Page:The works of Li Po - Obata.djvu/213

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��126. THE EX-MINISTER

��Avoiding the wise, I've resigned

From the empire's ministry. tZg

Loving the sage, still I sip

The soothing cup of wine.

�� ��Ah, those eager visitors of yesterday, Who flocked at the front of my gate —

How many of them have come

This morning, I pray? ~^v7v

— Li Shih-chi <«?

3!

A book called "Facts about Poets" says: "In the Matter part of the Kai-yuan Era (A.D. 713-7^2) the prime minister, Li Shih-chi, had an enviable reputation for his simplicity and rugged uprightness. Li Ling-fu hated him, and by slander and intrigue caused his re- tirement. All those at the court knew the innocence of Shih-chi, but the emperor neglected to consult him. » -<?j Fretting under this mistreatment, Shih-chi drank wine ~^— daily and also made poems." Of which this is a sped- '*— — men. He describes the' solitude and ease of his private life.

By "avoiding the wise" is meant vacating one's official position in order to make way for the wise and talented. The phrase, first used by Shih Ching of the Han dynasty in his petition for his release from the office of the pre- mier, had become a stock pretext for the retiring official.

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