Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 11
饮 酒： 二 十 首
颜 生 称 为 仁
荣 公 言 有 道。
屡 空 不 获 年
长 饥 至 于 老。
虽 留 身 后 名
一 生 亦 枯 槁
死 去 何 所 知？
称 心 固 为 好。
客 养 千 金 躯
临 化 消 其 宝
裸 葬 何 必 恶
人 当 解 意 表。
Yin Jiu: Er Shi Shou
Yan sheng chen wei ren
Rong gong yan you dao.
Lu kong bu huo nian
Chang ji zhi yu lao.
Sui liu shen hou ming
Yi sheng yi ku gao
Si qu he suo zhi ?
Chen xin gu wei hao.
Ke yang qian jin qu
Lin hua xiao qi bao
Luo zang he bi wu
Ren dang jie yi biao.
Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 11
Yan Wei’s life led to the creation of benevolence
Rong Gong’s words have their own Dao.
Yan Wei’s home empty, did not live a long life
Rong Gong ate very little, but lived to be ninety.
Although both lives were famous
Both lives filled with want and hunger.
At death, what does one know?
No doubt, find something gratifying and enjoy good health.
Some people nourish the body like an expensive guest
But when close to death, these treasures disappear.
Can be buried naked, why do the rites
People should live and die naturally.
Notes:
Yan Wei: (?-234 AD) A military general and politician during the Three Kingdoms period. Noted for being brave, and treating his soldiers well.
Rong Gong: Famous sage and hermit during the Spring and Autumn period [Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC-476 BC)]. Known as a person who “speaks the truth”.