Departing Far Away

志隐隐而郁怫兮，愁独哀而冤结。

My heart is dull with grief and pent-up sorrow; alone I mourn, and my wrongs lie knotted inside with no one to untie them.

肠纷纭以缭转兮，涕渐渐其若屑。

My bowels twist in tangled coils and turn over and over; my tears stream down like grain dust falling from a mill.

情慨慨而长怀兮，信上皇而质正。

Full of indignation I sigh and brood long; I will lay my heart before the Supreme Sovereign of heaven and ask him to judge the truth.

合五岳与八灵兮，讯九鬿与六神。

I gather the spirits of the Five Sacred Peaks and the Eight Quarters, and question the nine stars of the Dipper and the Six Spirits.

指列宿以白情兮，诉五帝以置辞。

I point to the twenty-eight lodges of the sky to declare my innocence, and plead before the Five Emperors of the directions to receive my words.

北斗为我折中兮，太一为余听之。

Let the Northern Dipper judge the right for me, and let the god Taiyi, the Great One, hear my case.

云服阴阳之正道兮，御后土之中和。

The spirits say: follow the true way of yin and yang, of benevolence and righteousness, and hold to the balanced virtue of Houtu, the earth.

佩苍龙之蚴虬兮，带隐虹之逶蛇。

I wear the coiling Azure Dragon as a pendant and bind the long winding great rainbow about my waist as a sash.

曳彗星之皓旰兮，抚朱爵与鵔鸃。

I trail the comet with its radiant glow, and stroke the Vermilion Bird and the junyi pheasant, both birds of the gods.

游清灵之飒戾兮，服云衣之披披。

I roam the cool and refreshing realm of pure spirit, dressed in long trailing robes of cloud.

杖玉策与朱旗兮，垂明月之玄珠。

I grasp a jade staff and a crimson banner, and hang a dark-gleaming pearl bright as the moon.

举霓旌之墆翳兮，建黄纁之总旄。

I raise the rainbow standard that shades the sky, and set up the yellow-and-red pennant of mingled colours.

躬纯粹而罔愆兮，承皇考之妙仪。

I am pure in myself and without fault, carrying on the sublime rule of my late father Boyong.

惜往事之不合兮，横汨罗而下沥。

I grieve that in days past my loyal service did not accord with the king's will, so I cross the Miluo and go on downstream.

乘隆波而南渡兮，逐江湘之顺流。

Riding the swelling waves I cross southward, following the current of the Yangtze and the Xiang.

赴阳侯之潢洋兮，下石濑而登洲。

I plunge into the deep broad surge raised by Yanghou, god of the waves, run down the rocky rapids and climb onto an islet.

陆魁堆以蔽视兮，云冥冥而闇前。

Towering mounds of land block my view, and dark clouds blacken the way ahead.

山峻高以无垠兮，遂曾闳而迫身。

The mountains rise steep without end, tier upon vast tier, pressing in upon me.

雪雰雰而薄木兮，云霏霏而陨集。

Snow falls thick and presses on the trees; clouds drift down in dense masses and gather.

阜隘狭而幽险兮，石嵾嵯以翳日。

The great hills are narrow, dark and perilous, and jagged crags blot out the sun.

悲故乡而发忿兮，去余邦之弥久。

I grieve for my homeland and anger rises in me, for I have been gone from my country far too long.

背龙门而入河兮，登大坟而望夏首。

I turn from Longmen, the east gate of Ying, and come to the great river; I climb the high bank and gaze towards Xiashou, the mouth of the Xia.

横舟航而济湘兮，耳聊啾而戃慌。

I steer my boat across the Xiang; all is silent save the ringing in my ears, and my heart is anxious and lost.

波淫淫而周流兮，鸿溶溢而滔荡。

The waves follow one another and flow all around; the flood swells and overflows, vast and rolling.

路曼曼其无端兮，周容容而无识。

The road stretches on without end; I wander round and round, unsettled, and know no one.

引日月以指极兮，少须臾而释思。

I call on the sun and moon to look into my heart and point to the pole star in appeal to heaven, and for a brief moment my sorrow eases.

水波远以冥冥兮，眇不睹其东西。

The waters stretch far into darkness, so dim and vast that I cannot tell east from west.

顺风波以南北兮，雾宵晦以纷纷。

Driven by wind and wave I drift now south, now north; the fog swirls thick and day grows dark as night.

日杳杳以西颓兮，路长远而窘迫。

The sun sinks far away into the west; the road is long and my heart is hard pressed with distress.

欲酌醴以娱忧兮，蹇骚骚而不释。

I would pour sweet wine to beguile my grief, but my heart is troubled and restless and will not be released.

叹曰：

The lament says:

飘风蓬龙埃坲々兮，草木摇落时槁悴兮，

The whirlwind spins and swirls and the dust rises in clouds; grass and trees shed their leaves and wither with the season.

遭倾遇祸不可救兮，长吟永欷涕究究兮，

I met an age of collapse and ran into disaster that cannot be saved; I chant long and sigh deeply, and my tears flow without end.

舒情陈诗冀以自免兮，颓流下陨身日远兮。

I pour out my feelings and set forth these verses, hoping to escape harm; yet I fall with the sinking current and drift farther each day.