The Way to the Source Revealed (Wang Anshi)

A good man's fall from power may be a mixed blessing.  That at least seems to have been the case for Wang Anshi, who reached the heights of power as prime minister during the Song Dynasty, only to fall into exile and disgrace as the winds of fortune shifted.  It was a loss to his countrymen, as Wang had been a strong advocate of political and social reform, attempting to ease the burden of taxation which had fallen disproportionately on the peasants and merchants, and place it where it more properly belonged on the large landowning class.  But it was a gain to posterity inasmuch as once Wang was ousted from power by a conservative backlash, he settled into exile in the hinterlands, where he devoted himself to poetry and gardening.   Here are two of the poems Wang wrote in exile in his later years, which I translated this morning, after spending an hour in the garden, clearing up the strawberry beds and getting a bit closer to the source myself.

The Way to the Source Revealed

Long absent

From the city streets

Less mind paid to

Human cravings

Secluded amidst fragrance and

Embracing the earth’s bounty

Gathering up the seeds

And drinking of the primal source

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示道原

王安石

久不在城市

少留心怅然

幽芳可揽结

伫子饮云泉

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Upon the Earth

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Fan Li set out

Upon the five lakes

Embracing the horizon

Leaving not a trace

So I go forth on

The blue green waters

Of the ocean in search

Of rebirth

Such a pity

Upon earth there is

So much disturbance

And evil

Most things possess

A kernel of virtue

But it dares not

Show itself

世上

王安石

范蠡五湖收远迹

管宁沧海寄余生

可怜世上风波恶

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