[updated September 2022]
Gave Myself This Gift of Working in Guan Dihou
官 定 后 戏 赠
不 作 河 西 尉
凄 凉 为 折 腰。
老 夫 怕 趋 走
率 府 且 逍 遥！
耽 酒 须 微 祿
狂 歌 托 圣 朝。
故 山 归 兴 尽
回 首 向 风 飚。
Guan Ding Hou Xi Zeng
Bu zuo he xi wei
Qi liang wei she yao.
Lao fu pa qu zou
Shuai fu qie xiao yao!
Dan jiu xu wei lu
Kuang ge tuo sheng zhao.
Gu shan gui xing jin
Hui shou xiang feng biao.
Gave Myself This Gift of Working in Guan Dihou
Did not accept a junior position in He Xi
Have to bend at the waist to receive this lonely and measly salary.
This old man fearful he may be too aged for this job
For now, I am free and unfettered in this remote place.
This small salary used up on wine
How superb my early mornings full of crazy poems.
Again and again the mountains are my friends
Turn around and recall the days of gale-force winds.
Notes:
He Xi: A long and narrow passage of over 600 miles, used historically as a route from northern China to Central Asia. As part of the northern Silk Road, it was used for trade and for the Chinese military.