Liu Zongyuan's Records of Xiaoshicheng Mountain Liu Zongyuan Series: Selected Works of Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties Liu Zongyuan's Records of Xiaoshicheng Mountain
Original text From the north of Xishan Road, crossing Huangmaoling and going down1, there are two roads. One of them goes out to the west, but nothing can be found; the other one is from the north to the east, no more than 40 feet, the soil is cut off and the river is divided, and there are piles of rocks across the wall. Above it is the shape of a beam2; beside it is the fortress dock3, and there is a gate. Peering into the darkness, I threw a small stone, and there was a sound of water in the cave. The sound was so exciting that it lasted for a long time. You can go up to the ring, but you can see far away. Without soil, beautiful trees and beautiful bamboos grow, which are strange and strong. Their sparseness and tallness are like those planted by wise men. Alas! I doubt whether the Creator has existed for a long time5. The more you think about it, the more sincerity you feel. It is also strange that he did not do it to Zhongzhou, but listed him as a barbarian,6 and that he has not been able to sell his tricks for thousands of years.7 This is hard work but useless. It is not appropriate for a god to be so suave, and the result will be useless; or it may be said: "He who comforts his husband and the virtuous is humiliated." Or it may be said: "The spirit of his spirit is not for a great man, but only for this thing, so the southern part of Chu is young." "People are full of rocks." It's both of them, but I don't believe it.
Notes 1 Huangmaoling: southwest of Lingling in present-day Hunan. 2睝睨 (pi ni): Same as "埤堄", the low wall on the city. Liang: the main beam of the house. 3 Baowu: small castle. 4 numbers: dense. 5 Creator: The ancients referred to the God who created all things. The 6th column is Yi Di: the arrangement of such beautiful scenery in remote areas. 7 Ji: Same as "technique", skill refers to the wonders of Little Rock Mountain.
Translation: Walk north from the entrance of Xishan Mountain, cross Huangmaoling and go down. There are two paths. One road went west, and I walked over to take a look, but I didn't see anything; the other road was slightly north and east, and less than forty feet away, the terrain broke off. The river separated from here, and there were many stones piled up across the river. for the margin. The shape above is like a city wall and the beams of a house. Next to it is a small castle built for guards, like a gate. Looking inside, it was pitch black. I tried to drop a stone, and there was a hollow sound of water. The sound became louder and louder, and it gradually stopped after a long time. There is a path around it, and you can walk up to it and see far away in all directions. There is no soil here, but there are many good trees and beautiful bamboos growing here. They are very strange and strong. The density and pitch of the trees and bamboos seem to have been carefully arranged by smart people. well! I have doubted the existence of the Creator for a long time. After seeing all this, I believe even more that there must be a creator. But I wonder why he was not born in the Central Plains area, but in the Yi and Di areas. After thousands of years, he still can't show his skills. This is really a useless god. If this is not the case, is there really no god? Some people said: "This is to comfort the sages who are humiliated here." Others said: "The spirit of heaven and earth does not favor great men, but only the scenery. Therefore, in the south of Chu, there are fewer sages and more strange rocks." I don't believe this statement.
Commentary This article is the last article of "Eight Notes of Yongzhou". The article first describes the strange scenery of Little Rock Mountain, and uses the unknown scenery to express emotions, expressing his feelings that although he has talents and learning, there is no place to use them, and vaguely contains feelings about the rulers' inability to appoint talented people. Satire.