廣弘明集 24.45

24.45

I have heard from travelers of your lofty discourse and illustrious virtue; hearing your reputation from afar, my heart takes flight and my soul is stirred, no different from an immortal-seeker gazing at stone marrow, or the Taiyin realm longing for the dragon's torch. The Cang star shines in the autumn evening, and cool clouds usher in the fall; since your virtue in the Way triumphs, you are naturally plump and should surely nourish yourself. Your robes are made of rainbows, your curtains of high clouds and dew; you feed on the fallen petals of yellow chrysanthemums and drink the trickling streams of clear ravines. In the morning you watch the returning geese and dawn ducks; in the evening you listen to the solitary female and lonely crane, your spirit soaring free, like Xiao Shi riding the singing phoenix, or Liezi steering the long wind. Even if Jing Qing acted as though no one were around, and Xiaoran lay steadfast amid ice and snow, secluded and tranquil, how could they surpass you? As for galloping through the groves of classics and soaring in the gardens of books, you exhaust the wondrous scriptures of the Dragon Palace and deplete the grand records of the Stone Chambers. Daosheng bowed before your natural genius, and Dongfang Shuo yielded to your discernment of things. As for practicing this since childhood, setting your mind on carved-insect rhetoric, your ornate thoughts flow within and your brilliance shines without, luxuriant as autumn bamboo, radiant as spring pine. Songs of nobility cease their praise of luminous pearls, and Changmen Palace over-rewards with gold. How grand! How beautiful! How radiant its splendor! Formerly, traveling by the Zhe River, I once observed your embroidered compositions; before I knew it, paper was scorched and brushes were burned, my spirit utterly exhausted. From then on, I ceased valuing jade and bi-disks, my mind fondly lingering on your excellence, my intestines churning in ninefold bends. Now, the sun's chariot pauses its illumination without bypassing crevices; the Sea God's surges swell without being restricted by bays and corners. Throwing jade to hit magpies, may you share your remaining treasures; I hope to inspect your pure eminence to cure my dizzying illness. Yet the people of Yue are not those to whom caps are sold; how could the state of Qi be a place to perform the Shao music? I hope you will encourage my progress and not visit reproaches upon me.