In Wuqian, Visit a Buddhist Monk’s Green Bamboo Pavilion
於 潜 僧 绿 筠 轩
可 使 食 无 肉
不 可 使 居 无 竹。
无 肉 令 人 瘦
无 竹 令 人 俗。
人 瘦 尚 可 肥
俗 士 不 可 医。
旁 人 笑 此 言
似 高 还 似 痴。
若 对 此 君 仍 大 嚼
世 间 那 有 扬 州 鹤。
Wu Qian Seng Lu Jun Xuan
Ke shi shi wu rou
Bu ke shi ju wu zhu.
Wu rou ling ren shou
Wu zhu ling ren su.
Ren shou shang ke fei
Su shi bu ke yi.
Pang ren xiao ci yan
Si gao huan si chi.
Ruo dui ci jun reng da jiao
Shi jian na you yang zhou he.
In Wuqian, Visit a Buddhist Monk’s Green Bamboo Pavilion
One can eat a meal without meat
But cannot live without bamboo.
Without meat makes people thin
Without bamboo makes people vulgar.
Thin people can still recover what is lost
Vulgar scholars cannot be cured by a doctor.
Some people laugh at these words
They think their minds are advanced, actually they are crazy
But to overeat, drink, and eat meat in this place is a desecration
In life, one cannot have everything like the one Yanzhou friend.
Notes:
Yanzhou: Near the city of Jining in Shandong Province.