[updated September 2022]
Finally I Get to Go Home: Part 2
归 去 来 兮 辞
归 去 来 兮
请 息 交 以 绝 游。
世 与 我 而 相 违
复 驾 言 兮 焉 求？
悦 亲 戚 之 情 话
乐 琴 书 以 消 忧。
农 人 告 余 以 春 及
将 有 事 于 西 畴。
或 命 巾 车
或 棹 孤 舟。
既 窈 窕 以 寻 壑
亦 崎 岖 而 经 丘。
木 欣 欣 以 向 荣
泉 涓 涓 而 始 流。
善 万 物 之 得 时
感 吾 生 之 行 休。
已 矣 乎！
寓 形 宇 内 复 几 时
曷 不 委 心 任 去 留。
胡 为 乎 煌 遑 欲 何 之？
富 贵 非 吾 愿
帝 乡 不 可 期。
怀 良 辰 以 孤 往
或 植 杖 而 耘 耔。
登 东 皋 以 舒 啸
临 清 流 而 赋 诗。
聊 乘 化 以 归 尽
乐 夫 天 命 复 奚 疑！
Gui Qu Lai Xi Ci
Gui qu lai xi
Qing xi jiao yi jue you.
Shi yu wo er xiang wei
Fu jia yan xi yan qiu?
Yue qin qi zhi qing hua
Yue qin shu yi xiao you.
Nong ren gao yu yi chun ji
Jiang you shi yu xi chou.
Huo ming jin che
Huo zhao gu zhou.
Ji yao tiao yi xun he
Yi qi qu er jing qiu.
Mu xin xin yi xiang rong
Quan juan juan er shi liu.
Shan wan wu zhi de shi
Gan wu sheng zhi xing xiu.
Yi yi hu !
Yu xing yu nei fu ji shi
He bu wei xin ren qu liu
Hu wei hu huang huang yu he zhi ?
Fu gui fei wu yuan
Di xiang bu ke qi.
Huai liang chen yi gu wang
Huo zhi zhang er yun zi.
Deng dong gao yi shu xiao
Lin qing liu er fu shi.
Liao cheng hua yi gui jin
Yue fu tian ming fu xi yi !
Finally I Get to Go Home: Part 2
Happy with the words and emotions of my relatives
Make music with my qin and reading books to dispel worries and cares.
Farmers tell me it is time for spring planting
Need to prepare and sow my land to the west.
Maybe my fate is to take my simple cart there
And then perhaps row a small boat.
Find a gentle and graceful part of the river
Seek a big pool, and climb the rugged hills.
Forests happy and flourishing
Headwaters trickle and begin to flow.
Enjoy the ten thousand things and their seasons
Feel my life will end at this place.
Do not worry any more!
Dwell inside here for only a few seasons.
Why not trust my heart, just stay put here
Why make haste and rush here and there?
Wealth and rank not my wish
Do not want to spend any more time with the emperor.
Only cherish clear weather days, so I can poke my staff
And plant seeds along each row.
To relax, climb the eastern mountains and sing aloud
Compose poems next to the clear, flowing water.
Just follow the change of seasons until death
To enjoy the natural life is all I need !
Notes:
Qin: A multi-stringed musical instrument.
Commentary of Tao Yuanming:
My home is very poor. I cannot support my extended family on the land I have. There are so many mouths to feed. Our rice containers always seem to be empty. How can I make enough just to have the basics? Doing just farm work is not enough. Relatives and friends convinced me that by going out to do government work, I can support the whole clan. So went out to find work.
My uncle introduced me to a contact, and told me that it was a righteous cause to reclaim the throne for the old emperor. Plus the job was just about sixty miles away. Part of my salary was paid for in land; for crops enough to make my own wine. After a while I got homesick and realized my skills are for spontaneity and the love of Nature, and not for the complexities of human game-playing activities. I would rather starve than to deal with the politics. So I will finish this one government project and then go home. Plus my young sister died, so that will be my excuse to go back.