A Letter to My Sons Yan,etc.
- Poetry of Tao Yuanming

告俨、俟、份、佚、佟：

天地赋命，生必有死。自古贤圣，谁能独免？子夏有言：“死生有命，富贵在天。”四友之人，亲受音旨。发斯谈者，将非穷达不可妄求，寿夭永无外请故耶？

吾年过五十，少而穷苦。每以家弊，东西游走。性刚才拙，与物多忤。自量为己，必贻俗患，僶俛辞世，使汝等幼而饥寒。余尝感孺仲贤妻之言，败絮自拥，何惭儿子。此既一事矣。但恨邻靡二仲，室无莱妇，抱兹苦心，良独内愧。少学琴书，偶爱闲静，开卷有得，便欣然忘食。见树木交荫，时鸟变声，亦复欢然有喜。常言五六月中，北窗下卧，遇凉风暂至，自谓是羲皇上人。意浅识罕，谓斯言可保，日月遂往，机巧好疏，缅求在昔，眇然如何。

疾患以来，渐就衰损。亲旧不遗，每以药石见救，自恐大分将有限也。汝辈稚小家贫，每役柴水之劳，何时可免？念之在心，若何可言。然汝等虽不同生，当思四海皆兄弟之义。鲍叔、管仲，分财无猜；归生、伍举，班荆道旧，遂能以败为成，因丧立功。他人尚尔，况同父之人哉！颍川韩元长，汉末名士，身处卿佐，七十而终，兄弟同居，至于没齿。济北汜稚春，晋时操行人也，七世同财，家人无怨色。《诗》曰：“高山仰止，景行行止。”虽不能尔，至心尚之。汝其慎哉！吾复何言。

My dear sons Yan,Si,Bin,Yi and Tong:

Life is endowed by the heaven and earth,which is doomed to end with death.Since the ancient times,no sage has been exempted.Zixia once said,"Death and life are the decree of the heaven;wealth and rank depend upon the will of the heaven."The Confucian disciples heard the teaching from Confucius.Were they saying this to mean that fortune and adversity are not to be strained and that longevity and premature death are not to be intentionally sought after?

I am now over fifty years of age.I have led a wretched life since my childhood.As I was born in a poor family,I used to wander here and there to scratch a living.With an upright character and scanty wisdom,I often ran counter to the practice of the mundane world.I knew that there would be future misfortune if I went on like this.Therefore,I resigned from my official position and returned to the countryside,with the result that you have suffered from cold and hunger since your childhood.I was moved by the wise words of Wang Ruzhong's wife:how can I feel ashamed for my sons when I was covered with a ragged quilt?I am in the same situation as Wang Ruzhong!The pity is that I have neither such neighbours as the hermits Yangzhong and Qiuzhong nor such a virtuous woman as Laolaizi's wife on my side.I do feel ashamed to have such a thought on my mind.

I have been fond of liberal arts since my childhood.On occasions,I would take pleasure in having a little leisure.Whenever I apprehend some-thing between the lines,I would be so glad as to forget about my dinners.

I would be overjoyed when I see the overlapping shadows of the trees or hear the bird-songs in different seasons.I used to say that when I lie in leisure beside the northern window in May or June,I would feel like a man living in the ancient times.As I only have shallow thoughts and short insight,I used to think that I could always enjoy such a life.With the passage of time,I am still not much of a flatterer and toady.How remote is my youthhood life!Since I was taken ill,I have been growing weaker and weaker.Having not abandoned me,my kith and kin have occasion-ally given me medicine,but I am afraid that my days are numbered.

Young as you are,you have to gather firewoods and carry water because ours is a poor family.When can you be exempted from such household drudgery?This question is always lingering in my mind,what am I to say about it?Although you were not born by the same mother,you should keep the words in mind:"Man to man the world over are brothers."Bao Shu and Guan Zhong in the Spring and Autumn Period did not have any suspicion for each other when they divided the wealth;Gui Sheng and Wu Ju sat on the brambles to talk over their old friendship.

As a consequence,Bao Shu helped Guan Zhong to move from adversity to fortune and Gui Sheng helped Wu Ju to perform feats in his native country.Friends could act in this way,let alone you sons of the same father!Han Yuanchang from Yingchuan,a celebrity in the late Han Dy-nasty,was a high-ranking official and lived to the age of eighty.He lived with his brother until his death.Fan Zhichun from Jibei,a man of virtue in the Jin Dynasty,lived in a family of seven generations.They did not divide the property among them and no one uttered any grudges.As is said in The Book of Poetry,"The mountain towers to the sky;Broad roads in front of us lie."Even if you are unable to attain such moral standards,you should strive to learn from the ancients.

I sincerely hope that you will act with prudence.Besides this,what else can I say?