A Mortal Life, Born of One Thought · Stubborn and Foolish by Nature · 22 / 102
Mingyue Zhu Ren Lai: The Banished Immortal
The clear radiance thickens, the threads of wind turn darkly cold; the road home dies away—in the Nine Reaches he hides his form. Indifferent on the Mirage Sea, the flute's note flows into the odes and the hymns. The peacock shuts its screen of feathers; silence.
Drifting catkins in the misted air, holding a grudge, dragging at feeling, sunk in pain. Three lifetimes gone by, and the knot in the heart is only this: disconsolate, thin and worn out—this very night the world of men understands. It is better than riding the cloud and having the crown anointed.
Glosses—
Hiding the form (yi jing): to conceal one's shape and shadow; that is, to live in seclusion;
Nine Reaches (jiu gai): the land from the center out to the eight extremities;
Mirage Sea: a place name in ancient Han Chinese myth. Dongfang Shuo of the Han dynasty of China, in his preface to the Record of the Ten Continents: "I once followed my master on his travels, going as far as Zhuling, Fusang, the Mirage Sea, and the Hill of Dark Night, the Mound of Pure Yang, the region below the First Green, and the abyss of the Moon Palace."
*This work is original. If you repost it, please credit the original author Guang Zhi Shiyi; any infringement, once discovered, will be pursued to the full extent of the law. In addition, the accompanying image comes from the internet and belongs to the original artist Yichui Wuyue.