「梦仙」白居易
人有梦仙者，梦身升上清。坐乘一白鹤，前引双红旌。
羽衣忽飘飘，玉鸾俄铮铮。半空直下视，人世尘冥冥。
渐失乡国处，才分山水形。东海一片白，列岳五点青。
须臾群仙来，相引朝玉京。安期羡门辈，列侍如公卿。
仰谒玉皇帝，稽首前致诚。帝言汝仙才，努力勿自轻。
却后十五年，期汝不死庭。再拜受斯言，既寤喜且惊。
秘之不敢泄，誓志居岩扃。恩爱舍骨肉，饮食断膻腥。
朝餐云母散，夜吸沆瀣精。空山三十载，日望辎輧迎。
前期过已久，鸾鹤无来声。齿发日衰白，耳目减聪明。
一朝同物化，身与粪壤并。神仙信有之，俗力非可营。
苟无金骨相，不列丹台名。徒传辟谷法，虚受烧丹经。
只自取勤苦，百年终不成。悲哉梦仙人，一梦误一生。
THE MAN WHO DREAMED OF FAIRIES
This poem is an attack on the Emperor Hsien-tsung, a.d. 806-820,
who " was devoted to magic." A Taoist wizard told him that herbs
of longevity grew near the city of T'ai-chou. The Emperor at once
appointed him prefect of the place, "pour lui permettre d'herboriser
plus k son aise " (Wieger, Textes III, 1723). When the censors protested, the Emperor replied: "The ruin of a single district would be a
small price to pay, if it could procure longevity for the Lord of Men."
There was once a man who dreamt he went to Heaven :
His dream-body soared aloft through space.
He rode on the back of a white-plumed crane,
And was led on his flight by two crimson banners
Whirring of wings and flapping of coat tails!
Jade bells suddenly all a-tinkle !
Half way to Heaven, he looked down beneath him,
Down on the dark turmoil of the World.
Gradually he lost the place of his native town;
Mountains and water — nothing else distinct.
The Eastern Ocean — a single strip of white:
The Hills of China, — five specks of green.
Gliding past him a host of fairies swept
In long procession to the Palace of the Jade City.
How should he guess that the children of Tzu-men *
Bow to the throne like courtiers of earthly kings ?
They take him to the presence of the Mighty Jade Emperor:
He bows his head and proffers loyal homage.
The Emperor says: " We see you have fairy talents:
' I.e., the Immortals.
Be of good heart and do not slight yourself.
We shall send to fetch you in fifteen years,
And give you a place in the Courtyard of Immortality."
Twice bowing, he acknowledged the gracious words:
Then woke from sleep, full of wonder and joy.
He hid his secret and dared not tell it abroad:
But vowed a vow he would live in a cave of rock.
From love and affection he severed kith and kin :
From his eating and drinking he omitted savoury and spice.
His morning meal was a dish of coral-dust :
At night he sipped an essence of dewy mists.
In the empty mountains he lived for thirty years
Daily watching for the Heavenly Coach to come.
The time of appointment was already long past,
But of wings and coach-bells — still no sound.
His teeth and hair daily withered and decayed :
His ears and eyes gradually lost their keenness.
One morning he suffered the Common Change
And his body was one with the dust and dirt of the hill.
Gods and fairies ! If indeed such things there be,
Their ways are beyond the striving of mortal men.
If you have not on your skull the Golden Bump's protrusion,
If your name is absent from the rolls of the Red Terrace,
In vain you learn the " Method of Avoiding Food " :
For naught you study the " Book of Alchemic Lore."
Though you sweat and toil, what shall your trouble bring?
You will only shorten the five-score years of your span.
Sad, alas, the man who dreamt of Fairies!
For a single dream spoiled his whole life.