Have to Praise and Chant
有 叹
饱 喜 饥 嗔 笑 杀 侬
凤 凰 未 可 笑 狙 公。
尽 逃 暮 四 朝 三 外
犹 在 桐 花 竹 实 中。
You Tan
Bao xi ji chen xiao sha nong
Feng huan wei ke xiao ju gong.
Jin tao mu si zhao san wai
You zai tong hua zhu shi zhong.
Have to Praise and Chant
With an imperial bullshit job, I can still eat and be filled with joy
Male and female phoenixes would laugh at such common pursuits.
Most of them are like the man offering chestnuts to his monkeys,
Three in the morning and four at sunset
But I also get to eat like them, being within paulownia flowers and bamboo sprouts.
Notes:
Bullshit job: A reference to the book Bullshit Jobs, by David Graeber. I guess one could say that these kinds of jobs have been around for a long time.
Male and female phoenixes: Used as a metaphor for the able and virtuous with unique talents.
Three in the Morning: A story that was recorded by the famous Daoist, Zhuangzi. (link) From the book The Way of Chuang Tzu, by Thomas Merton, one can find this story under the title, “Three in the Morning“, a portion of which is below.
“A monkey trainer went to his monkeys and told them:
As regards your chestnuts: you are going to have three measures in the morning and four in the afternoon.
At this they all became angry. So he said: All right, in that case I will give you four in the morning and three in the afternoon. This time they were satisfied.”