廬山記 4.63

4.63

To the west I climb Incense Burner Peak, / to the south I behold the waterfall. / A hanging torrent of three hundred zhang, / spouting into the ravine for several thousand chi. / Suddenly coming forth like flying lightning, / hidden like a rising white rainbow. / At first I am startled, as if the Milky Way had fallen, / half-sprinkled amidst the cloudy heavens. / Looking up, its force turns ever more majestic— / how sublime the work of creation! / Ocean winds blow without severing it; / the river moon shines, yet reveals it as empty void. / Through the void it shoots in chaotic sprays, / washing the green cliffs to the left and right. / Flying pearls scatter like light rosy clouds; / drifting foam boils upon the vault of stone. / And as for me, roaming the famed mountain, / facing it, my heart grows ever more at leisure. / Moreover, harmonizing with what I have cherished of old, / I forever vow to take leave of the human realm.