The original translation of Tao An's Meng Yi is as follows:
Original text: Tao An's country was ruined and his family was ruined. He had nowhere to go, so he went into the mountains with his hair loose, warning that he would be a savage. Therefore, when I saw it in the past, it was like a poisonous beast, and I was shocked and dared not meet it. He wrote self-elegiac poems, and every time he wanted to draw a conclusion, because the "Shu Gui Shu" was not completed, he still had to die. However, the bottle of millet was repeatedly exhausted and could not be used to raise the fire. It was only then that the two elders of Shouyang died of starvation and did not eat Zhou millet. This is just a pretense for future generations.
When I am hungry, I like to write and write. Because in the past, I grew up like a king and was very luxurious, but today I suffer the consequences: I repay my head with a hat, I repay my heel with a bridle, and I hate hairpins and shoes. To repay fur with nuggets, and to repay fur with ramie is to express hatred for light and warmth. Repay the meat with the clover and the stains with the rice, which is the purpose of revenge. Repay a bed with a recommendation, repay a pillow with a stone, this is the way to express hatred for gentleness. Repay the pivot with a rope, repay the fire with an urn, and the hatred will increase.
Repay your eyes with smoke, repay your nose with feces, and hate the fragrance. Repay your journey with your journey, repay your shoulders with your bag, and follow your enemies. Various crimes can be seen in various consequences.
The rooster crows on the pillow, and the night air comes back, because I think about the rest of my life, the prosperity and splendor, and everything is gone. For fifty years, it has always been a dream. Today, when the millet is ripe and the yellow beams are ripe, and when the car travels in the ant nest, how do you feel about it? Thinking about the past from afar, remembering it and writing it down, hold it before the Buddha and repent.
No matter how many years there are, there are different year records; no matter the categories, there is no difference between Zhilin and Zhilin. Occasionally, I pick up one sentence, like traveling on an old path, like seeing old friends and people in the city. I feel happy when I translate it. It is true that an idiot should not dream before him.
In the past, there was a porter in Xiling who was carrying wine for someone. He slipped and broke the vat. Suddenly he felt that the meaning was not true, so he bit his arm and said, "Is this a dream?" He was afraid that it was not a dream, and he was also afraid that it was a dream, which is a sign that he is an idiot.
The dream is about to come to an end, just like a worm, and it is another dream. Because of the lamentation of the wise scholars, it is difficult to change the name and mind, the government is like a broken dream in Handan, the sound of the bell is missing, and Lu Sheng’s legacy is still thought of imitating the two kings of the couch to pass down to future generations. Violent, it is still burning but not lost.
Translation:
Tao An lost his country and his family and had no place to return. He went into the mountains with his hair disheveled and surprisingly turned into a savage. When relatives and friends see me, they are like (seeing) a poisonous beast. They are so frightened that they almost suffocate and seem to dare not approach me.
I wrote a poem in memory of myself, and I thought about committing suicide many times. Because "The Book of the Stone Chamber" was not completed, I still managed to survive in this world. However, the rice in the urn ran out many times and could not light a fire for cooking. Only then did we realize that Boyi and Shuqi in Shouyang Mountain had actually starved to death. (To say that they) did not eat the food of the Zhou Dynasty was an exaggeration by later generations.
After I am hungry, I like to write some articles. It reminds me that I grew up in a noble family like Wang and Xie, and enjoyed a luxurious life. Today, I received such karma: I repay my head with a bamboo hat and my heels with straw sandals. This is retribution for the hairpins and shoes of the past. . Repay the furs with robes, and repay the fine kudzu with linen. This is retribution for the past. Wear warmth and lightness.
Repay meat with beans and leaves, and use coarse grains to repay polished rice. This is a delicacy to repay the past. Use straw mats to repay the mattress and stones to repay the pillow. This is retribution for the warmth and softness of the past. Use the rope pivot to return the door shaft, and use the broken urn to return the window. This is the high and dry retribution for the past. Repay the eyes with smoke and the nose with the smell of dung. This is the retribution for the fragrance and beauty of the past.
Repay your feet with the road and your shoulders with your backpack. This is retribution for the chariots and horses that have passed by. The various crimes of the past can be seen in the various karma of today.
I heard the crow of the rooster on the pillow, and my clear and pure state of mind had just been restored. Then I thought back to my own life, the prosperity and luxury, all of which had disappeared in the blink of an eye. In the past fifty years, it had all become one thing. A dream. Now, when the millet and rice are ripe, the dream of yellow rice is gone, and the dream of driving through an anthill is awakening. How should we endure such a life? Think about the past, write it down as soon as you think of it, take it to the Buddha, and confess one by one.
The things written are not ordered by year and month, which is different from the chronology; they are not divided into categories, which is different from "Zhilin". Occasionally, I take out one, and it feels like revisiting the old path, like meeting old friends. Although the city remains the same, the people have changed, but I am happy about it. It can be said that you can't dream in front of an idiot.
There used to be a porter in Xiling who was carrying wine for others. When he was walking, he accidentally fell and broke the wine vat. Thinking that he could not compensate, he sat there for a long time and thought: "It would be great if it was just a dream!"
Another poor scholar passed the provincial examination and was on his way to attend the deer-crowing banquet. He thought in a daze that this was not true. He bit his arm and said, "Is this a dream?" Both are just dreams, one is afraid that it is not a dream, and the other is afraid that it is a dream, but they are the same as idiots.
Now I am about to wake up from a big dream, and I am still doing small tricks. This is another time I am talking in my sleep. So I lamented that the literati who are engaged in the cause of wisdom cannot change their desire for fame. Just like when Handan wakes up from a dream, the clock has run out and the morning bell has rung. Lu Sheng went to calligraphy on his deathbed, but still wanted to copy the calligraphy of the two kings to pass on to future generations. The root of that little good name has become as strong as a Buddhist relic. Even though the fire of calamity is fierce, it cannot be burned away.