Dim moonlight climbs the mountain lodge,
Purple paulownia casts fine shade.
Alas, its dim and somber hue,
No one knows the heart it's made.
Shun perished in the Cangwu wilds,
The phoenix to its red cave fled.
Left behind in the mortal world,
How can its former splendor spread?
Year after year, it grieves the spring,
Not vying with peach, apricot groves.
Only after the Clear and Bright,
Peonies encroach where it roves.
And this empty lodge is shut tight,
Who would freely seek its deep seclusion?
In vain, birds gather with their noise,
The lofty mountain keeps its composure.
The courtyard's ground is covered in moss,
A tree adorned like a lotus hairpin.
It blooms and falls all by itself,
Its hidden fragrance fades within.
Since your life finds no proper place,
My wish is to fashion you into a lute.
Placed beside the sovereign lord,
To harmonize the ruler's attribute.
Why ask of Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu?
First distinguish refined from lewd.
The Gong string, like the lord in spring,
The lord as spring's presence viewed.
The Shang string, upright as a minister,
The minister as drought's rain appears.
When people are at peace, Jue flows free,
When weary, strife no one bears.
The Yu string classifies all things,
Evil spirits find no delight.
The Zhi string regulates all affairs,
Service rendered with respect bright.
If these five are not in disarray,
Then Heaven's Mandate can be trusted.
If my lord asks of filial principle,
Play the Liangshan song, as adjusted.
If my lord serves the ancestral temple,
Strike in harmony with precious stone.
If my lord does not welcome remonstrance,
I wish to offer admonitions shown.
If my lord does not cease his hunting,
Please hear how excess ruins game.
If my lord builds lavish halls and towers,
Yongmen's tears may wet his frame.
If my lord scorns the worthy and wise,
The deer's call has herbs to eat.
If my lord hears the 'Prayer to Zhao' ode,
Check the gallop of chariot and fleet.
If my lord wishes to ruin measure,
Within lies a rule firm as gold.
If my lord hears the 'Breeze of Mulberry' air,
His will and spirit calm take hold.
Within are words to amass wealth,
Do not accept tribute's bribe.
The songs of North Li must be cut off,
No disaster greater than lust's tribe.
If the South Wind does not strive strong,
None will escape being captured then.
Let no corrupt sound enter the ear,
How can clever words deceive good men?
The owl's cry is said to change,
How can pestilence and miasma stay?
Since the Son of Heaven is majestic,
All talents flourish in array.
Swordsmen return to farm the fields,
Silk workers go back to weave and spin.
The red phoenix nests in the palace eaves,
Patterned fish swim in jade waters thin.
Harmony soaks the world and seas,
Easy as watering a hoof-print's pool.
Adjust the strings before you play,
This saying holds from old to new school.
Not only the lute can do this,
Events have lessons like the needle's guide.
Moved by your paulownia flower's sense,
Idle sorrow, hard to hide.
Wait till I take axe and adze,
And set you as a treasure grand.