Mid-December, Year of the Rabbit, Composed For
Cousin Jingyuan
卯 岁 十 二 月 中 作 与 从 弟 敬 远
寝 迹 衡 门 下
邈 与 世 相 绝。
顾 盼 莫 谁 知
荆 扉 昼 常 闭。
凄 凄 岁 暮 风。
翳 翳 经 日 雪。
倾 耳 无 希 声
在 目 皓 已 洁。
劲 气 侵 襟 袖
箪 瓢 谢 屡 设。
萧 索 空 宇 中
了 无 一 可 悦！
历 览 千 载 书
时 时 见 遗 烈。
高 操 非 所 攀
谬 得 固 究 节。
平 津 苟 不 由
栖 迟 讵 为 拙。
寄 意 一 言 外
兹 契 谁 能 别？
Kui Mao Sui Shi Er Yue Zhong Zuo Cong Di Jing Yuan
Qin ji heng men xia
Miao you shi xiang jue.
Gu pan mo shei zhi
Jing fei zhou chang bi.
Qi qi sui mu feng
Yi yi jing ri xue.
Qing er wu xi sheng
Zai mu hao yi jie.
Jing qi qin jin xiu
Dan piao xie lu she.
Xiao suo kong yu zhong
Liao wu yi ke yue.
Li lan qian zai shu
Shi shi jian wei lie.
Gao cao fei suo pan
Miu de gu jiu jie.
Ping jin gou bu you
Qi chi ju wei zhuo.
Ji yi yi yan wai
Zi qi shei neng bie?
Mid-December, Year of the Rabbit, Composed for Cousin Jingyuan
Living in seclusion, within a simple house
Far away from society, even cut off from family.
Look around, long for someone to come by
My bramble gate usually closed throughout the day.
End of the year, wind very cold and dreary
Very overcast all day as it continues to snow.
The silence and absence of sound is overwhelming
Within my view, landscape white and clear.
This air has the power to invade my clothes
Thankful for the small rations of rice and water.
Middle of my house empty and miserable
Not one thing here can I be joyful for.
All I have are books that talk of things one thousand years ago
Again and again, when I read them, their integrity can be known.
These people of high integrity out of my reach
Continue to strive for virtue, regardless of my poverty.
I did not take the well-maintained roads and well-established ferry crossings
Now I move very slowly, but it doesn’t mean clumsy or awkward.
Many other things I want to say, but did not say
Who else but you could understand me.
Commentary:
Tao Yuanming now realized that farming is hard work. His cousin helped him on a seasonal basis. This letter-poem was sent to him.