Far-off Journey

悲时俗之迫阨兮，愿轻举而远游。

I grieve that the ways of the age press and hem me in, and long to rise lightly and roam afar.

质菲薄而无因兮，焉讬乘而上浮？

But my nature is poor and thin and I have nothing to rely on; what carriage could I mount to float up into the sky?

遭沈浊而污秽兮，独郁结其谁语！

I have met a world dark, turbid and foul; my sorrow knots within me alone, and to whom can I speak it?

夜耿耿而不寐兮，魂营营而至曙。

Through the night I lie wakeful with unease, my spirit restless and troubled until the dawn.

惟天地之无穷兮，哀人生之长勤。

I think how heaven and earth endure without end, and grieve that human life is one long toil of care.

往者余弗及兮，来者吾不闻。

The sages of old I could never reach, and those still to come I shall never hear of.

步徙倚而遥思兮，怊惝怳而乖怀。

I pace to and fro, my thoughts straying far; in dismay and bewilderment my heart is thrown awry.

意荒忽而流荡兮，心愁悽而增悲。

My mind drifts vague and unmoored, and my heart, aching with sorrow, grows ever more grieved.

神倏忽而不反兮，形枯槁而独留。

My spirit darts away and does not return, and only my withered body is left behind alone.

内惟省以操端兮，求正气之所由。

Within I examine myself and hold to upright conduct, seeking the source from which the true vital breath arises.

漠虚静以恬愉兮，澹无为而自得。

In silent emptiness and stillness I find calm delight; in tranquil non-action I am content in myself.

闻赤松之清尘兮，愿承风乎遗则。

I have heard of the pure legacy of the immortal Chisongzi, and wish to receive his teaching and follow the rules he left.

贵真人之休德兮，美往世之登仙。

I prize the fine virtue of the perfected ones, and admire how in ages past Xianmen and Wangzi Qiao rose to become immortals.

与化去而不见兮，名声著而日延。

They passed away with the transformations of nature and were seen no more, yet their fame grew ever brighter and spread with each day.

奇傅说之讬辰星兮，羡韩众之得一。

I marvel that Fu Yue, minister of Shang, lodged his spirit among the stars of the Dragon, and envy Han Zhong of Qi who gained the Oneness of the Way.

形穆穆以浸远兮，离人群而遁逸。

Serene and stately, they drew ever farther off, leaving the crowd of men to withdraw into seclusion and never return.

因气变而遂曾举兮，忽神奔而鬼怪。

Riding the changes of the vital breath they soared on high, swift and sudden as a god racing, elusive as a ghost.

时仿佛以遥见兮，精晈晈以往来。

At times they are dimly glimpsed from afar, their essence gleaming bright as stars as it comes and goes.

超氛埃而淑邮兮，终不反其故都。

They rose beyond the foul vapours and dust, their goodness surpassing all others, and never returned to their old home city.

免众患而不惧兮，世莫知其所如。

Freed from the many ills they feared nothing, and no one in the world knows where they went.