The Bones of Chuang Tzu ^(试发表)

The Bones of Chuang Tzu by Chang Heng, 78-139 A.D., translated by Arthur Waley . I, Chang P'ing-tzu, had traversed the Nine Wilds and seen their wonders, In the eight continents beheld the ways of Man, The Sun's procession, the orbit of the Stars, The surging of the dragon, and soaring of the phonenix in his flight. In the red desert to the south I sweltered, And northward waded through the wintry burghs of Yu. Through the Valley of the Darkness to the west I wandered, And eastward travelled to the Suns's extreme abode, The stooping Mulberry Tree. So the seasons sped; weak autumn languished, A small wind woke the cold. And now with reading rein-horse, Plunging of the tracer, round I fetched My high-roofed chariot to westward. Along the dykes we loitered, past many meadows, And far away among the dunes and hills. Suddenly I looked and by the roadside I saw a man's bones lying in the squelchy earth, Black rime-frost over him; and I in sorrow spoke And asked him, saying, "Dead man, how was it? Fled you with your friend from famine and for the last grains Gambled and lost? Was this earth your tomb, Or did floods carry you from afar? Where you mighty, were you wise, Were you foolish and poor? A warrior, or a wimp?" Then a wonder came; for out of the silence a voice-- Thin echo only, in no substance was the Spirit seen-- Mysteriously answered, saying, "I was a man of Sung, Of the clan of Chuang; Chou was my name. Beyond the climes of common thought My reason soared, yet could I not save myself; For as the last, when the long charter of my years was told, I, too, for all my magic, my Age was brought To the Black Hill of Death. Wherefore, O Master, do you question me?" Then I answered: "Let me plead for you upon the Five Hill-tops, Let me pray for you to the Gods of Heaven and the Gods of Earth, That your white bones may arise, And your limbs be joined anew. The God of the North shall give me back your ears; I will scour the Southland for your eyes. From the sunrise I will wrest your feet; The West shall yield your heart. I will set each several organ in its throne; Each subtle sense will I restore. Would you not have it so?" The dead man answered me: "O Friend, how strange and unanswerable your words! In death I rest and am at peace; in life, I toiled and strove. Is the hardness of the winter stream Better than the melting of spring? All pride that the body knew Was it not lighter than dust? What Ch'ao and Hsu despised, What Po-ch'eng fled, Shall I desire, whom death Already has hidden in the Eternal Way-- Where Li Chu cannot see me, Nor Tzu Yeh hear me, Where neither Yao nor Shun can reward me, Not the tyrants Chieh and Hsin condemn me, Leopard nor tiger harm me, Lance prick me nor sword wound me? Of the Primal Spirit is my substance; I am a wave In the river of Darkness and Light. The Maker of All Things is my Father and Mother, Heaven is my bed and earth my cushion, The thunder and lightening are my drum and fan, The sun and moon my candle and my torch, The Milky Way my moat, the stars my jewels. With Nature my substance is joined; I have no passion, no desire, Wash me and I shall be no whiter, Foul me and I shall yet be clean. I come not, yet am here; Hasten not, yet am swift." The voice stopped, there was silence. A ghostly light Faded and expired. I gazed upon the dead, stared in sorrow and compassion. Then I called upon my servant that was with me To tie his silken scarf about those bones And wrap them in a cloak of sombre dust; While I, as offering to the soul of this dead man, Poured my hot tears upon the margin of the road. 张衡：骷髅赋 张平子将游目于九野，观化乎八方。星回日运，凤举龙骧。南游赤野，北陟 幽乡。西经昧谷，东极扶桑。于是季秋之辰，微风起凉。联回轩驾，左翔右昂。 步马于畴阜，逍遥乎陵冈。顾见髑髅，委于路旁。下居淤壤，上负玄霜。平子怅 然而问之曰：“子将并粮推命以夭逝乎？本丧此土，流迁来乎？为是上智，为是 下愚？为是女人，为是丈夫？”于是肃然有灵，但闻神响，不见其形。答曰： “吾，宋人也。姓庄名周，游心方外，不能自修寿命终极，来此玄幽。公子何以 问之？”对曰：“我欲告之于五岳，祷之于神。起子素骨，反子四肢。取耳北 坎，求目南离。使东震献足，西坤援腹。五内皆还，六神尽复。子欲之不乎？” 髑蝼曰：“公子之言殊难也。死为休息，生为役劳。冬水之凝，何如春冰之消？ 荣位在身，不亦轻于尘毛？飞风曜景，秉尺持刀。巢、许所耻，伯成所逃。况我 已化，与道逍遥。离朱不能见，子野不能听。尧舜不能赏，桀纣不能刑。虎豹不 能害，剑戟不能伤。与阴阳同其流，与元气合其朴。以造化为父母，以天地为床 褥。以雷电为鼓扇，以日月为灯烛。以云汉为川池，以星宿为珠玉。合体自然， 无情无欲。澄之不清，浑之不浊。不行而至，不疾而速。”于是言卒响绝，神光 除灭。顾盼发轸，乃命仆夫，假之以缟巾，衾之以玄尘，为之伤涕，酹于路滨。