A Funeral oration for Myself
- Poetry of Tao Yuanming

岁惟丁卯，律中无射。天寒夜长，风气萧索，鸿雁于征，草木黄落。陶子将辞逆旅之馆，永归于本宅。故人凄其相悲，同祖行于今夕。羞以嘉蔬，荐以清酌。候颜已冥，聆音愈漠。呜呼哀哉！

茫茫大块，悠悠高旻，是生万物，余得为人。自余为人，逢运之贫，箪瓢屡罄，絺绤冬陈。含欢谷汲，行歌负薪，翳翳柴门，事我宵晨，春秋代谢，有务中园，载耘载籽，乃育乃繁。欣以素牍，和以七弦。冬曝其日，夏濯其泉。勤靡余劳，心有常闲。乐天委分，以至百年。

惟此百年，夫人爱之，惧彼无成，愒日惜时。存为世珍，殁亦见思。嗟我独迈，曾是异兹。宠非己荣，涅岂吾缁？捽兀穷庐，酣饮赋诗。识运知命，畴能罔眷。余今斯化，可以无恨。寿涉百龄，身慕肥遁，从老得终，奚所复恋！

寒暑愈迈，亡既异存，外姻晨来，良友宵奔，葬之中野，以安其魂。窅窅我行，萧萧墓门，奢耻宋臣，俭笑王孙，廓兮已灭，慨焉已遐，不封不树，日月遂过。匪贵前誉，孰重后歌？人生实难，死如之何？呜呼哀哉！

It is September of the year Dingmao.The days are cold;the nights are long.In the autumn wind,everything turns bleak.The wild geese are flying southward;the grass is withering and the leaves are falling.I am about to stop my earthly sojourn and return to my eternal underground residence.Filled with sorrow and grief,my kith and kin will pay tribute to my wandering soul,with delicious food and clear wine as sacrifice.They can no longer look at my face and listen to my voice.Alas!What a great woe that is tormenting them!

The expansive earth and the boundless sky have given birth to every-thing,including me as a human being.Ever since I was born,I have been predestined to poverty.I often lacked food and drink to be contained in the baskets and gourds;I often wore summer linen in cold winter.How-ever,I used to fetch water in the valley in a happy mood;I used to sing as I walked and carried firewood on my back.Behind my wicket gate,I spent countless days and nights.From spring to autumn,I had endless jobs in the garden-weeding and earthing up for the growth of veg-etables.I was filled with joy when I read and was contented when I played the zither.In winters,I bathed myself under the sun;in summers,I washed myself in the fountains.As I never overworked myself,I was filled with ease and comfort.To obey the laws of the heaven and follow the natural course of events-that is the way I spent my life.

Everyone should treasure the limited span of life.Some people greed-ily snatch every day and every hour lest they should achieve nothing in their lives;they hope that they will be respected when they are alive and be remembered when they are dead.Well,I am going my own way and acting in opposition to this way of living.As transient honour is not to be glorified,I would not be dragged into the worldly conceptions.I was contented to stay in my cottage,drinking wine and composing poems at will.As I knew my fate was predestined,I never worried about my gains and losses.Now I am to leave this world without any regret,for I have attained my ideal of living in the countryside.Now that I am to die a natural death at my old age,what is there for me to linger on?

With the passage of winters and summers,death is entirely different from life.On hearing the news,my kith and kin will come to mourn over my death in the morning or in the evening.They will bury me in the wilderness and soothe my soul.They will carry me to the desolate grave-yard,where the chilly wind will blow into the grave.The luxury of Huan Tui's tomb was a shame while the frugality of Yang Wangsun's tomb was an absurdity.Vast is the land outside the graveyard,where I shall vanish amid the sighs of my kith and kin.Neither pile a high tomb nor plant any trees-time will leave its traces on the grave.I did not value any praise during my lifetime;how can I esteem the lauding after my death?Life is full of ups and downs;what will happen to my afterlife?

Alas!What a great woe that is tormenting me!