timeless
By Tao Yuanming 陶渊明
Substance , Shadow and Spirit
The Spirit responds
The Great Potter cannot Intervene All creation thrives of itself . That Man ranks with Earth and Heaven , Is it not because of me ? Though we belong to different orders , Being alive , I am joined to you . Bound together for good or ill I cannot refuse to tell you what I know : The Three August Ones were great saints But where are they living today ? Though P ’ eng-tsu lasted a long time He still had to go before he was ready . Die old or die young , death is the same , Wise or stupid , there is no difference . Drunk , every day you may forget , But won ’ t it shorten your life span ? Doing good is always a joyous thing But no one has to praise you for it . Too much thinking harms my life ; Just surrender to the cycle of things , Give yourself to the waves of the Great Change Neither happy nor yet afraid . And when it is time to go , then simply go without any unnecessary fuss .
形影神三首 神释
大钧无私力 , 万理自森著 。 人为三才中 , 岂不以我故 。 与君虽异物 , 生而相依附 。 结托既喜同 , 安得不相语 。 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 , 将非促龄具 。 立善常所欣 , 谁当为汝誉 ? 甚念伤吾生 , 正宜委运去 。 纵浪大化中 , 不喜亦不惧 。 应尽便须尽 , 无复独多虑 。
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TAO YUANMING , also known as Tao Chien ( 365 – 427 AD ), is widely considered one of the greatest poets of the Six Dynasties Era ( 220 – 589 AD ). In 405 , after the death of his sister , he gave up his job as a government official and spent the rest of his life as a reclusive poet .
Published in The Poetry of T ‘ ao Ch ‘ ien by James Hightower , Clarendon Press , 1970
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