[updated September 2022]
Tao Yuanming: Body, Shadow, Spirit
形，影，神
(形 赠 影)：
天 地 长 不 没
山 川 无 改 时。
草 木 得 常 理
霜 露 荣 粹 之。
谓 人 最 灵 智
独 复 不 如 兹。
适 见 在 世 中
奄 去 靡 归 期。
溪 觉 无 一 人
亲 识 岂 相 思。
但 馀 平 生 物
举 目 情 凄 洏。
我 无 腾 化 术
必 尔 不 复 疑。
愿 君 取 吾 言
得 酒 莫 苟 辞。
Xing Ying Shen
(Xing Zeng Ying) :
Tian di chang bu mo
Shan chuan wu gai shi.
Cao mu dei chang li
Shuang lu rong cui zhi.
Wei ren zui ling zhi
Du fu bu ru zi.
Shi jian zai shi zhong
Yan qu mi gui ji.
Xi jue wu yi ren
Qin shi qi xiang si.
Dan yu ping sheng wu
Ju mu qing qi er.
Wo wu teng hua shu
Bi er bu fu yi.
Yuan jun qu wu yan
De jiu mo gou ci.
Body Shadow Spirit
(Body Sends This As a Gift to Shadow)
[Tao Yuanming disagrees with the Buddhist belief of reincarnation, where a soul, or spirit, is reborn into another body over and over again. He believes that when we die, there is nothing afterwards. No salvation, no afterlife.]
Body: (body speaks first)
Heaven and Earth for a long time do not die or disappear
Mountains and rivers change very little over time.
Grasses and trees follow natural cycles
From frosts to dew, from being lush to withered.
People think we are wise and masterful
But even we cannot come back (like the grasses and trees).
One minute we see and exist within the world
Then suddenly we depart, never to return.
Not having this one person here
Only the relatives who knew them well enough mourn.
They feel the essence of a whole life and its’ remains
They raise their eyes while cold tears fall.
I am without the skills of transcendent transformation
For sure after death, never to come back again.
I hope you remember and understand these words
Drink wine and live for today.
(影 答 形) :
存 生 不 可 言
卫 生 每 苦 拙；
诚 愿 游 昆 华
邈 然 兹 道 绝。
与 子 相 遇 来
未 尝 异 悲 悦
憩 荫 若 暂 乖
止 日 终 不 别。
此 同 既 难 常
黯 尔 俱 时 灭。
身 没 名 亦 尽
念 之 五 情 热。
立 善 有 遗 爱
胡 为 不 自 竭？
酒 云 能 消 忧
方 此 讵 不 劣。
Ying Da Xing
Cun sheng bu ke yan
Wei sheng mei ku zhuo;
Cheng yuan you kun hua
Miao ran zi dao jue.
Yu zi xiang yu lai
Wei chang yi bei yue
Qi yin ruo zan guai
Zhi ri zhong bu bie.
Ci tong ji nan chang
An er ju shi mie.
Shen mei ming yi jin
Nian zhi wu qing re.
Li shan you yi ai
Hu wei bu zi jie ?
Jiu yuan neng xiao you
Fang ci ju bu lie.
Shadow: (shadow answers the body)
A body that never changes is impossible
Efforts to prolong life are always bitter and awkward;
I sincerely hope to travel to Mt. Kunluan and Mt. Jiuhua
But this is hopeless, they are too far away.
Since I have met my body
I am not different, your melancholy and happiness is my melancholy and happiness
Relaxing in the shade of a tree, we leave each other for a little while
In the sun, we never depart.
At times, it is difficult to be together
Very sad, for some days we will both disappear.
When the body is no more, my reputation is also finished
Thinking of this, all five emotions unite and emerge.
But leaving behind good words, deeds and virtue remains for good people
So why not try my best to make my best?
People say drinking wine gives one the ability to dispel worries and cares
Comparing those two methods, perhaps creating virtue better than drinking wine.
(神 释)：
大 钧 无 私 力
万 物 自 森 著。
人 为 三 才 中
岂 不 以 我 故？
与 君 虽 异 物
生 而 相 依 附。
结 托 善 恶 同
安 得 不 想 语？
三 皇 大 圣 人
今 复 在 何 处？
彭 祖 爱 永 年
欲 留 不 得 住。
老 少 同 一 死
贤 愚 无 复 数。
日 醉 或 能 忘
将 非 促 齡 具？
立 善 常 所 欣
谁 当 为 汝 誉？
甚 念 伤 吾 生
正 宜 委 远 去。
纵 浪 大 化 中
不 喜 亦 不 惧
应 尽 便 须 尽
无 复 独 多 虑。
Shen Shi:
Da jun wu si li
Wan wu zi sen zhu.
Ren wei san cai zhong
Qi bu yi wo gu ?
Yu jun sui yi wu
Sheng er xiang yi fu.
Jie tuo shan e tong
An de bu xiang yu ?
San huang da sheng ren
Jin fu zai he chu ?
Peng zu ai yong nian
Yu liu bu de zhu.
Lao shao tong yi si
Xian yu wu fu shu.
Ri zui huo neng wang
Jiang fei cu ling ju ?
Li shan chang suo xin
Shei dang wei ru yu ?
Shen nian shang wu sheng
Zheng yi wei yuan qu.
Zong lang da hua zhong
Bu xi yi bu ju.
Ying jin bian xu jin
Wu fu du duo lu.
Spirit Explains:
The world is a big potter’s wheel, properly balanced without the use of personal force
The ten thousand worldly things naturally grow where conditions are right.
Most important are the three talents of man
But actually aren’t we small intermediaries?
As a spirit, I am with you (body and shadow), but we are not the same things
But life in total relies on all three being near and attached.
Tied together, virtue and evil the same
To find peace, doesn’t it require that we speak to each other?
Three ancient emperors were wise men
And now, where can we find these three?
Peng Zu lived and loved a long life
He wanted to remain, but could not stay on.
Whether old or young, we all have one death
Even with ability and virtue, or as a fool, one can count only so many years.
Everyday drink wine, maybe you can forget
But then again it may also shorten your years?
Being wise and virtuous often puts one in a joyful place
But who can remember your reputation?
If you worry and want too much, this gives birth to a wound
Better to right away follow your destiny.
Free and unrestrained, yet balanced like Mother Nature
Not too much joy, also not too much fear.
When something is finished, have to let it stop
Without a chance to repeat, one and the many ponder and worry.
Notes and Commentary:
This unusual poem features the allegorical conversation between the human body, its’ shadow, and spirit. Each has their own viewpoint and insights about the nature of their reality, and it’s relationship to the other two in the conversation.
This poem was reportedly written when Tao was forty-nine years old, which would make it around 414. The whole country was in turmoil, both politically and spiritually. Political factions were at war, and Buddhist sects were vying for attention.
The Donglin Temple was located near Tao’s hometown of Lushan, in the current province of Jiangxi. The patriarch of this temple was a man by the name of Hui-yuan. This sect believed that when a person dies, the body stays in the ground, but the soul is liberated to travel into another incarnation. This poem was written as a retort to this doctrine.
Mt. Kunluan and Mt. Jiuhua were mentioned in an old story that declared that there was an immortal queen living between these two mountains.
The world, like the potter’s wheel is naturally and properly in balance at all times. It is the human condition that unbalances it. The Chinese word that may best describe is lunhui (轮回), the wheel of life that turns around and around. The Sanskrit word is samsara.
The three talents of man are Heaven-Earth-People, with humankind in between heaven and earth. The three emperors are Fu Xi, Sen Nong, and Huang Di, who took care of heaven-earth-people.
Pengzu, according to legend lived to be over 767 years old, and survived through three dynasties.