[updated October 2022]
Ridicule Shandong Confucians
嘲 鲁 儒
鲁 叟 谈 五 经
白 发 死 章 句。
问 以 经 济 策
茫 如 坠 烟 雾。
足 看 远 游 履
首 戴 方 头 巾。
绶 步 从 直 道
未 行 先 起 尘。
秦 家 丞 相 府
不 重 褒 衣 人。
君 非 叔 孙 通
与 我 本 硃 伦。
时 事 且 未 达
归 耕 汶 水 滨。
Chao Lu Ru
Lu sou tan wu jing
Bai fa si zhang ju.
Wen yi jing ji ce
Mang ru zhui yan wu.
Zu kan yuan you lu
Shou dai fang tou jin.
Shou bu cong zhi dao.
Wei xing xian qi chen.
Qin jia cheng xiang fu.
Bu zhong bao yi ren.
Jun fei shu sun tong.
Yu wo ben zhu lun.
Shi shi qie wei da
Gui geng wen shui bin.
Ridicule Shandong Confucians
Old Shandong man discussed the Five Classics
The white-hair only follows dead words and chapters of the ancient texts.
Ask them if this classic, exam-based knowledge will help the society
Their ignorance like the descending mist and fog.
They can wear expensive, well-made shoes
They don head wraps perfectly squared with round stovetops.
Colored silk ribbons require them to move slowly
Cannot travel until after they dust themselves off of this material world
Qin Prime Minister Li Shi said these Confucians not important,
unworthy of praise.
These people not Shu Suntong of the early Han Dynasty
We have nothing to share with each other.
You do not understand the society and its current affairs
Go back to plow and work the land along the Wen riverbanks.
Notes:
Shandong: Province is eastern China
Five Classics: The Confucian books on poetry, documents, rites, the Yijing, (I Ching) and on the Spring and Autumn Annals.
Li Shi: The last king of the Chang Han (reigned 344-361).
Shu Suntong: (?-188 BC) An official in both the Qing and Western Han courts who was a supporter of the ancient traditions.
Wen riverbanks: The Wen River is located near Yangzhou.