Wiping the Dust at the Five-Hundred-Stone Grotto Heaven, Vol. 1

...orrow, I find myself drifting in a dream-like state.

In my leisure, the wild Thunder God, the Mother of Ghosts, and the Yaksha Spirit King original: 雷公 (Leigong), 鬼母 (Guimu), 夜义 (Yexia); these are fierce deities from Chinese folk religion and Buddhist mythology. appear before me. Their eyes glitter, casting a light like falling stars. They glare at me, wanting to approach but hesitating in confusion.

A celestial official leads me—away, away! I ride a soaring phoenix 驂鸞 (cānluán); literally "riding a luan-bird," a mythical creature similar to a phoenix, used as a mount by immortals. We reach a towering palace where the halls are made of white jade. Rosy clouds fill the doorways. As the "Rainbow Raiment" music original: 霓裳 (Nichang); referring to a famous Tang dynasty dance-song associated with the moon palace. plays, blossoms of precious jade dance in the air.

Drunk with the scene, I do not realize I have fallen back to the dusty world of mortals. I hear only the rustle of leaves falling like rain. Looking south now, the road home is long and obstructed; a bleak autumn hue stretches across the reed beds.

The whistling sun is about to set, and the gloomy clouds refuse to clear. I pity the hungry geese rushing forward to find shelter, while demon foxes and strange birds shriek amongst them.

Alas! The flute sounds chilly, the bamboo pipe 箎 (chí); an ancient transverse bamboo flute with closed ends seems to sob. The drums and horns are heavy with grief, and the lute original: 琵琶 (pipa) wails in mourning. These sounds of autumn are carried to the very edge of the sorrowful horizon.

And so, climbing high to gaze into the distance, I am exhausted by my travels. In one town, a lone traveler stays in a solitary inn; a lonely face filled with regret looks out over the mountain passes. Time is heartless, hurrying to turn my hair white. Must wealth be measured by owning "eight hundred mulberry trees"? A traditional reference to a prosperous, self-sufficient estate. Must nobility be defined by an official rank of "two thousand bushels"? original: 二千石 (èr qiān dàn); the salary of a high-ranking official in the Han dynasty, used here as a general term for high office. My humble wishes have come to nothing 蹉跎 (cuōtuó); to waste time or see one's goals slip away, and tears soak my chest.

Alas! My elderly mother is in the family hall, yet I cannot return to her.

Later, in his "Song of Thinking of Return," he says:

Oh! Why do I not go home? The camels are piled as high as mountains; every day they carry coal from the Western Mountains The "Western Mountains" (Xishan) were the primary source of coal for the city of Beijing during the imperial era.. Why should the coal of the Western Mountains be a cause for pity? Pity instead the mountain winds that pierce through skin and bone!

The local wives and children gather around their warm stoves, while the solitary guest, dressed in tattered cotton 敝絮 (bì xù); worn-out wadding or ragged, thin clothing, still wanders. Last night, the thinness of my quilt startled me from my traveler's dreams; frost-flowers covered every tile, a sign of the deep freeze. Beside my bed, the lamp grew dim with a miserable blue light. Upon waking at dawn, my ears... ink bleed makes the final characters of this column illegible?