Category: Poems by – 吴承恩 (1501-1582)

观棋柯烂，伐木丁丁。云边谷口徐行，卖薪沽酒，狂笑自陶情。苍径秋高，对月枕松根，一觉天明。认旧林，登崖过岭，持斧断枯藤。收来成一担，行歌市上，易米三升。更无些子争竞，时价平平。不会机谋巧算，没荣辱，恬淡延生。相逢处，非仙即道，静坐讲《黄庭》。

Wu ChengEn (1501-1582) “Woodcutter’s Song”
Translated by William John Francis Jenner (b. 1940)*

Watching the chess game I cut through the rotten,
Felling trees, chop, chop.
Strolling at the edge of the cloud and the mouth of the valley,
I sell firewood to buy wine,
Cackling with laughter and perfectly happy.

By a green path in autumn,
I pillow myself on a pine root, looking up at the moon.
When I wake up it is light.
Recognizing the old forest
I scale cliffs and cross ridges,
Cutting down withered creepers with my axe.

When I’ve gathered enough to make a load
I walk down to the market with a song.
And trade it for three pints of rice.
Nobody else competes with me,
So prices are stable.
I don’t speculate or try sharp practice,
Couldn’t care less what people think of me,
Calmly lengthening my days.
The people I meet
Either Taoists or Immortals,
Quietly sitting to expound the Yellow Court.
——————–
* British sinologist/translator