My Libretto Expresses Resentment and Suffering, Set to a Palace Melody; Show to Government Recorders Pang and Deng Zhizhong
怨 诗 楚 的 调 示 庞 主 簿 邓 治 中
天 道 幽 且 远
鬼 神 茫 昧 然。
结 发 念 善 事
黾 俛 六 九 年。
弱 冠 逢 世 阻
始 室 丧 其 偏。
炎 火 屡 焚 如
螟 蜮 恣 中 田。
风 雨 纵 横 至
收 敛 不 盈 廛。
复 日 长 抱 饥
寒 夜 无 被 眠。
造 夕 思 鸡 鸣
及 晨 愿 乌 迁。
在 己 何 怨 天
离 忧 凄 目 前。
吁 嗟 身 后 名
于 我 若 浮 烟。
慷 慨 独 悲 歌
钟 期 信 为 贤。
Yuan Shi Chu Diao Shi Pang Zhu Bu Deng Zhi Zhong
Tian dao you qie yuan
Gui shen mang mei ran.
Jie fa nian shan shi
Min mian liu jiu nian.
Ruo guan feng shi zu
Shi shi sang qi pian.
Yan huo lu fen ru
Ming yu zi zhong tian.
Feng yu zong heng zhi
Shou lian bu ying chan.
Fu ri chang bao ji
Han ye wu bei mian.
Zao xi si ji ming
Ji chen yuan wu qian.
Zai ji he yuan tian
Li you qi mu qian.
Xu jie shen hou ming
Yu wo ruo fu yan.
Kang kai du bei ge
Zhong qi xin wei xian.
My Libretto Expresses Resentment and Suffering, Set to a Palace Melody; Show to Government Recorders Pang and Deng Zhizhong
Heaven’s road so remote and distant
The celestial beings unaware and hidden from our doings.
At the age of fifteen I began to think of what is good and virtuous
Worked at this till I am now fifty-four years old.
At the age of twenty met the obstructions of worldly affairs
At thirty I lost my wife.
Drought and heat burns again and again
Locusts unrestrained among our fields.
Then from all directions wind and rain
Rising waters filled the peasant’s houses.
Summer days long, famine and hunger
Winter nights cold and without quilts or sleep.
With the onset of darkness already thinking of the next daybreak
But in the morning, looking forward to when the sun sets again.
At the end of life, who can blame Heaven?
Looking at present circumstances, still have the worry and sorrow of past times.
Alas! After my death, my name and reputation
Will float away like a mist and the clouds.
This fervent, deeply felt elegy
You, like Zhong Qi, believe what has made me a virtuous man.
Notes:
Zhong Qi: He heard the music of BoYa in the mountains. He was the only one who appreciated it. When Zhong Qi died, Bo Ya no longer made music, as no one else could understand it
