[updated October 2022]
Naturally Drive Away the Blues
自 谴
四 十 已 云 老
况 逢 忧 窘 余。
且 抽 持 板 手
却 展 小 年 书。
嗜 酒 狂 嫌 阮
知 非 晚 笑 蘧。
闻 流 宁 叹 吒
待 俗 不 亲 疏。
遇 事 知 载 剪
操 心 识 卷 舒。
还 称 二 千 石
于 我 意 何 如？
Zi Qian
Si shi yi yun lao
Kuang feng you jiong yu.
Qie chou chi ban shou
Que zhan xiao nian shu.
Shi jiu kuang xian ruan
Zhi fei wan xiao qu.
Wen liu ning tan zha
Dai su bu qin shu.
Yu shi zhi zai qian
Cao xin shi juan shu.
Huan chen er qian shi
Yu wo yi he ru?
Naturally Drive Away the Blues
Forty years old and they say I am already old
This situation has more than enough awkward sorrows and cares.
For now, I removed my hands from the imperials documents
Decline to open up the Preliminary Eve books.
I have a crazy liking for wine like Ruan Ji
Have to laugh at how late Qu came to realize what is right, what is wrong.
Hear gossip reciting the same old lines
Do not entertain popular customs or a desire for nearby relatives.
Now I know that some things need to be cut out
Instead study and know scrolls and relaxation.
Two thousand rice bucket jobs not matched to me
By now I just wish to be like what?
Notes:
Ruan Ji: (210-263 AD): Lived in between the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. Very good narrative of this time period for China at this link.