Most dread the far lakes-and-streams,
But solitude fits my themes.
Fading tracks won't startle crowds,
Leaving noise defies time's shrouds.
Roaming's an art one can copy,
Wild greens guard my private recipe.
Why drop your homeward-bound oar,
To be whipped by frost's harsh law?
江湖俗畏远，幽好自相宜。
沦迹异惊众，辞嚣如避时。
优游可以学，薇蕨易为私。
胡然弃回櫂，霜雪有驱驰。
Composed during Zeng Gong's tenure as a local official (though the exact date remains uncertain), this work embodies his characteristic transcendental spirit and Confucian concern for worldly affairs. While serving as a bureaucrat, Zeng frequently yearned for retreat into nature's solitude. His concept of "rivers and lakes" (江湖) represents neither the wanderer's domain nor the hermit's refuge, but rather the literati's inner sanctuary of tranquility, refinement, and moral integrity. This poem articulates this idealized spiritual habitat.
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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