it grant my lord a thousand years
but serving as an altarpiece isn’t for me
the idle rich indulge in all sorts of things
長安新技出宮掖，喧喧初徧王侯宅。玉盤滴瀝黃金淺，皎如文龜麗秋天。
八方定位開神卦，六甲離離齊上下。投變轉動玄機卑，星流霞破相參差。
四分五裂勢未已，出無入有誰能知。乍驚散漫無處所，須臾羅列已如故。
徒言萬事有盈虛，終朝一擲知勝負。修門象棋不復貴，魏宮粧奩世所棄。
豈如瑞質耀奇文，願持千歲壽吾君。廟堂巾笥非余慕，錢刀兒女徒紛紛。
NOTE: Written in Ch’ang-an shortly before 800 while Liu was still in his twenties. Serving at court, Liu came into contact with the goings-on among the excessively rich and idle. Here he describes a new board game that had become fashionable. Judging from the description, the lines on the turtle shell formed the “board,” and elements of chance were involved but also automatic writing, as in the modern Ouija board. It was about this time that such writing first appeared among Taoists. In his self-titled book (17.11), the Taoist sage Chuang-tzu turns down an offer to be a minister at court and compares such an opportunity to the choice given a turtle of having its shell used in the ceremonies of the king or of continuing to wag its tail in the mud. The turtle, of course, was known for its long life. (1248)
I. THE JUNK BUG 蝜蝂傳
Junk bugs are insects that like to carry things. Whenever they encounter something, they grab it, then lift it with their heads onto their backs. No matter how heavy or troublesome it might be, they don’t quit. Because their backs are rough, whatever they pile on top doesn’t fall off. When they finally collapse and can’t get up, if someone takes pity on them and removes their burden, as soon as they can move, they pick it up again and continue on as before. They’re also fond of climbing heights and do so with all their might until they fall to their deaths.
Likewise, there are people today so greedy they don’t let anything of value escape without adding it to their possessions. They don’t consider how burdensome it might be, only that they might fail to acquire it. But the moment they’re careless and trip, they suffer the misfortune of dismissal or banishment. And yet, as long as they can get back up, they continue on unrepentant. Every day they wonder how to improve their position or how to increase their salary, and their greed grows to the point where they approach ruin. Even if they should consider how those who came before them have perished, they don’t stop. Although they appear great, and we call them “men,” they possess the intelligence of insects. This is truly sad.
蝜蝂者，善負小蟲也。行遇物，輒持取，卬其首負之。背愈重，雖困劇不止也。其背甚澀，物積固不散。卒躓仆不能起，人或憐之，為去其負，苟能行， 又持取如故。又好上高，極其力不已，至墜地死。
今世之嗜取者，遇貨不避，以厚其室。不知為己累也，唯恐其不積。及其怠而躓也，黜棄之，遷徙之，亦以病矣。苟能起，又不艾。日思高其位，大其祿，而貪取滋甚，以近於危墜。觀前之死亡，不知戒。雖其形魁然大者，其名人也，而智則小蟲也。亦足哀夫。
NOTE: Although this reflects Liu’s impression of people he met in Ch’ang-an, this was most likely written while he was himself banished and living in Yungchou. This insect is usually identified as the larval stage of the green lacewing, or ant lion, which piles the bodies of ants it has killed on its back for camouflage. Liu has broadened its habits a bit here to serve the purposes of allegory. (483)
3. WEI TAO-AN 韋道安
Tao-an was a Confucian scholar
equally skilled with a bow or sword
traveling through the Taihang Mountains at twenty
one evening he heard someone cry
spurring his horse to investigate
he found an old man in a disheveled state
“I was a county official,” he said
“but I was demoted and returning to Ch’ang-an
when suddenly bandits attacked me
they didn’t leave me a thing
I don’t mind losing my possessions
they took my daughters too
before I knew it they were gone
who knows if my girls are dead or alive
I may as well end this life
how can I face another day”
道安本儒士，頗擅弓劍名。二十遊太行，暮聞號哭聲
疾驅前致問，有叟垂華纓。言我故刺史，失職還西京。
偶為群盜得，毫縷無餘贏。貨財足非恡，二女皆娉婷。
蒼黃見驅逐，誰識死與生。便當此殞命，休復事晨征。
Tao-an’s sense of injustice was roused
his eyes narrowed and his body tensed
he grabbed his bow and asked where they went
in a matter of minutes he was over the ridge
he saw the bandits beside a stream
they were arguing among themselves
with a single arrow he killed the leader
the others yelled out in fright
he told them to tie up each other
then to put the rope in his hands
the two girls had given up hope
they were expecting a gruesome end
they cowered and wouldn’t come closer
he told them to follow him back to their father
then slinging the stolen goods over his shoulder
he hurried back to where he set out
一聞激高義，眥裂肝膽橫。掛弓問所往，趫捷超峥嶸。
