Hardship and stifled ambition forced me to retreat to the mountains and a life of dull frustration. In those t…
Hardship and stifled ambition forced me to retreat to the mountains and a life of dull frustration. In those times, a few idle strokes of the brush with you served as a modest diversion from my gloom.
Now, opportunity has arrived, with success within reach. The Golden Peach comes to fulfill my deepest wish. On this journey to the Central Plains, I shall cross swords with masters, share wine in splendid halls, and ride in glory, my heart at last at ease.
True kinship between souls is rooted in a harmony of nature. I have since childhood pursued the art of statecraft. Whatever setbacks I may have faced were but fleeting; how could I linger forever among humble artisans?
This parting, then, is no failure of loyalty on my part. A dragon plunging into the sea spares no glance for the fish in the pond. The idle words of old dissolve into flowing waters. I have said all there is to say, and will not speak again.
Fang Bai