The hawk soars, the fish leaps;
The duck is short, the crane is long.
Each finds its own fit place;
Who then can blame the azure sky?
Yet why is man distinct from all things,
Endowed with the Five Constant Virtues?
His learning concerns statecraft and economy,
His will aspires to loyalty and goodness.
But this makes earthworms and snails wither alike in the soil,
And wild geese all chase after grain.
Where the spirit settles,
It dreams of roaming the eight wilds.
Bathing in the moon-tossed waves of the Silver River,
Steeped in the dewy scent of sandalwood.
Wearing a lotus crown of nine splendors,
Clad in a rainbow robe of five-colored cloud brocade.
Riding a lucky unicorn, shaded by a phoenix,
Climbing the Ruomu tree, brushing the Fusang,
Straight to the side of the Jade Emperor's incense table.
The White Tiger guards the pass, warding off sword gleams;
The Mars star enforces law, teeth and hair bristling.
Gao, Kui, Qiu, Dan stand in goose-file,
Solemnly their girdle-jades chime in palace harmony.
Guan, Zhang, Wei, Huo stand in two rows,
Facing each other, shields and armor bright as frost.
A thousand officials bow and rise, low and high,
Starlight and rosy hues can hardly match this auspice.
One man in the hall's center proclaims,
Orders his subject to speak without fear.
This foolish subject, blessed to see the sun of heaven,
Wishes to present a brief memorial to add a mote.
Having read it, the Emperor himself tucks it in his sleeve,
Says, 'What you've reported I have never seen.
Governance is like the nature of medicine, mild and benign,
Each point can heal the people's sores.
It is also like a hundred-times tempered Kunwu steel,
Used by the state, it leaves no portents of evil.'
Alas, no meeting—only heartache remains;
Best return swiftly to the world and court the sovereign.
The sovereign, divine and sage, now like Yu and Tang,
Seeks worthies diligently, forgetting to eat.
Upholding heaven's great image, he personally guides;
Filling the court, treasures are all jade and gems.
Still he pities the hidden fragrance left in empty valleys,
Carriages of rushes and crane-summons vie in view.
He grants you the purple绶 and golden seal,
Dragon robe and red shoes, seated in the temple hall.
Harmonizing all transformations to reach timely peace,
Surpassing Zhou and Han, transcending Yu and Tang.
He grants you axes, halberds, and imperial spears,
To campaign against injustice, punish the violent and strong.
Fire-bells, thunderbolts, vajra pestles,
Subdue all monsters, turn back raging waves.
Commands the Jade Maiden to pour rosy wine,
Grants you celestial brew, nine-glowing nectar,
One drink utterly transforms your coarse-gut.
Makes your person noble, your family prosperous;
Be it central lands, barbarians or Qiang,
Insects, fish, plants, trees all bask in spring sun.
The Son of Heaven, ten thousand years, eternal,
You ride white clouds to the imperial realm,
The twenty-eight constellations join your flight.
This subject, from thatched hut, dares not accept,
Yielding to Ji, Xie, Shu, and Qiang.