Hair tied up, just began to study;
Bitter that planning my life came not sooner.
Zhong Jun never rode the official carriage;
Yan Hui's temples aged first.
Heaven's net is indeed vast and lofty,
The upright scholar often anxious.
Eyes delight in paired sweetness and splendor,
A tethered heart feels bitter as weeds.
Rainless clouds in second and third month;
Peak ridges seem turned upside down.
Who lifts the crimson jade plate—
Red glow issues from the east?
Spring heat spreads like a crane canopy;
Rabbit-eye official locusts are small.
Worried thoughts, face as if ill;
Tasting gall, guts seem wrung.
Heart yearns wildly for the capital,
Rarely dream of home at night.
Set off outside the East Gate,
Heaven and earth all vast and wide.
Green trees on Mount Li's head,
Flower winds fill the Qin roads.
Palace terraces' lights scattered,
Adorning all the slanting peaks.
Tender greens and clustered reds
By the road mix cries and laughter.
Fragrant breeze descends from lofty halls;
Saddled horses shine resplendent.
Alone riding a chicken-perch cart,
I feel lacking in grace and style.
My innermost thoughts speak to my shadow;
How can a solitary self find joy?
How can I cast off my burdens?
Carving a swan, never an omen seen.
Deep and remote by Mount Hua's side,
Old cypresses like great banners.
Dragon-bark rubs and clashes;
Kingfisher feathers sway and toss.
Hurrying on, I grow haggard;
Gazing afar, I force my looks.
Flowering vines block the carriage shaft;
Gauzy mist darkens the deep path.
Young and strong, with no achievement;
Entering the gate, ashamed before family elders.
Listening to lectures beneath a great tree;
Reading books by the winding pond.
Knowing I'm no tiger sprung from its cage,
I'm content to be a leopard hid in mist.
A Han bird caught in arrow strings;
A Xiang minnow trapped in a net.
A narrow path has no open space;
The stout-hearted man merely acts rash.