Page:More Translations from the Chinese (Waley).djvu/52

 They are not troubled either about life or death; They have no anguish either of body or soul. And so it happens that they live to a ripe age And great-great-grandsons are often seen.

I was born in the Realms of Etiquette; In early years, unprotected and poor. Alone, I learnt to distinguish between Evil and Good; Untutored, I toiled at bitter tasks. The World's Law honours Learning and Fame; Scholars prize marriages and Caps. With these fetters I gyved my own hands; Truly I became a much-deceived man. At ten years old I learnt to read books; At fifteen, I knew how to write prose. At twenty I was made a Bachelor of Arts; At thirty I became a Censor at the Court. Above, the duty I owe to Prince and parents; Below, the ties that bind me to wife and child. The support of my family, the service of my country— For these tasks my nature is not apt. I reckon the time that I first left my home; From then till now,—fifteen Springs! My lonely boat has thrice sailed to Ch'u; Four times through Ch'in my lean horse has passed. I have walked in the morning with hunger in my face; I have lain at night with a soul that could not rest. East and West I have wandered without pause, Hither and thither like a cloud astray in the sky. In the civil-war my old home was destroyed; Of my flesh and blood many are scattered and lost.
 * North of the River, and South of the River—

[48]