Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 20
饮 酒： 二 十 首
羲 农 去 我 久
举 世 少 复 真。
汲 汲 鲁 中
弥 缝 使 其 淳。
凤 鸟 虽 不 至
礼 乐 暂 得 新。
洙 泗 微 响
漂 流 逮 狂 奏。
诗 书 复 何 罪
一 朝 成 灰 尘。
区 区 诸 老 翁
为 事 诚 殷 勤。
如 何 绝 世 下
六 籍 无 一 亲。
终 日 驰 车 走
不 见 所 问 津。
若 复 不 快 饮
空 负 头 上 巾！
但 恨 多 谬 误
君 当 恕 醉 人。
Yin Jiu: Er Shi Shou
Xi nong qu wo jiu
Ju shi shao fu zhen.
Ji ji lu zhong
Mi feng shi qi chun.
Feng niao sui bu zhi
Li yue zan de xin.
Zhu si wei xiang
Piao liu dai kuang zou.
Shi shu fu he zui
Yi zhao cheng hui chen.
Qu qu zhu lao weng
Wei shi cheng yin qin.
Ru he jue shi xia
Liu ji wu yi qin.
Zhong ri chi che zou
Bu jian suo wen jin.
Ruo fu bu kuai yin
Kong fu tou shang jin !
Dan hen duo miu wu
Jun dang shu zui ren.
Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 20
Xi, the farming emperor, departed from us long ago
Throughout the world, very few can regain the natural state.
Hunger for the times of Kongzi
He tried to repair the cracks of society.
Although peaceful birds did not act accordingly
Step by step his rites and music tried to renew.
The Zhu-Si tributary’s sounds drown out the words of Kongzi
Beginning of violent and chaotic times.
The Qin found fault and destroyed the books and culture of other nation states
One day they will be nothing but dust and ashes.
A large number of powerless old men
On account of these troubles, work hard to reverse the losses.
How can these people stem this destruction
People without love for the old classics.
All day long the carriages race and run about
Do not see anyone asking how we can improve things.
Now able to again quickly drink
Wearing the hat of an official, do not waste this opportunity.
Hate my many mistakes and the damages done
Hope you can forgive my drunkenness.
Notes:
Xi emperor: Also known as “Shen Nong”: One of three mythological rulers from pre-historic times. His reputation reveals him developing herbal medicines, pulse measurements and acupuncture, and the Chinese calendar. But is being called the “Farming Emperor” was due to his agricultural innovations of the hoe, plow, axe, the digging of wells and irrigation systems, and the development of farmer markets.
Zhu-Si tributaries: At the place where these two waters come together in northern Shandong Province, where Confucius gave his lectures and viewpoints to his students.
Kongzi: Confucius
The Qin: It was both a national state (897-221 BC) and a dynasty (221-206 BC) in the region of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The West in general, and English in particular, got the word “China” as a derivative of “Qin”.