How difficult, how difficult, the Way is also greatly arduous, sometimes broken, sometimes whole.
The Warring States saw theft, the tyrannical Qin left a legacy of violence and cruelty.
What little remains? Withered branches of a tree, waves that fill the source.
When Han gained the empire, scholars began to appear, yet their numbers were few.
Emperors Wen and Wu gradually restored antiquity.
Men like Dong Zhongshu, towering and lofty.
They exhausted the classics of ancient kings, and the Way shone brightly.
The ethos of the Western Han was akin to the Three Dynasties, truly the merit of Confucians.
Jin and Wei were like bandits and foes, scholars grew increasingly superficial, flowing without a source.
Between Qi and Liang, axes hacked and knives carved, the great simplicity was further damaged.
Sui sang and Tang echoed, the primal vitality was utterly broken, a calamity for this culture.
Scholars were anxious and hurried, yet the Way's great light, the Six Classics, hid away.
Adorned faces and fair skin, embroidered robes and red skirts.
The crowd rushed and flocked, as if achieving great deeds.
Called traitors to the Way, they endured lifelong cold and hunger.
Things do not flourish forever; the emperor issued a decree, and ten thousand mouths cheered together.
Reinstating the Mingjing examination, casting a wide net, from sea corners to mountain recesses.
The unicorn runs swiftly, the phoenix soars gracefully, the dragon coils sinuously.
Bamboo from Kuaiji, jade from Kunlun, timber from Ox Mountain.
Feng Meng with his bow, Bo Le presenting horses, Zao Fu driving the carriage.
Lutes and zithers were renewed, Shao music and wandering tones, returning to this day.
The plans of Tang and Yu, the books of Xia and Shang, perhaps nearly restored.
The world's burdens shrank and dissolved, losing their way.
Abolishing the evils of ten thousand generations, promoting the benefits of ten thousand generations, this is our emperor.
How dare I not sing, flowing into great harmony, enduring for a hundred generations without fading.