from a broken jug—a poetic cliché for a rustic dwelling.
3 This is a versi cation of an anecdote from the Liezi. One of the sons of Mr. Shi found a job as a Confucian tutor in Qi; another found a job as a military strategist in Chu. When Mr. Meng’s sons attempted the same thing, they picked the wrong countries: one attempted to nd a tutor job in the militaristic Qin, the other a strategist position in the weak and accommodating Wei. As a result, one son was castrated, and the other had his feet cut o .
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120
寒山詩
HS 109
止宿鴛鴦鳥，
一雄兼一雌。
銜花相共食，
4 刷羽每相隨。 戲入煙霄裏， 宿歸沙岸湄。 自憐生處樂，
8 不奪鳳皇池。 HS 110
或有衒行人，
才藝過周孔。
見罷頭兀兀，
4 看時身侗侗。 繩牽未肯行， 錐刺猶不動。 恰似羊公鶴，
8 可憐生氃氋。
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Hanshan’s Poems 121
HS 109
Stopping to roost, a pair of mandarin ducks: One of them male, the other female. Blossoms in beaks, they feed one another;
4 Scrubbing their feathers, they travel together. Playfully they enter the misty vault above; When roosting, they return to their sandy bank. They naturally love their place of birth:
8 They’ll not seize a place at Phoenix Pool. 1
HS 110
There’s a man who boasts of his actions,
More talented than the Duke of Zhou or Confucius! Just to see him will make you dizzy;
4 When you look at him, he seems splendid and grand. Try leading him with a rope and he’ll never budge; Stick him with an awl and he won’t jump at all.
He’s just like those cranes of Master Yang:
8 How adorable they are as they shake their feathers! 2
1 Phoenix Pool can be a symbol for high political o ce.
2 Master Yang’s cranes were trained to perform a dance, but when he invited some
guests to watch them perform, they would simply stand and shake their feathers. The anecdote is applied to men who may seem impressive and talented but accomplish nothing.
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122
寒山詩
HS 111
少小帶經鋤，
本將兄共居。
緣遭他輩責，
4 剩被自妻踈。 拋絕紅塵境， 常遊好閱書。 誰能借斗水，
8 活取轍中魚。 HS 112
變化計無窮，
生死竟不止。
三途鳥雀身，
4 五嶽龍魚已。 世濁作䍲羺， 時清為騄駬。 前迴是富兒，
8 今度成貧士。
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Hanshan’s Poems 123
HS 111
When young I’d take along a book as I plowed,1 Back when I lived with my older brother.
Then because I met blame from others,
4 Even my wife kept her distance from me.
Let me cast aside this world of red dust,
Always go wandering with the books that I love! Who can borrow a pail of water
8 And keep the cart-rut sh alive? 2
HS 112
There’s no end to Transformation’s plans;
No stopping the cycles of life and death.
You’re in the body of a bird on the Three Evil Paths,
4 Then a dragon or sh among the Five Peaks.
When the age is corrupt, you’re a curly- eeced ram, When the times are fair, you’re a ne, swift horse. 3 Last time you were a wealthy young man;
8 Now you’ve become an impoverished scholar.
1 The text says “classic,” but that term can apply to scriptures of all the major faiths. Probably standard Confucian texts are meant.
2 An anecdote from the Zhuangzi tells of a magical sh who was trapped in a cart-rut lled with water. When he begs Zhuangzi for some water, Zhuangzi tells him he’ll get the king to divert a whole river for him. The sh replies that by then it will be too late.
3 Literally, “Green Ears,” a famous steed that exempli es a ne horse.
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124
寒山詩
HS 113
書判全非弱，
嫌身不得官。
銓曹被拗折，
4 洗垢覓瘡瘢。 必也關天命， 今冬更試看。 盲兒射雀目，
8 偶中亦非難。 HS 114
貧驢欠一尺，
富狗剩三寸。
若分貧不平，
4 中半富與困。 始取驢飽足， 却令狗飢頓。 為汝熟思量，
8 令我也愁悶。
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Hanshan’s Poems 125
HS 113
I wasn’t weak at all in Calligraphy or Judgments; But they disliked my stature, so I didn’t get a post. 1 The Examination Board really grilled me;
4 They washed away dirt to look for my scars. 2 But if this depends on Heaven’s will,
This winter I’ll try again and see.
When a blind man shoots for the sparrow’s eye,
8 It’s not impossible he’ll hit it sometimes.
HS 114
An impoverished ass is short by a foot,
A wealthy dog has three inches too much.
If you give to the poor to correct the injustice,
4 In the process the wealthy will su er. If you start by making the ass satis ed, It’ll end by starving the dog.
If I think long on this for your sake,
8 It really makes me depressed.
1 In the Tang examination system, examinees were evaluated not just for their compositional skills, but for factors like neatness of handwriting and physical stature.
2 Proverbial for being excessive in fault- nding.
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126
寒山詩
HS 115
柳郎八十二，
藍嫂一十八。
夫妻共百年，
4 相憐情狡猾。 弄璋字烏䖘， 擲瓦名婠妠。 屢見枯楊荑，
8 常遭青女殺。 HS 116
大有飢寒客，
生將獸魚殊。
長存磨石下，
4 時哭路邊隅。 累日空思飯， 經冬不識襦。 唯齎一束草，
8 并帶五升麩。
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Hanshan’s Poems 127
HS 115
“Young Master” Liu is eighty-two; “Matron” Lan is but eighteen.
Husband and wife share a hundred years;1
4 They cherish each other, but their love’s a deceit. Their son played with seals; he was styled Tiger; Their daughter toyed with tiles; she was named Sissy. 2 But I’ve often seen shoots grow on withered willows;
8 Always the frost goddess kills them. 3
HS 116
There are many cold and hungry men
Who by birth are di erent from beast and sh; Yet they always shelter under millstones,
4 And often weep by the side of the road.
For many days they’ve thought of food in vain; They pass the whole winter unaware of shirts. They have for bedding but a bundle of straw,
8 And carry with them ve pints of bran.
1 A sarcasm based on a popular blessing: “May husband and wife share a hundred years” (i. e. , live a hundred years together). Here, the combined ages of the couple equal one hundred.
2 This couplet alludes to a Shijing poem that stresses the di erence in the treatment of baby boys and baby girls; the boys are treated well and given ne seals to play with; the girls are treated poorly and can only play with earthen tiles. The names given the children are meant to be cute baby names with traditional gender associations.
3 In general, this poem is a satire on elderly men remarrying young women; the last couplet suggests that any o spring born of such a union will die young.
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128
寒山詩
HS 117
赫赫誰壚肆，
其酒甚濃厚。
可憐高幡幟，
4 極目平升斗。 何意訝不售， 其家多猛狗。 童子欲來沽，
8 狗齩便是走。 HS 118
吁嗟濁濫處，
羅剎共賢人。
謂是等流類，
4 焉知道不親。 狐假師子勢， 詐妄却稱珍。 鉛礦入鑪冶，
8 方知金不真。
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Hanshan’s Poems
129
HS 117
Who owns that glittering wine shop there? Its wine is dark and thick enough,
It has a lovely, lofty sign,
4 And the clerks are keen to measure fair. Surprisingly, their sales are poor!
They have too many vicious dogs. When serving lads stop in to buy,
8 The dogs will bite and the lads will ee.
HS 118
Alas, this place of pollution,
Where demons mingle with worthies. But everyone thinks they’re just the same,
4 So how could you know that their paths diverge? Foxes ape the manner of lions,
Deceptions are praised as precious.
But put the lead ore in the furnace,
8 Then you’ll know that their “gold” is fake.
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130
寒山詩
HS 119
田家避暑月，
斗酒共誰歡。
雜雜排山果，
4 踈踈圍酒樽。 蘆莦將代席， 蕉葉且充盤。 醉後搘頤坐，
8 須彌小彈丸。 HS 120
箇是何措大，
時來省南院。
年可三十餘，
4 曾經四五選。 囊裏無青蚨， 篋中有黃卷。 行到食店前，
8 不敢暫迴面。
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Hanshan’s Poems 131
HS 119
In a farmer’s house, avoiding the summer heat; With whom should I share my drinking bouts? Randomly I set out mountain fruit,
4 And scatter wine cups all about us.
Reeds are woven to serve as mats,
And plantain leaves replace our plates.
When we’re drunk we’ll sit, our chins on our hands,
8 And pretend that Sumeru’s a little ball! 1
HS 120
What poor bookworm is this?
Sometimes he comes to the South Court exams. 2 He’s probably over thirty years old,
4 And has taken the test four or ve times. His purse is empty of “blue beetles”;3
His satchel is lled with yellow scrolls. 4 When he walks in front of the food shops,
8 He doesn’t dare turn his head for a moment. 5
1 In Buddhist cosmology, Mt. Sumeru is the large mountain situated in the center of every individual cosmos.
2 A court established by the Board of Rites in Tang times where the examinations were announced.
3 “Blue beetle”: a slang term for copper cash.
4 Tang manuscripts were usually copied on paper with a yellow tint.
5 That is, to show that he is interested in food (and thus admit his own poverty).
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132
寒山詩
HS 121
為人常喫用，
愛意須慳惜。
老去不自由，
4 漸被他推斥。 送向荒山頭， 一生願虛擲。 亡羊罷補穿，
8 失意終無極。 HS 122
浪造凌霄閣，
虛登百尺樓。
養生仍夭命，
4 誘讀詎封侯。 不用從黃口， 何須猒白頭。 未能端似箭，
8 且莫曲如鈎。
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Hanshan’s Poems 133
HS 121
People always have their cost of living;
Their covetous minds must learn parsimony. Then they grow old, never at liberty,
4 Gradually pushed aside by others.
Sent o to a grave on an overgrown hill,
All the hopes of their lives are thrown away. When the sheep’s ed, give up blocking the holes;
8 There’s no end to the disappointment.
HS 122
Useless to reach a lodge that pierces the sky, Vain to climb a hundred-foot tower.
You’ll nourish your life and still die young;
4 Be lured to study, but never be enfeo ed. No good to imitate edglings;1
Why be bothered by growing old?
If you can’t be as straight as an arrow,
8 At least don’t be as bent as a hook.
1 An allusion to a story in which Confucius nds out from a bird-catcher that edglings are easier to catch than adult birds, because they are naïve and more greedy for food. Here, it suggests that a wise person should not imitate the petty or the immature.
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134
寒山詩
HS 123
雲山疊疊連天碧，
路僻林深無客遊。
遠望孤蟾明皎皎，
4 近聞群鳥語啾啾。 老夫獨坐棲青嶂， 少室閑居任白頭。 可歎往年與今日，
8 無心還似水東流。 HS 124
富貴踈親聚，
只為多錢米。
貧賤骨肉離，
4 非關少兄弟。 急須歸去來， 招賢閣未啟。 浪行朱雀街，
8 踏破皮鞋底。
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Hanshan’s Poems 135
HS 123
Cloudy mountains, range on range, stretch their emerald to the sky; Road remote, forest deep: no travelers wander here.
Afar I gaze at the solitary toad, bright and gleaming white;1
4 Nearby I hear the ocks of birds that twitter noisily. An old man sits all alone, nesting on green cli s; Living idly in a little room, giving in to his old age. 2 What’s amazing: from former years up until today,
8 I’ve kept myself free of intentions, like water owing east.
HS 124
Far relations ock to the wealthy and great; It’s only because of their money and grain. Close kin will shun the poor and base;
4 It’s not because they have few brothers.
You should go back home again,
For Summon-Worthy Lodge will never open. It’s vain to tread Vermillion Bird Street,
8 Wearing out the soles of your shoes. 3
1 In traditional Chinese lore, a toad is said to dwell on the moon; this led to using “toad” as an elegant substitution.
2 I take the text’s 少室 for 小室. Possibly the “small room ten foot square” of Vimalakirtī (and which later became a description of the abbot’s residence—see HS 83) is meant here.
3 This poem condemns the power structure, suggesting that it is rooted entirely in relationships and wealthy connections. It would be better to be content at home, rather than seek public o ce by haunting the streets of the city. The Summon- Worthy Lodge was constructed by a Han prince to encourage talented men to join his entourage. Vermilion Bird Street was a major street in the Tang capital of Chang’an.
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136
寒山詩
HS 125
我見一癡漢，
仍居三兩婦。
養得八九兒，
4 總是隨宜手。 丁防是新差， 資財非舊有。 黃蘗作驢鞦，
8 始知苦在後。 HS 126
新穀尚未熟，
舊穀今已無。
就貸一斗許，
4 門外立踟躕。 夫出教問婦， 婦出遣問夫。 慳惜不救乏，
8 財多為累愚。
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Hanshan’s Poems 137
HS 125
I have seen a foolish man
Who has two or three wives at home. And he’s raised eight or nine sons,
4 All of them obedient to his will.
But there’s been a new round of army conscriptions, And his wealth isn’t what it was. 1
Tie Amur cork bark to the crupper of your ass,
8 Then you’ll know that the bitter comes from behind. 2
HS 126
The new grain has yet to ripen, While the old grain’s already run out. So I go to borrow a measure or so,
4 Hesitating outside of their gate.
The husband comes out, tells me to ask the wife; The wife comes out, sends me to ask the husband. Being stingy won’t save those who lack;
8 When your wealth is great, you’re even more stupid.
1 The man will not be able to buy exemptions from conscription for his sons.
2 The wood of the Amur cork tree had a medicinal bark with a bitter taste. The proverbial image here is that nothing lasts forever, and that su ering will inevitably
follow “behind. ”
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138
寒山詩
HS 127
大有好笑事，
略陳三五箇。
張公富奢華，
4 孟子貧轗軻。 只取侏儒飽， 不憐方朔餓。 巴歌唱者多，
8 白雪無人和。 HS 128
老翁娶少婦，
髮白婦不耐。
老婆嫁少夫，
4 面黃夫不愛。 老翁娶老婆， 一一無棄背。 少婦嫁少夫，
8 兩兩相憐態。
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Hanshan’s Poems 139
HS 127
There are many amusing things;
Let me tell you a few in brief.
Lord Zhang ourished in wealth and luxury,
4 While Master Meng su ered in his poverty. 1 They only made sure that the dwarfs were fed, Indi erent to the hunger of Dongfang Shuo. 2 Many people will sing the Song of Ba,
8 While few harmonize with the White Snow tune. 3
HS 128
If an old man takes a young wife, His wife won’t stand his white hair. If an old lady marries a young man,
4 The man won’t love her sallow looks. If an old man takes an old lady, Neither will abandon the other.
If a young wife marries a young man,
8 The two of them will love each other.
1 Lord Zhang is probably Zhang Yi 張儀, a talented Warring-States era debater, who was criticized by Mencius (Master Meng).
2 Dongfang Shuo was a talented scholar, but also a sort of court entertainer to Emperor Wu of the Han. He complained that Emperor Wu fed his jester-dwarfs well, while he left talented scholars to starve.
3 This alludes to an anecdote from an essay attributed to Song Yu 宋玉 (3rd cent. BCE), in which he considers the best music as that which is appreciated by only a few connoisseurs.
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140
寒山詩
HS 129
雍容美少年，
博覽諸經史。
盡號曰先生，
4 皆稱為學士。 未能得官職， 不解秉耒耜。 冬披破布衫，
8 蓋是書誤己。 HS 130
鳥語情不堪，
其時臥草庵。
櫻桃紅爍爍，
4 楊柳正毿毿。 旭日銜青嶂， 晴雲洗淥潭。 誰知出塵俗，
8 馭上寒山南。
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Hanshan’s Poems 141
HS 129
Gentle and polite, that lovely youth;
He’s broadly examined the classics and histories. All refer to him as “Master,”
4 Everyone calls him “scholar. ”
But he never could get an o cial post, And he doesn’t know how to wield a plow. In winter he wears a tattered hempen shirt;
8 It seems that his books have deceived him.
HS 130
When I can’t stand the feelings the birdsongs evoke,
I lie down within my thatched hut.
Then cherry and peach blossoms gleam in their crimson,
4 And the willow branches y about in tangles.
The setting sun is swallowed by the green cli s,
And re ections of clouds are washed in the clear pond. Who knows how to escape this vulgar dust
8 And drive his carriage up the south side of Cold Mountain?
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142
寒山詩
HS 131
昨日何悠悠，
場中可憐許。
上為桃李徑，
4 下作蘭蓀渚。 復有綺羅人， 舍中翠毛羽。 相逢欲相喚，
8 脈脈不能語。 HS 132
丈夫莫守困，
無錢須經紀。
養得一牸牛，
4 生得五犢子。 犢子又生兒， 積數無窮已。 寄語陶朱公，
8 富與君相似。
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Hanshan’s Poems 143
HS 131
Yesterday—how serene it was!
And lovely it was in the clearing.
Above, paths through the peach and plum trees,
4 Below, an islet amid the thoroughwort and calamus. And there in the lodge was a girl in patterned silk, Adorned with king sher plumes in her hair.
I met her and wanted to call out to her,
8 But only gazed on her and could not speak.
HS 132
A real man should not bear his poverty;
If he has no cash, he must make his plans. Let him look after a single cow,
4 So it can give birth to ve calves.
If the calves then give birth in turn, There will be no end to what he accrues. Send word then to Master Tao Zhu:
8 “I’m as wealthy as you are! ”1
1 Tao Zhu was the name taken by the famous strategist Fan Li 范蠡 after he left his position as an advisor to the king of Yue. In one early text he advises a man to invest in cattle as a reliable road to wealth.
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144
寒山詩
HS 133
之子何惶惶，
卜居須自審。
南方瘴癘多，
4 北地風霜甚。 荒陬不可居， 毒川難可飲。 魂兮歸去來，
8 食我家園葚。 HS 134
昨夜夢還家，
見婦機中織。
駐梭如有思，
4 擎梭似無力。 呼之迴面視， 況復不相識。 應是別多年，
8 鬢毛非舊色。
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Hanshan’s Poems 145
HS 133
That guy is really frantic—
For he has to be careful in making his home. In the south, miasmal plagues are great,
4 And in the north, the wind and frost are bad. He can’t reside in a backwoods corner,
Nor drink from a poisoned stream.
Oh soul! Come back home again,
8 And eat the mulberries from my garden! 1
HS 134
Last night I returned home in a dream,
And saw my wife weaving at her loom.
She stopped the shuttle as if she brooded on something,
4 Held up the shuttle as if too weak to go on. I called to her, and she turned to look— But it seemed like she didn’t know me.
It must be I’ve been gone for so many years,
8 And the hair at my temples is not the color it was.
1 This last couplet alludes to “The Summons to the Soul,” a poem from the Chuci, in which the speaker attempts to recall a soul to its recently deceased body. Here, the soul stands in for the restless subject of the poem, who is discontentedly seeking the best place to live.
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146
寒山詩
HS 135
人生不滿百，
常懷千載憂。
自身病始可，
4 又為子孫愁。 下視禾根下， 上看桑樹頭。 秤鎚落東海，
8 到底始知休。 HS 136
世有一等流，
悠悠似木頭。
出語無知解，
4 云我百不憂。 問道道不會， 問佛佛不求。 子細推尋著，
8 茫然一場愁。
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Hanshan’s Poems 147
HS 135
A human life won’t last a hundred years, Yet it’s lled with a thousand of worry.
Just as soon as you’re over your own illness,
4 You stew over your sons and grandsons.
Below, you check the earth where the sprouts take root;1 Above, you look at the mulberry trees.
If you drop a steelyard weight in the eastern sea,
8 You know it’s over when it hits bottom. 2
HS 136
There’s a certain type in the world, Unconcerned and wooden-headed. When he opens his mouth, no wisdom;
4 He says, “Nothing ever worries me! ”
Ask him about the Way—he doesn’t understand; Ask him about the Buddha—he hasn’t sought him. If you carefully look into this matter:
8 It’s all muddled, a realm of grief.
1 Reading variant tu 土 (“earth”) for xia 下 (“below”).
2 A proverbial expression that refers to nality—when something heavy falls into
the water, it does not stop until it hits bottom. “Hit bottom” can also mean “in the end”—here referring that human toil only ends with death.
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148
寒山詩
HS 137
董郎年少時，
出入帝京裏。
衫作嫩鵝黃，
4 容儀畫相似。 常騎踏雪馬， 拂拂紅塵起。 觀者滿路傍，
8 箇是誰家子。 HS 138
箇是誰家子，
為人大被憎。
癡心常憤憤，
4 肉眼醉瞢瞢。 見佛不禮佛， 逢僧不施僧。 唯知打大臠，
8 除此百無能。
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Hanshan’s Poems 149
HS 137
When Master Dong was just a young man,1 He frequented the Imperial City,
With his shirt fashioned of goose-yellow silk,
4 And features worthy of a painting.
Always he rode a snow-stepping steed,2 Stirring clouds of red dust wherever he went. And gawkers lled the road to watch:
8 “Just who is that guy anyway? ”
HS 138
Just who is that guy anyway? His character hated by everyone. A foolish mind, always excitable,
4 And carnal sight blind in drunkenness.
He sees Buddha but won’t pay him courtesy, He sees a monk but won’t give him charity. He only knows how to bolt down his meat,
8 And he’s useless for everything else.
1 This is Dong Xian 董賢, a sexual favorite of the doomed last ruler of the Eastern Han dynasty, Aidi 哀帝 (r. 7–1 BCE). He was treated with excessive favor due to his handsome looks, until a palace coup forced him to commit suicide after the death of his master.
2 “Snow-stepping steed” was a steed with four white hooves.
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150
寒山詩
HS 139
人以身為本，
本以心為柄。
本在心莫邪，
4 心邪喪本命。 未能免此殃， 何言懶照鏡。 不念金剛經，
8 却令菩薩病。 HS 140
城北仲家翁，
渠家多酒肉。
仲家婦死時，
4 吊客滿堂屋。 仲翁自身亡， 能無一人哭。 喫他盃臠者，
8 何太冷心腹。
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Hanshan’s Poems
151
HS 139
People should take their Selves as their root, And this root has its application in the mind. Don’t let that root in the mind go bad;
4 For if the mind goes bad, you lose your life’s root. People can never avoid this misfortune!
Why say you’re too lazy to look in the mirror?
If you don’t chant the Diamond Sutra,
8 It makes the bodhisattvas sick.
HS 140
Old Man Zhong from north of town:
His house has so much meat and wine.
So when the lady of the Zhong family died,
4 The mourners lled his halls and rooms.
But when Old Man Zhong himself passed away, Not a single person wept.
Those who drank his wine and ate his meat—
8 How cold-hearted they were!
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152
寒山詩
HS 141
下愚讀我詩，
不解却嗤誚。
中庸讀我詩，
4 思量云甚要。 上賢讀我詩， 把著滿面笑。 楊脩見幼婦，
8 一覽便知妙。 HS 142
自有慳惜人，
我非慳惜輩。
衣單為舞穿，
4 酒盡緣歌啐。 當取一腹飽， 莫令兩脚儽。 蓬蒿鑽髑髏，
8 此日君應悔。
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Hanshan’s Poems 153
HS 141
When a fool reads my verse,
He doesn’t understand, but sco s at it anyway. When a middling type reads my verse,
4 He ponders, then says, “That’s important! ” When a wise one reads my verse,
His whole face breaks out in a smile. When Yang Xiu saw “young bride,”
8 With one glance, he knew it was “marvelous. ”1
HS 142
Naturally there are stingy people in the world, But I am not the stingy type.
My clothes are thin, they wear out as I dance;
4 All the wine is gone, because my song urged the drinking. One ought to eat until you’re full, though,
So that you’re legs don’t tire out.
When brambles grow through your skull:
8 You’ll regret it on that day. 2
1 An anecdote from the Shishuo xin yu describes how Yang Xiu, an advisor to the warlord Cao Cao 曹操, competed with his master to solve a rebus inscribed on a stele in honor of a Lady Cao. Part of the rebus involved interpreting the phrase “young bride” to mean “youthful woman” 少女—the component parts of the character miao 妙, or “marvelous. ”
2 Regret that you did not take your pleasure while alive.
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154
寒山詩
HS 143
我行經古墳，
淚盡嗟存沒。
塚破壓黃腸，
4 棺穿露白骨。 敧斜有瓮缾， 掁撥無簪笏。 風至攬其中，
8 灰塵亂 。 HS 144
夕陽赫西山，
草木光曄曄。
復有朦朧處，
4 松蘿相連接。 此中多伏虎， 見我奮迅鬣。 手中無寸刃，
8 爭不懼懾懾。
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Hanshan’s Poems 155
HS 143
In my travels I passed ancient mounds;
My tears ran out as I lamented life and death.
The tombs had collapsed, weighing down on the yellow wood;1
4 And the co ns were pierced, exposing white bones within. All askew, the urns and the vases;
I barged about, found no hairpins or tallies. 2
A wind came up, stirring everything up;
8 Ashes and dust ew everywhere.
HS 144
The evening sun shines on the western hills; Plants and trees give o a sparkling light. But there are also places of gloom therein,
4 Where pines and vines all intertwine.
And there are many tigers crouching there; When they see me, they rage and bristle. I’ve not the smallest blade at hand,
8 So shouldn’t I tremble in fright?
1 Literally, “yellow innards,” the cypress wood from which co ns were made.
2 Members of the o cial class would have been buried with these ornaments as a sign of the o ces they held while alive. The poet is gesturing to the futility of such
demonstrations when one is dead.
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156
寒山詩
HS 145
出身既擾擾，
世事非一狀。
未能捨流俗，
4 所以相追訪。 昨吊徐五死， 今送劉三葬。 終日不得閑，
8 為此心悽愴。 HS 146
有樂且須樂，
時哉不可失。
雖云一百年，
4 豈滿三萬日。 寄世是須臾， 論錢莫啾唧。 孝經末後章，
8 委曲陳情畢。
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Hanshan’s Poems 157
HS 145
Since I’ve been in this world, it’s a muddle— And there are so many di erent jobs to do.
I could never abandon everyday things,
4 And so I still bustle o to manage them. Yesterday I mourned the death of Xu Five; Today, I take Liu Three to his grave.
All day long, not a moment of rest;
8 Because of this, I’m always tormented.
HS 146
When you have music, take your joy for now; You mustn’t lose this chance!
Though people speak of “a hundred years,”
4 We don’t even last thirty thousand days. Our time in this world is but a moment, So don’t bicker over the cost of things!
The last chapter of the Classic of Filial Piety
8 With some subtlety tells of this matter. 1
1 The reference to the Classic of Filial Piety is satiric. The nal chapter of this work describes the proper demeanor for someone mourning the death of a parent; one phrase says, “He is not happy when he hears music. ”
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158
寒山詩
HS 147
獨坐常忽忽，
情懷何悠悠。
山腰雲縵縵，
4 谷口風颼颼。 猿來樹嫋嫋， 鳥入林啾啾。 時催鬢颯颯，
8 歲盡老惆惆。 HS 148
一人好頭肚，
六藝盡皆通。
南見驅歸北，
4 西逢趂向東。 長漂如汎萍， 不息似飛蓬。 問是何等色，
8 姓貧名曰窮。
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Hanshan’s Poems 159
HS 147
I sit alone, ever lost in thought,
While my feelings within drift away. Clouds trail and turn on the mountainside,
4 And the wind whistles at the mouth of the valley.
