A Shu Person, Wei Zhiyao a Local Historian and Chronicler of Complaints
跋 蜀 人 魏 致 尧 抚 干 万 言 书
雨 里 短 檠 头 似 雪
客 间 长 铗 食 无 鱼。
上 书 恸 哭 君 何 苦
正 是 时 人 重 “子 虚”。
Ba Shu Ren Wei Zhi Yao Fu Gan Wan Yan Shu
Yu li duan qing tou si xue
Ke jian chang jia shi wu yu.
Shang shu tong ku jun he ku
Zheng shi shi ren chong “Zi Xu”.
A Shu Person, Wei Zhiyao a Local Historian and Chronicler of Complaints
Inside from the rain, candles short and cold like snow
The guests and I without meals of fish, long fishing spears idle.
Mr. Wei’s writings full of the deep sorrows and sufferings of the local people
We live during times when the people need to consider again “Zi Xu”.
Notes:
Fishing spears: Can also be translated as swords, as in the weapon used to punish the bad people and to make the unjust just. Yang says that he is not being used as a sword to help the emperor enforce justice.
Zi Xu: An ancient poem from the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD). The author calls for poems with social and political satire and commentary, and not just about what is pretty and elegant.