In the spring of the fourth year of Qingli, Teng Zijing was demoted to Yuezhou as the magistrate. In the second year, political affairs went smoothly, the people were happy, and all kinds of neglected projects were started. So (Teng Zijing) rebuilt the Yueyang Tower, expanded the original building scale, and engraved poems and rhymes by famous sages from the Tang Dynasty and contemporary times on the Yueyang Tower, (and) asked me to write about (the reconstruction of the Yueyang Tower) in an article.
The beautiful scenery I see in Baling is all in Dongting Lake. (Dongting Lake) connects the mountains in the distance and handles the water of the Yangtze River. The water is huge and wide. There are many changes in cloudiness and sunshine (in a day), morning or night, and the changes in the scene are endless. This is the majestic and magnificent scene of Yueyang Tower, which has been described in detail by predecessors. Even so, then (from here) to the north to Wu Gorge and to the south to Xiaoshui and Xiangshui, most of the people and poets who were relegated to exile gathered here, and the emotions triggered by seeing the natural scenery are different, right? ?
Like that drizzle that continues for several months without clearing up, the cold wind howls, the turbid waves rush into the sky, the sun and stars hide their brilliance, and the mountains disappear; businessmen ( And) the passengers could not move forward, the mast fell down, and the oars were broken; in the evening, the sky was dark, the tigers roared, and the apes cried sadly. When you climb this building, you feel like you have left the capital, miss your hometown, worry about bad words, and fear of criticism and criticism. You can see the depressing scene and feel extremely sad.
As for when the spring breeze is warm and the sun is shining, the lake surface is calm and there are no stormy waves. The sky and lake light meet, and it is a vast expanse of green. Water birds on the beach sometimes fly and sometimes stop, and beautiful fish swim in the water. ; Vanillas on the shore and orchids on the islets are rich in fragrance, lush and green. Sometimes the large smoke dissipates completely, and the bright moonlight pours down thousands of miles. The floating moonlight is like jumping broken gold, and the calm moon image sinks into the jade wall in the water. The fishermen sang songs and responded to each other. There is no end to the fun! As soon as I climbed up this building, I felt open-minded and refreshed. I forgot all about glory and humiliation. I drank the wine in the breeze and felt extremely happy.
Alas! I once explored the thoughts and feelings of people with noble moral character in ancient times. Perhaps they were different from the thoughts and feelings of the above two people. Why? Don’t be happy or sad because of external things (good or bad) or yourself (gains and losses). When he is an official in the imperial court, he worries about his people; when he is not an official in the imperial court, when he is in the remote rivers and lakes, he worries about his monarch. This is why you are worried about entering the imperial court and becoming an official, and you are also worried about resigning and living in seclusion. Even so, when will you be happy? Then you must say: "Be sad before the sorrow of the people in the world, and be happy after the happiness of the people in the world." well! If there is no such person, then with whom should I go?
Written on September 15, the sixth year of Qingli.