English Rendering
On this day of August 19th of the seventh year of Yixi in the Jin Dynasty,my cousin Jingyuan is to be buried and lie for ever under the earth.The thought of our contact in the past makes me sadder for your eternal departure.The sorrow tears my heart apart and the grief fills my eyes with tears.I am here to see you off with fruits and melons from the garden and the newly brewed wine.Alas!What a great woe that is tormenting me!
Oh,my dear cousin!You were a man of integrity and tolerant bearing You were filial to the parents from early childhood and friendly to others by nature.You had a pure heart and few desires,neither stubborn nor eccentric.You gave priority to others in every case,practising philan-thropy when you had money.You never cared about personal gains and losses,never following the customs of the mundane world.You always carried a mild expression on your face and spoke in an earnest tone.You drew the greatest pleasure from making good friends and was devoted to writing.As the remote immortal lands roused your inspiration,you left the mundane world and lived in seclusion in the deep mountains,listening to the roaring torrents of the falls and wandering in the dim deep forests.
You collected herbal medicine in the morning and played the zither in the evening.I once believed Confucius'saying that man of virtue will enjoy longevity.However,why is this saying but a sheer deception!My cousin died when he was just over thirty years old.He will lie eternally in the grave,never to come to life again.
You and I are no ordinary relatives.Our fathers are brothers and our mothers are sisters.As both our fathers died when we were eight years old,we cherished a deep affection and friendship for each other.The happy days when we lived in the same room always linger in my memory.
When we were thinly dressed in winter and poorly fed in summer,we encouraged each other with moral support and consoled each other with soothing advice.Disturbances were legion,but we threw them in oblivion.
I once took up official career and got entangled in the trifles,travelling here and there but in vain,yet sticking to my former aspirations.When I made resignation and returned home,you were the only one that under-stood me,keeping me company and neglecting the sneers of the world.I still remember that at the harvest time one autumn I invited you to reap the crops and sail alongside with me.We stayed beside the water for three days,drinking side by side in a joyful mood.When the bright moon hung in the sky and the mild breeze abated without notice,we drank cup after cup and talked about the eternity of the universe and transience of life.Why on earth should my cousin pass away before me?
The past cannot be relived but my recollections rolled on and on.With the passage of time and shift of seasons,the alive and the dead live worlds apart with a distinctive demarcation.When the time for the burial arrives,I shall guide the way to your graveyard.Your orphan baby does nothing but cry,unable to utter his words clearly;your grievous widow is observing exact rituals of the funeral.While the trees in the yard remain the same,your study is vacant now.Who can tell when Jingyuanwill be back again?I do not think that the others will understand the intimacy between us.Only the prophecy of another day of good omen for the burial will delay my seeing you off today.At the sight of funeral flags fluttering in the breeze,I write the above piece with tears in my eyes.If your soul has consciousness,you will witness my sincere passions.Alas!
What a great woe that is tormenting me!
