Translation of "Preface to Tao An's Dream Reminiscences":
Tao An's country was ruined and his family was destroyed, and he had no place to return. He entered the mountains with disheveled hair and turned into a terrifying savage. When my relatives and friends saw me, they looked at me in astonishment, as if they were seeing a poisonous beast, and did not dare to come into contact with me. I wrote poems mourning myself, and often wanted to commit suicide, but because I had not finished "The Book of Stone Chambers", I was still living in the world. However, the jars in which the rice was stored were often empty, and it was impossible to light a fire for cooking. Only then did I understand that Boyi and Shuqi had starved to death. (To say that they) were unwilling to eat the food of the Zhou Dynasty was just an exaggeration and whitewash by later generations.
When I am hungry, I also like to write some articles. So I thought that I used to grow up in a family like Wang and Xie, and enjoyed a luxurious life, but now I have suffered such karma: using a bamboo hat as the retribution for the head, using straw sandals as the retribution for the heel, and using it to match the retribution that I enjoyed before. The gorgeous crown and shoes are compared with each other; the robe is used as the retribution for wearing fur; the linen cloth is used as the retribution for wearing fine kudzu cloth, which is used to compare with the light and warm clothes before; the bean leaves are used as the retribution for eating meat, and the coarse grains are used as the retribution for polished rice. , used to compare with the good food of the past; use straw as the retribution for a warm bed, use stones as the retribution for a soft pillow, use it as a retribution for warm and soft things; use the rope hinge as the retribution for a good door hinge, to The urn is the retribution for the bright window, which is used to compare with the dry and comfortable room; the smoke is the retribution for the eyes, the smell of excrement is the retribution for the nose, which is the retribution for the previous enjoyment; and the long journey is the retribution for the feet. Retribution, the retribution of carrying a bag as a shoulder, is used to contrast with the former sedan and horse servants. Various crimes committed in the past can be seen in the various consequences today.
Hearing the crow of the chicken on the pillow, my pure and peaceful state of mind has just been restored. So when I look back on my life, the prosperity and splendor have vanished into nothing in the blink of an eye. For fifty years, it has always been nothing but a dream. Now I should wake up from the Huangliang dream and the Nanke dream. How should I enjoy this kind of life? I can only think about the distant past, write it down as soon as I think of it, and take it to the Buddha one by one to confess. The things written are not in chronological order, and there is no need to write the year; nor are they divided into categories to distinguish them from "Zhilin". Occasionally I take out one and read it, as if I am visiting places I have visited before and meeting old friends. Although the city remains the same and the people have changed, I feel happy. This can really be said to be a dream that cannot be mentioned in front of an idiot.
Once upon a time, there was a porter from Xiling who was carrying wine for someone. He accidentally fell and broke the wine jar. It was estimated that there was no way to compensate, so he sat for a long time and thought: "It would be great if it was just a dream!" Another poor scholar passed the imperial examination and was attending the deer-crowing banquet. He thought in a daze that this was not true and bit himself. The arm said: "Don't dream!" Regarding dreams, one is afraid that it is not a dream, and the other is afraid that it is a dream. They are also dreamers.
I am now nearing the end of my life, but I am still engaged in writing. This is again talking in my sleep. Therefore, it is lamentable that people who can use their intelligence and write articles have a good reputation that is really difficult to resolve, just like when Huang Liang wakes up from a dream and runs out of time, he still wants to imitate the calligraphy of the two kings in his legacy and pass it on to future generations. Therefore, their little name root is really as solid as a Buddhist relic. Even if it is burned with fierce calamity fire, it cannot be burned away.
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 hanging loose and became a savage. Therefore, when I saw it in the past, it was like a poisonous beast, and I was stunned and dared not touch 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 I thought that in the past, I grew up with kings and thanked you, and I was quite luxurious. Today, I have suffered the consequences: repaying my head with a hat, repaying my heels with a bag, and hating my hairpins and shoes. To repay fur with nuggets, and to repay fur with ramie is to express hatred. Repay meat with lotus and rice with rice, this 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 firewood with an urn, and Qiu Shuangqi. Repay the eyes with smoke, repay the 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 from 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 rice is ripe, and when you travel in an 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 confess one by one. No matter the years, there are different years; no categories, no different records. 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 others. He lost his footing and broke the urn. His thoughts were unrequited. He sat there and thought, "It would be a dream!" A poor scholar passed the rural examination before going to Luming. During the banquet, he suddenly 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 why 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.