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卷五十七上司馬相如傳第二十七上
Volume 57a: Biography of Sima Xiangru, chapter twenty-seven, first part.
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司馬相如（上）
Sima Xiangru, Part One.
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司馬相如字長卿，蜀郡成都人也。 少時好讀書，學擊劍，名犬子。 相如既學，慕藺相如之為人也，更名相如。 以訾為郎，事孝景帝，為武騎常侍，非其好也。 會景帝不好辭賦，是時梁孝王來朝，從遊說之士齊人鄒陽、淮陰枚乘、吳嚴忌夫子之徒，相如見而說之，因病免，客遊梁，得與諸侯游士居，數歲，乃著《子虛之賦》。
Sima Xiangru, whose courtesy name was Zhangqing, came from Chengdu in Shu commandery. As a boy he loved books, trained in swordsmanship, and bore the childhood name Quanzi (“Pup”). Once his schooling was done, he so admired the conduct of Lin Xiangru of Zhao that he adopted the name Xiangru for himself. He bought his way into appointment as a gentleman-attendant, served Emperor Jing as a regular palace cavalry guard, and found the post uncongenial. Emperor Jing had little taste for fu rhapsody. Just then King Xiao of Liang was at court with a retinue of persuader-scholars—Zou Yang of Qi, Mei Sheng of Huaiyin, Master Yan Ji of Wu, and others. Sima Xiangru took to their company, pleaded illness, left his post, and went to Liang as a client. For several years he lived among the itinerant literati at the feudal courts, and there he wrote his “Sir Vacuity.”
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會梁孝王□，相如歸，而家貧無以自業。 索與臨邛令王吉相善，吉曰：「長卿久宦游，不遂而困，來過我。」 於是相如往捨都亭，臨邛令繆為恭敬，日往朝相如。 相如初尚見之，後稱病，使從者謝吉，吉愈益謹肅。
After King Xiao of Liang died—at a lacuna in the received text—Xiangru went home, only to find his household too poor to make a living. He was old friends with Wang Ji, magistrate of Linqiang. Wang Ji said, “Zhangqing, you have been in service and on the road for years without getting anywhere. Come stay with me.” Sima Xiangru moved into the county relay inn. The magistrate feigned elaborate respect and called on him every morning. At first he received Wang Ji, then pleaded illness and sent retainers to turn him away—whereupon the magistrate grew only more punctilious and deferential.
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臨邛多富人，卓王孫僮客八百人，程鄭亦數百人，乃相謂曰：「令有貴客，為具召之。 並召令。」 令既至，卓氏客以百數，至日中請司馬長卿，長卿謝病不能臨。 臨邛令不敢嘗食，身自迎相如，相如為不得已而強往，一坐盡傾。 酒酣，臨邛令前奏琴曰：「竊聞長卿好之，願以自娛。」 相如辭謝，為鼓一再行。 是時，卓王孫有女文君新寡，好音，故相如繆與令相重而以琴心挑之。 相如時從車騎，雍容閑雅，甚都。 及飲卓氏弄琴，文君竊從戶窺，心說而好之，恐不得當也。 既罷，相如乃令侍人重賜文君侍者通殷勤。 文君夜亡奔相如，相如與馳歸成都。 家徒四壁立。 卓王孫大怒曰：「女不材，我不忍殺，一錢不分也！」 人或謂王孫，王孫終不聽。 文君久之不樂，謂長卿曰：「弟俱如臨邛，比昆弟假□，猶足以為生，何至自苦如此！」 相如與俱之臨邛，盡賣車騎，買酒捨，乃令文君當盧。 相如身自著犢鼻褌，與庸保雜作，滌器於市中。 卓王孫恥之，為杜門不出。 昆弟諸公更謂王孫曰：「有一男兩女，所不足者非財也。 今文君既失身於司馬長卿，長卿故倦游，雖貧，其人材足依也。 且又令客，奈何相辱如此！」 卓王孫不得已，分與文君僮百人，錢百萬，及其嫁時衣被財物。 文君乃與相如歸成都，買田宅，為富人。
Linqiang swarmed with magnates. Zhuo Wangsun kept eight hundred household hands; Cheng Zheng commanded hundreds as well. They agreed: “The magistrate’s guest is a man of rank—we should lay a banquet and invite him. Ask the magistrate too.” When Wang Ji appeared, Zhuo’s hall held a hundred guests. At noon they sent for Sima Zhangqing; he pleaded illness and would not attend. The magistrate would not touch his meal and went in person to escort him. Sima Xiangru yielded at last and came—and with a single appearance he charmed the whole company. When they were deep in wine, the magistrate stepped forward with a zither and said, “I hear you are fond of this instrument—may I offer you a tune for your pleasure?” Sima Xiangru demurred, then played a passage or two. Zhuo Wangsun’s daughter Wenjun was newly widowed and loved music. Sima Xiangru therefore played up his friendship with the magistrate and, through what his qin implied, courted her. He arrived with chariot and escort, carrying himself with unhurried grace and unmistakable polish. During the feast at the Zhuo house, as he played, Wenjun stole a glance through a crack in the door—her heart leapt, yet she doubted she could ever be worthy of him. Afterward he sent his people to tip her maid handsomely and pass on his tender regard. That night Wenjun slipped away to join him, and the two raced back to Chengdu. Their house held nothing but bare walls. Zhuo Wangsun raged, “My daughter has disgraced herself; I will not put her to death, but she shall not have a single coin from me!” Neighbors tried to reason with him; he refused to hear them out. After some time Wenjun grew miserable and said, “Husband, let us return to Linqiang. Even if we only borrow from kinsmen on credit, we can still earn a living—anything is better than starving in pride like this.” They went back to Linqiang, sold their carriage and horses, opened a tavern, and put Wenjun behind the counter. Sima Xiangru himself donned leather breeches like a laborer, worked alongside potmen, and scrubbed cups in the marketplace. Zhuo Wangsun found the spectacle mortifying and shut his gates, refusing to show his face. His brothers and kinsmen kept urging him: “You have a son and two daughters; you are not short of money. Wenjun has given herself to Sima Zhangqing. He may be poor, but he is a man whose talents have tired of mere roaming—she can rely on him. Besides, he is the magistrate’s guest. Why disgrace him—and yourselves—like this?” Zhuo Wangsun yielded at last: a hundred servants, a million cash, and her wedding trousseau went with her. She and Sima Xiangru returned to Chengdu, bought land and manor, and settled among the wealthy.
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居久之，蜀人楊得意為狗監，侍上。 上讀《子虛賦》而善之，曰：「朕獨不得與此人同時哉！」 得意曰：「臣邑人司馬相如自言為此賦。」 上驚，乃召問相如。 相如曰：「有是。 然此乃諸侯之事，未足觀，請為天子遊獵之賦。」 上令尚書給筆札，相如以「子虛」，虛言也，為楚稱； 「烏有先生」者，烏有此事也，為齊難； 「亡是公」者，亡是人也，欲明天子之義。 故虛借此三人為辭，以推天子諸侯之苑囿。 其卒章歸之於節儉，因以風諫。 奏之天子，天子大說。 其辭曰：
Some time later a fellow townsman, Yang Deyi, served as imperial kennel-master at court. The emperor read the “Sir Vacuity” and exclaimed, “Why could I not have lived in the same era as the man who wrote this?” Yang Deyi replied, “My countryman Sima Xiangru claims authorship of that piece.” Startled, the emperor summoned Sima Xiangru for an audience. Sima Xiangru admitted it was his work. “But that piece,” he went on, “only treats the hunts of the feudal lords—it is hardly fit for your majesty. Allow me to offer a fu on the Son of Heaven’s shikar.” The emperor ordered brushes and bamboo slips from the Secretariat. Sima Xiangru explained that “Sir Vacuity” stood for empty boasting on Chu’s behalf; that “Mr. Nonexistence” meant “there is no such thing,” voicing Qi’s counter; and that “Lord No-such-person” signified no such man at all—figures meant to expound the Son of Heaven’s true standard. He used these three allegorical speakers to unfold the hunting grounds of emperor and kings alike. The closing movement turns to restraint and frugality, turning the whole piece into a veiled admonition. He presented it to the throne, and the emperor was delighted. The text runs as follows:
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楚使子虛使於齊，齊王悉發車騎與使者出田。 田罷，子虛過奼烏有先生，亡是公存焉。 坐定，烏有先生問曰：「今日田樂乎？」 子虛曰：「樂。」 「獲多乎？」 曰：「少。」 「然則何樂？」 對曰：「僕樂王之欲誇僕以車騎之眾，而僕對以雲夢之事也。」 曰：「可得聞乎？」
Chu dispatched Sir Vacuity on a mission to Qi. The king of Qi mustered every chariot and horseman and took his guest out for the chase. When the hunt broke up, Sir Vacuity called on Mr. Nonexistence—Lord No-such-person was there too. (The received text is damaged at one character.) Once they were seated, Mr. Nonexistence asked whether the day’s sport had pleased him. “It was,” said Sir Vacuity. “Did you take much game?” “Very little.” “Then what pleased you?” Sir Vacuity answered, “I enjoyed the king’s urge to dazzle me with his host of chariots and horsemen—because it let me answer with the tale of Cloud Dream Marsh.” “May we hear that tale?”
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子虛曰：「可。 王駕車千乘，選徒萬騎，田於海濱，列卒滿澤，罘罔彌山。 掩菟轔鹿，射麋格麟，鶩於鹽浦，割鮮染輪。 射中獲多，矜而自功，顧謂僕曰：『楚亦有平原廣澤遊獵之地饒樂若此者乎？ 楚王之獵孰與寡人？』 仆下車對曰：『臣，楚國之鄙人也，幸得宿衛十有餘年，時從出遊，游於後園，覽於有無，然猶未能遍睹也。 又烏足以言其外澤乎？』 齊王曰：『雖然，略以子之所聞見言之。』
“Gladly,” said Sir Vacuity. “The king fielded a thousand chariots and chose ten thousand riders, hunted along the coast, packed the marshes with beaters, and strung seine-nets ridge to ridge.” “They netted hares, rode down deer, shot elk, brought down fabulous quarry, worked the salt flats, and carved fresh kill to daub the chariot wheels with blood.” “His aim was true and the bag grew fat; flushed with pride he turned to me and asked whether Chu owned any hunting ground as vast and merry as his own. How, he demanded, did the king of Chu’s sport measure against his?” “I stepped down and answered, ‘I am a humble Chu subject who has stood night watch at court for a dozen years. I have sometimes followed the hunt in the rear park and glimpsed something of what lies there, yet I have never seen it all.’” How then could I speak of the great marsh beyond?’” “The king of Qi said, ‘Even so, tell us in outline what you have seen and heard.’”
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「僕對曰：『唯唯。 臣聞楚有七澤，嘗見其一，未睹其餘也。 臣之所見，蓋特其小小者耳，名曰雲夢。 雲夢者，方九百里，其中有山焉。 其山則盤紆岪郁，隆崇律崒； 岑崟參差，日月蔽虧； 交錯糾紛，上干青雲； 罷池陂□，下屬江河。 其土則丹青赭堊，雌黃白附，錫碧金銀，眾色炫耀，照爛龍鱗。 其石則赤玉玫瑰，琳鈱昆吾，□□玄厲，□石武夫。 其東則有蕙圃，衡蘭芷若，穹窮昌蒲，江離蘪蕪，諸柘巴且。 其南則有平原廣澤，登降□靡，案衍壇曼，緣以大江，限以巫山。 其高燥則生葴析苞荔，薜莎青薠。 其埤濕則生藏莨蒹葭，東{艸牆}雕胡，蓮藉觚盧，奄閭軒於。 眾物居之，不可勝圖。 其西則有湧泉清池，激水推移，外發夫容{艸陵}華，內隱巨石白沙。 其中則有神龜蛟□，毒冒鱉黿。 其北則有陰林巨樹，□楠豫章，桂椒木蘭，檗離硃楊，□梨□栗，橘柚芬芳。 其上則有宛雛孔鸞，騰遠射干。 其下則有白虎玄豹，□蜒貙□。
“I answered, ‘Very well.’” They say Chu holds seven great marshes; I have visited only one and know nothing of the others. The tract I saw must be the smallest of the lot, and it is still called Cloud Dream. Cloud Dream spans nine hundred li, and mountains rise inside it. Those peaks twist in long folds and pile into dizzy heights; their crests jag so wildly that sun and moon seem swallowed; they tangle upward until they scrape the sky; their lower slopes roll down in long undulations to meet the great rivers. (One character is missing in the text.) The earth yields cinnabar and malachite, red ochre and white clay, orpiment and arsenic pigments, tin, green jade, gold, and silver—colors so bright they flash like dragon scales. The stones include carnelian, rose quartz, Kunwu jade, and other hard gems—several names are partly lost in the received text. To the east lie beds of orchids, thoroughwort, angelica, skandix, sweet-flag, river mallow, and tall reeds, with cane and ginger. To the south stretch level plains and wide meres, rising and falling in gentle swells, hemmed by the Yangtze and closed in by Mount Wu. The high ground bears sedge, thorn-oak, pepper trees, and water caltrop, mingled with smilax and river rushes. The wet bottoms grow wild rice, reeds, bindweed, water bamboo, lotus, arrowhead, water chestnut, and basella vine. The plants and creatures that live there are beyond counting or description. To the west, jets of clear water feed restless pools where lotus and water-lilies break the surface while boulders and white sand lie beneath. In those depths swim spirit turtles, horned dragons, and giant soft-shells—though one creature name is damaged in the manuscript. To the north stand shadowy groves of great trees—nanmu, camphor, cassia, pepper, magnolia, birch, and poplar, with fruiting pear and chestnut, orange and pomelo perfuming the air. (Several tree names are incomplete in the text.) Above fly pheasants, peacocks, and long-tailed mountain pheasants. Below roam white tigers, black leopards, and other fierce cats whose names the text only partly preserves.
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於是乎乃使剸諸之倫，手格此獸。 楚王乃駕馴駁之駟，乘雕玉之輿，靡魚須之橈旃，曳明月之珠旗，建干將之雄戟，左鳥號之雕弓，右夏服之勁箭； 陽子驂乘，□阿為御； 案節未舒，即陵狡獸，蹴蛩蛩，轔距虛，軼野馬，□惠□□余； 乘遺風，射游騏，倏胂倩□，雷動焱至，星流電擊，弓不虛發，中必決眥，洞胸達掖，絕乎心系，獲若雨獸，□草蔽地。 於是楚王乃弭節徘徊，翱翔容與，覽乎陰林，觀壯士之暴怒，與猛獸之恐懼，徼□受詘，殫睹眾物之變態。
The king then sent professional hunters like the Zhuans to bring the beasts down bare-handed. The king of Chu yoked teams of trained horses, mounted a jade-inlaid carriage, flew banners fringed with yak hair and pearl streamers, brandished the great Ganjiang halberd, slung the famed “Bird-cry” bow on the left and filled the right with Xia-made shafts. Yangzi rode escort while a named charioteer held the reins—the driver’s name is partly lost. Before the horses had quite slackened pace they were leaping crafty quarry, trampling fabulous beasts, outrunning wild horses—several beast names are defective in the text. They rode the gale, shot at full gallop; the hunt roared like thunder and flashed like lightning—no arrow flew idle, every hit dropped the quarry in its tracks until carcasses littered the grass like rain. (The received line is damaged in several places.) Then the king checked his team, wheeled slowly, and idled through the shadowed woods, savoring the fury of his hunters and the terror of the beasts until every quarry had yielded and the spectacle was spent.
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於是鄭女曼姬，被阿錫，揄□縞，雜纖羅，垂霧□，襞積褰縐，郁橈溪谷； □，揚□戌削，蜚□垂□； 扶輿猗靡，翕呷萃蔡，下摩蘭蕙，上拂羽蓋； 錯翡翠之葳蕤，繆繞玉綏； 眇眇忽忽，若神之彷彿。
Then came the palace girls of Zheng in thin silks and layered gauze, skirts fluttering like mist over winding valleys—though the fabric names are partly corrupted. Their sleeves flared, their sashes flew—several phrases are illegible in the received text. They swayed with the chariot, their silks hissing as they brushed the orchids below and stroked the feathered awning above. Jade ornaments flashed at waist and wrist, knotted sashes swinging with each sway. They seemed less mortal women than drifting spirits.
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於是乃群相與獠於蕙圃，□姍勃□，上金堤，□翡翠，射□鸃，微矰出，□繳施，弋白鵠，連駕鵝，雙倉□，揚旌□，張翠帷，建羽蓋。 罔毒冒，釣紫貝，摐金鼓，吹鳴籟，榜人歌，聲流喝，水蟲駭，波鴻沸，湧泉起，奔揚會，□石相擊，琅琅□蓋□，若雷霆之聲，聞乎數百里外。
Together they beat the orchid park for game along golden embankments, loosing arrows at swans and geese, raising colored banners and kingfisher drapes—many words in this catalogue are damaged. They netted turtles, hooked cowries, beat drums and blew flutes until boat-songs and crashing surf blended into a roar like thunder heard a hundred leagues away. (The line is partly defective.)
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「『將息獠者，擊靈鼓，起烽燧，車案行，騎就隊，纚乎淫淫，般乎裔裔。 於是楚王乃登陽雲之台，泊乎無為，淡乎自持，勺藥之和具而後御之。 不若大王終日馳騁，曾不下輿，□割輪焠，自以為娛。 臣竊觀之，齊殆不如。』 於是王無以應僕也。」
“When the beaters were recalled, the spirit drum rolled, signal fires flared, chariots fell into line and riders into ranks, streaming on in endless file.” The king of Chu then climbed the Yangyun Terrace, let his mind rest in stillness, and in quiet restraint waited until the spiced banquet was laid before he tasted it. “That is nothing like you, my lord, who spend the whole day at the gallop without leaving your chariot, slice hot meat against the wheel hubs, and call that pleasure.” (One verb is missing in the text.) “From what I could see, Qi could scarcely compete.”’ “At that the king of Qi had no answer left for me.”
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烏有先生曰：「是何言之過也！ 足下不遠千里，來況齊國，王悉境內之士，備車騎之眾，與使者出田，乃欲戮力致獲，以娛左右也，何名為誇哉！ 問楚地之有無者，願聞大國之風烈，先生之餘論也。 今足下不稱楚王之德厚，而盛推雲夢以為驕，奢言淫樂而顯侈靡，竊為足下不取也。 必若所言，固非楚國之美也。 有而言之，是章君之惡也； 無而言之，是害足下之信也。 章君惡，傷私義，二者無一可，而先生行之，必且輕於齊而累於楚矣。 且齊東□巨海，南有琅邪，觀乎成山，射乎之罘，浮勃澥，游孟諸，邪與肅慎為鄰，右以湯谷為界。 秋田乎青丘，仿□乎海外，吞若雲夢者八九，其於匈中曾不蒂芥。 若乃□倘瑰瑋，異方殊類，珍怪鳥獸，萬端鱗崒，充仞其中者，不可勝記，禹不能名，□不能計。 然在諸侯之位，不敢言游戲之樂，苑囿之大； 先生又見客，是以王辭不復，何為無以應哉！」
Mr. Nonexistence broke in: “That is carrying the argument much too far! You traveled a great distance to honor Qi with a visit. The king called up every able man in the realm, marshaled chariots and horsemen, and took you hunting so that together you might bag game and give his courtiers a pleasant day out—how is that “boasting”? When he asked what there was in Chu, he wanted to hear something of Qi’s renown and your own reflections—not a lecture on Chu’s parks. Yet you never praise the king of Chu’s magnanimity; instead you inflate Cloud Dream into a boast, wallow in sensual excess, and parade every kind of luxury. I cannot think that becomes you. If things were really as you painted them, they would be no credit to Chu at all. If they exist and you retail them, you expose your ruler’s faults; if they do not and you still retail them, you ruin your own credibility. Either way you wound both ruler and guest. To behave so is to earn contempt in Qi and bring trouble down on Chu. Consider Qi itself: the eastern sea bounds it—one character is missing in the text—Langya lies to the south, with hunts at Mount Cheng and Zhifu, fleets on the Bohai Gulf, and excursions in the Mengzhu marsh; Sushen lies athwart its frontier and the coast runs toward the place of the rising sun. The king hunts the Qingqiu in autumn and ranges beyond the sea—yet tracts the size of eight or nine Cloud Dreams would still sit on his chest no heavier than a speck of dust. Rare creatures and curiosities from every quarter teem there beyond count or naming—several words are lost in the manuscript, including one verb paired with Yu. Yet a feudal lord may not brag of his sport or the size of his hunting parks. You are a guest of honor; the king held his tongue out of courtesy—not because he had nothing to say!”
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亡是公聽然而笑曰：「楚則失矣，而齊亦未為得也。 夫使諸侯納貢者，非為財幣，所以述職也； 封疆畫界者，非為守禦，所以禁淫也。 今齊列為東蕃，而外私肅慎，捐國□限，越海而田，其於義固未可也。 且二君之論，不務明君臣之義，正諸侯之禮，徒事爭於遊戲之樂，苑囿之大，欲以奢侈相勝，荒淫相越，此不可以揚名發譽，而適足以貶君自損也。
Lord No-such-person laughed aloud and said, “Chu was in the wrong—but Qi fares no better. Tribute from the lords is not about collecting treasure; it is how they render account of their stewardship. Fixed frontiers are not meant chiefly for defense; they are meant to curb excess and ambition. Qi ranks as an eastern bulwark of the realm, yet it cultivates private ties with Sushen, casts off its proper bounds, and hunts beyond the sea—conduct that the rites cannot justify. (One character is missing in the text.) Both of you ignore the bond between sovereign and subject and the etiquette owed by a vassal state; you only vie over whose playground is larger and whose hunt is more lavish. That wins no glory—it only shames your masters and yourselves.
16
「且夫齊、楚之事又烏足道乎！ 君未睹夫巨麗也，獨不聞天子之上林乎？ 左蒼梧，右西極，丹水更其南，紫淵徑其北。 終始霸、產，出入涇、渭，□、鎬、潦、□，紆余委蛇，經營其內。 蕩蕩乎八川分流，相背異態，東西南北，馳騖往來，出乎椒丘之闕，行乎州淤之浦，逕乎桂林之中，過乎泱莽之野，汩乎混流，順阿而下，赴隘□之口，觸穹石，激堆□，沸乎暴怒，洶湧彭湃，滭弗宓汩，逼側泌瀄，橫流逆折，轉騰潎洌，滂濞沆溉，穹隆雲橈，宛水單膠□，逾波趨乂，蒞蒞下瀨，批巖沖擁，奔揚滯沛，臨坻注壑，□霣隊，沈沈隱隱，砰磅訇□蓋，□淈□，□鼎沸，馳波跳沫，汩□漂疾，悠遠長懷。 寂□無聲，肆乎永歸。 然後灝□潢漾，安翔徐□，□乎□，東注大湖，衍溢陂池。 於是蛟龍赤螭，□恆□瞢漸離，□禺禺□鰨，健鰭掉尾，振鱗奮翼，潛處乎深巖。 魚鱉歡聲，萬物眾伙。 明月珠子，的皪江靡，蜀石黃□，水玉磊砢，磷磷爛爛，采色澔汗，叢積乎其中。 工□鷫鵠鴇，鴽鵝屬玉，交精旋目，煩鶩庸渠，箴疵□盧，群浮乎其上。 浮淫氾濫，隨風澹淡，與波搖蕩，奄薄水□，唼喋菁藻，咀嚼鞭藕。
“As for Qi and Chu—what is there even worth saying!” You have never seen true magnificence. Surely you have heard of the Son of Heaven’s Shanglin preserve?” It runs toward Cangwu in the east and toward the western wastes; the Vermilion River washes its southern flank and the Purple Pool its northern. The Ba and Chan rivers thread through it from end to end; the Jing and Wei pour in and out, joined by the Feng, Hao, Lao, and other streams—several river names are damaged in the text—that wind and coil across the park. Eight great rivers split and surge through the park, each with its own temper: they burst from defiles, braid across sandbars, thread the cassia groves, flood the open moors, then boil together, drop through narrows—one place name is lost—hammer boulders and shoals, rear in white rage, crash and cross-cut until the whole basin seethes like a cauldron. The passage piles on binomes for roaring water; many graphs are missing or corrupt in the received Hanshu. Then all at once the torrent subsides into a deep hush, and the waters glide home to rest. (One character is missing.) Spreading wide, the currents ease and slide eastward into the great lake, spilling over into every marsh and pond along the way. Horned dragons and lesser river dragons thrash their fins and fan their scales in the depths—several fish names are defective in the manuscript. Fish and turtles sport on the surface; countless creatures flourish in the flood. Lustrous pearls line the banks; Shu jade, yellow crystal, and heaped “water jade” flash so many hues that the riverbed seems paved with gems. Wildfowl of every description—swans, bustards, teals, and rarer species partly lost in the text—raft in dense flocks on the water. They drift with the breeze, bob on the chop, dabble in the shallows, and peck at algae and lotus root.
17
「於是乎崇山矗矗，巃嵷崔巍，深林巨木，嶄巖參差。 九□，南山峨峨，巖□錡，{山椎}崛崎，振溪通谷，蹇產溝瀆，呀豁□，阜陵別島，崴□□□，丘陵崛□，隱轔郁□壘，登降施靡，陂池□豸。 允溶淫鬻，散渙夷陸，亭皋千里，靡不被築。 □以綠蕙，被以江離，糅以蘼蕪，雜以留夷。 布結縷，攢戾莎，揭車衡蘭，稿本射干，茈姜蘘荷，葴持若蓀，鮮支黃礫，蔣□青薠，布□閎澤，延曼太原，離靡廣衍，應風披靡，吐芳揚烈，鬱鬱菲菲，眾香發越，□蠁布寫，晻薆□。
Beyond the rivers rise sheer ranges and deep woods, cliffs stepping wildly toward the sky. The Southern March looms among broken peaks and winding gorges; ridges, islets, and hillocks pile one upon another in a maze the damaged text can only partly name. The floodplain spreads smooth for a thousand li, every terrace and bottomland groomed for the imperial pleasure. The ground is sewn with thoroughwort, river mallow, and other aromatics—one verb is lost at the line’s opening. Herbs and spices carpet the flats in such profusion—knotweed, belamcanda, ginger, iris, and a host of other plants, some unreadable in the manuscript—that the wind carries a single intoxicating breath across miles of marsh.
18
「於是乎周覽泛觀，縝紛軋芴，芒芒恍忽，視之無端，察之無涯。 日出東沼，入乎西陂。 其南則隆冬生長，湧水躍波； 其獸則庸旄貘□，沈牛麝麋，赤首圜題，窮奇象犀。 其北則盛夏含凍裂地，涉冰揭河； 其獸則麒麟角端，□駼橐駝，蛩蛩驒騱，驒騠驢騾。
Roam where you will: the view dissolves into haze and dazzle, without verge or limit. The sun lifts from the eastern pool and sinks behind the western levee. To the south it is so mild that plants grow in the depth of winter and springs boil up in dancing waves; there you find yak, tapir, musk deer, rhinoceros, elephant, and the fabulous qiongqi—several animal names are incomplete in the text. To the north it stays so cold that in midsummer the ground can split with frost and men can ford the ice; there graze unicorn, camel, wild ass, mule, and other steppe beasts—one name is lost.
19
「於是乎離宮別館，彌山跨谷，高廊四注，重坐曲閣，華□璧榼，輦道纚屬，步檐周流，長途中宿。 夷□築堂，累台增成，巖突洞房。 俯杳眇而無見，仰攀□而捫天，奔星更於閨闥，宛虹拖於□軒。 青龍蚴□於東箱，像輿婉僤於西清，靈圉燕於閒館，偓□之倫暴於南榮，醴泉湧於清室，通川過於中庭。 磐石□崖，嶔巖倚傾，嵯峨{山集}嶪，刻削崢嶸，玫瑰碧琳，珊瑚叢生，鈱玉旁唐，玢豳文磷，赤瑕駁犖，雜□其間，□采琬琰，和氏出焉。
Detached palaces span ridge after ridge: high galleries, tiered belvederes, covered walks that run for a day’s journey without leaving the roofed ways. Terraces rise in stacked stories, their inner chambers bored deep into the living rock. Look down and the depth swallows sight; look up and you seem to brush the sky—meteors slip past the chamber doors and rainbows arch through the lattices. Bronze dragons coil along the east wing, jade-mounted chariots stand in the western gallery, guardian spirits are cast in the side halls, and a sweet spring bubbles up through the central court. Cliffs of raw jade and coral, grain on grain of carnelian and “He’s” famous disk—the stone itself seems to bloom with color.
20
「於是乎盧橘夏孰，黃甘橙楱，楷杷橪柿，亭柰厚樸，□棗楊梅，櫻桃蒲陶，隱夫薁棣，答□離支，羅乎後宮，列乎北園，□丘陵，下平原，揚翠葉，□紫莖，發紅華，垂硃榮，煌煌扈扈，照曜巨野。 沙棠櫟櫧，華楓枰櫨，留落胥邪，仁頻並閭，□檀木蘭，豫章女貞，長千仞，大連抱，誇條直暢，實葉□茂，攢立叢倚，連捲欐，崔錯□，坑稀□，垂條扶疏，落英幡纚，紛溶□蔘，猗□從風，藰蒞卉歙，蓋象金石之聲，管□之聲音。 柴池茈□，旋還乎後宮，雜襲累輯，被山緣谷，循阪下□，視之無端，究之亡窮。
Orchards fill the rear palace and north park with oranges, loquats, persimmons, cherries, grapes, lychees, and every southern fruit—green leaves, purple stalks, scarlet bloom, and fruit glowing like coals across the hills. (Several tree names are damaged.) Forest giants—oaks, zelkovas, camphors, magnolias—stand thicker than a man can span, their limbs interlaced until the wind in the leaves sounds like bells and flutes. Many plant names in this catalogue are corrupt. The groves run in belts round the inner palaces, cloak every slope, and stretch away without visible end.
21
「於是乎玄□素雌，蜼□飛□，蛭蜩□，獑胡□，棲息乎其間。 長嘯哀鳴，翩幡互經，夭蟜枝格，偃蹇杪顛，逾絕梁，騰殊榛，捷垂條，掉希間，牢落陸離，爛溫遠遷。
Black gibbons, white gibbons, long-tailed apes, and other mountain monkeys swing and roost in the canopy—several species names are lost. They howl, flash from limb to limb, vault broken bridges and thickets, and vanish in a rustle of leaves.
22
「若此者數百千處，娛游往來，宮宿館舍，包廚不徙，後宮不移，百官備具。
Hundreds of such lodges dot the park; the court may roam for months while pantries, harem, and full bureaucracy travel with the throne.
23
「於是乎背秋涉冬，天子校獵。 乘鏤象，六玉□，拖蜺旌，靡雲旗，前皮軒，後道游； 孫叔奉轡，衛公參乘，扈從橫行，出乎四校之中。 鼓嚴簿，縱獵者，江河為□，泰山為櫓，車騎雷起，殷天動地，先後陸離，離散別追，淫淫裔裔，緣陵流澤，雲布雨施。 生貔豹，搏豺狼，手熊羆，足野羊。 蒙鶡蘇，褲白虎，被斑文，跨野馬，陵三□之危，下磧歷之坻，逕峻赴險，越壑厲水。 推蜚廉，弄解□，格蝦蛤，鋌猛氏，□要□，射封豕。 箭不苟害，解□陷腦； 弓不虛發，應聲而倒。
When autumn turns to winter, the emperor leads the great battue. He mounts an ivory-inlaid chariot drawn by six gleaming bays—one ornament name is missing—rainbow pennons and cloud standards streaming, a leather-screened vanguard and escort chariots to the rear. Sun Shu takes the reins, the Duke of Wei rides escort, and the host breaks from the four-field cordon in full array. The roll call ends, the beaters open, and the hunt spills across a front measured in rivers and mountains—chariots thunder, earth shakes, squadrons wheel like clouds bursting into rain. Men strip the pelts from leopards, wrestle wolves and bears, and run down wild goats with their bare feet. They wear plumed hoods and tiger-skin chaps, ride bareback, and charge slopes and gravel beds that would stop an ordinary horse. They spear wind-spirits, gore fabulous beasts, and bring down giant boars—several monster names are defective. No arrow flies without purpose; each strike splits skull or spine. No bowstring hums without answer; game drops at the report.
24
「於是乘輿弭節徘徊，皋翔往來，睨部曲之進退，覽將帥之變態。 然後侵淫促節，倏□遠去，流離輕禽，蹴履狡獸，□惠白鹿，捷狡菟。 軼赤電，遺光耀，追怪物，出宇宙，彎蕃弱，滿白羽，射游梟，櫟蜚遽。 擇肉而後發，先中而命處，弦矢分，□僕。
The imperial chariot checks, wheels, and surveys the columns as commanders shift their dispositions. Then the pace quickens: birds scatter before the cars, clever beasts are trampled underhoof, white deer and swift hares are run down—one verb is missing. They outrace storm-flash, bend the Fanruo bow, loose white-feathered shafts, and strike down owls and other ill-omened birds mid-flight. They pick their quarry before they shoot and call the spot before the arrow lands—one final verb is damaged.
25
「然後揚節而上浮，陵驚風，歷駭焱，乘虛亡，與神俱，藺玄鶴，亂昆雞，遒孔鸞，促□鸃，指翳鳥，捎鳳凰，捷鵷雛，□焦明。
The hunt then takes wing: chariots seem to ride the wind and flame after every rare bird from dark crane to phoenix—several bird names are incomplete in the text.
26
「道盡塗殫，回車而還。 消□乎襄羊，降集乎北□，率乎直指，□乎反鄉，蹶石關，歷封巒，過□鵲，望露寒，下堂□，息宜春，西馳宣曲，濯□牛首，登龍台，掩細柳，觀士大夫之勤略，鈞獵者之所得獲。 徒車之所□轢，騎之所蹂若，人之所蹈藉，與其窮極倦，□驚憚讋伏，不被創刃而死者，它它藉藉，填坑滿谷，掩平彌澤。
When trails and game alike are spent, the chariots wheel for home. The procession drifts through the park’s gates and lodges—Shimen, Fengluan, and the rest, many names partly lost—while the emperor reviews what his men have taken. Beasts crushed under wheel and hoof, stunned without a blade’s touch, lie heaped until gorges and flats are carpeted with carcasses.
27
「於是乎遊戲懈怠，置酒乎顥天之台，張樂乎膠葛之□，撞千石之鐘，立萬石之□，建翠北之旗，樹靈□之鼓，奏陶唐氏之舞，聽葛天氏之歌，千人倡，萬人和，山陵為之震動，川谷為之蕩波。 巴、俞、宋、蔡，淮南《干遮》，文成顛歌，族居遞奏，金鼓迭起，鏗鎗□，洞心駭耳。 荊、吳、鄭、衛之聲，《韶》、《□》、《武》、《象》之樂，陰淫案衍之音，鄢、郢繽紛，《激楚》、《結風》，俳優侏儒，狄□之倡，所以娛耳目樂心意者，麗靡爛漫於前，靡曼美色於後。
Then, weary of sport, they feast on the Terrace of Vast Heaven, strike bells of a thousand stone-weights, raise kingfisher banners and spirit drums, and stage the dances of antiquity until hills tremble and valleys answer like surf. Troupes from Ba, Yu, Song, Cai, and Huainan follow one another; bronze drums and wild songs strike the heart and ring in the ears. The licentious airs of Zheng and Wei alternate with the classical Shao and Wu suites, acrobats and dwarfs, and sensual dances—everything that dazzles eye and ear and works on the heart.
28
「若夫青琴、虙妃之徒，絕殊離俗，妖冶閒都，靚莊刻飾，便□綽約，柔橈□，嫵媚纖弱，曳獨繭之□□，眇閻易以恤削，便姍□屑，與世殊服，芬芳漚郁，酷烈淑郁，皓齒粲爛，宜笑的皪，長眉連娟，微睇綿藐，色授魂予，心愉於側。
Ladies like the goddess Fufei move among the guests in gauze so fine it seems spun from a single cocoon—glances that steal the soul and laughter that flashes like pearls. Several adjectives are corrupt in the source.
29
「於是酒中樂酣，天子芒然而思，似若有亡，曰：『嗟乎，此大奢侈！ 朕以覽聽餘閒，無事棄日，順天道以殺伐，時休息於此，恐後世靡麗，遂往而不返，非所以為繼嗣創業垂統也。』 於是乎乃解酒罷獵，而命有司曰：『地可墾闢，悉為農郊，以贍氓隸，隤牆填塹，使山澤之民得至焉。 實陂池而勿禁，虛官館而勿仞。 發倉廩以救貧窮，補不足，恤鰥寡，存孤獨。 出德號，省刑罰，改制度，易服色，革正朔，與天下為始。』」
Deep in wine and music the emperor’s mood turns grave, as if something had been lost, and he murmurs, “This is too much—far too much. I used my free hours to hunt in accord with the seasons, never dreaming that posterity might ape this splendor, drift into excess, and never find their way back—that is no foundation for an heir or a dynasty.” He ended the revel and ordered his ministers to open every acre that could be plowed, throw down the park walls and fill the ditches, and let hill folk and marsh dwellers come in to farm. Let the people fish the ponds without ban and lodge in the empty guesthouses. Release grain for the hungry, aid the short of supplies, comfort widows and widowers, and shelter the orphaned and alone. Proclaim amnesty, lighten penalties, reform the calendar, change court dress—give the empire a new beginning.”’”
30
「於是歷吉日以齋戒，襲朝服，乘當駕，建華旗，鳴玉鸞，游於六藝之囿，馳騖乎仁義之塗，覽觀《春秋》之林，射《□首》，兼《騶虞》，弋玄鶴，舞干戚，戴雲□，□群雅，悲《伐檀》，樂樂胥，修容乎《禮》園，翱翔乎《書》圃，述《易》道，放怪獸，登明堂，坐清廟，恣群臣，奏得失，四海之內，靡不受獲。 於欺之時，天下大說，鄉風而聽，隨流而化，□然興道而遷義，刑錯而不用，德隆於三皇，功羨於五帝。 若此，故獵乃可喜也。」
On a chosen fast day he dons full court robes, sounds his jade bells, and “hunts” instead through the garden of the Six Classics—archery to the moral odes, dances with shield and axe, discourses on the Rites, Documents, and Changes, frees the menagerie’s fabulous beasts, holds court in the Bright Hall, and lets every officer speak plain truth until the realm shares the benefit. At that the world rejoiced, habits turned with his edict, and virtue rose until punishments fell idle—an achievement said to eclipse even the Five Thearchs. (One character is missing.) When the hunt ends in such deeds, it is truly a thing to celebrate.”
31
「若夫終日馳騁，勞神苦形，罷車馬之用，□士卒之精，費府庫之財，而無德厚之恩，務在獨樂，不顧眾庶，忘國家之政，貪雉菟之獲，則仁者不繇也。 從此觀之，齊、楚之事，豈不哀哉！ 地方不過千里，而囿居九百，是草木不得墾闢，而民無所食也。 夫以諸侯之細，而樂萬乘之所侈，僕恐百姓被其尤也。」
But to race all day until men and horses are spent, drain the treasury, enrich no one, and care only for bagging hares—that a humane ruler will not do. Seen in that light, the quarrel of Qi and Chu is pathetic indeed. Their territories are less than a thousand li square, yet nine-tenths is park—no room to plow, nothing for the people to live on. Petty lords who mimic an emperor’s excess invite disaster on their commoners—and that, sir, is what I fear for your people.”
32
於是二子愀然改容，超若自失，逡巡避席，曰：「鄙人固陋，不知忌諱，乃今日見教，謹受命矣。」
The two visitors blanched, rose unsteadily from their cushions, and said, “We are coarse men who spoke out of turn. We thank you for the lesson and shall take it to heart.”
33
賦奏，天子以為郎。 亡是公言上林廣大，山谷水泉萬物，及子虛言雲夢所有甚眾，侈靡多過其實，且非義理所止，故刪取其要，歸正道而論之。
When the fu was laid before the throne, the emperor appointed Sima Xiangru a gentleman. Ban Gu’s note: Lord No-such-person’s description of Shanglin and Sir Vacuity’s catalogue of Cloud Dream swell beyond fact and stray from moral purpose; the historian has therefore trimmed them to essentials and set the discourse back on the proper path.