Cold clouds loom heavy, sky dark on four sides,
In painted hall, candlelight, deep red curtains.
Drumbeats profound, pipe notes crisp,
Ghosts and spirits transform, offering a spectacle.
Golden pools, jade drips begin to gurgle,
Before the eyes, suddenly it's no longer the human world.
Yaksha, disheveled hair, iron bone-club,
In crimson clothes, blue face, eyes spouting fire.
Wraiths and river sprites first appear, startled,
Kneeling sheep, standing pigs, whimpering and grunting.
Red-skirted enchantress hides behind a banana-leaf fan,
Green-ribboned, bearded elder grasps a rush sword.
Somersaults, kicking the Dipper, arms broad,
Jaws agape, tongues out, lips and mouths dry.
Shaking heads, looking around, a hundred leaps,
Gathering bodies, a thousand poses, ten thousand twists.
Blue-robed dancer suddenly halts, alarmed,
Colored clouds lift the tent, banners dense and stern.
Purple robe, golden seal, alone at the desk,
Horse-mane, ox-horned, both stand in judgment.
Able to speak of fortune, not by heaven's will,
Personally treads the path, distinguishing fool and wise.
Thistles wield power, small demon subdued,
Hairy banners raise voice, great disheveled one weeps.
White-faced envoy with bamboo spear,
Boasts of search and capture, leaving none hidden.
Ox-crown, clamped scroll, tries to inspect,
Tiger-hat, shoulder halberd, glinting and flashing.
Five directions line up in chaotic throng,
What old woman swaddles a monkey, smoking?
Zhongnan scholar, torn leather boots,
Fond of wine, unaware ghosts are watching.
Bristling beard, glaring eyes, rises swirling,
All evils face one righteous—what will they do?
Disheveled hair, nearing end, flies a whistle,
Wind rolls, clouds gather, drums and pipes cease.
Night deepens, four seats somber, no joy,
Host sees off guests, guests all grieve.
Returning, peach and reed sit in deep grass,
Green owl, yellow fox still before the eyes.
Singing Chu elegies, great and small summons,
Sitting long, soul wanders free and far.
In Kuaiji mountains, Yu did not die,
Casting the cauldron, calming the earth—it was like this.
Again I hear ghostly treachery often possesses men,
Human treachery, ghost-possessed, enters the spirit.
Tomorrow, robes and caps, well adorned,
In broad daylight, through the city, human faces.