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244
敬 酬 李 判 官 使 院 即 事 见 呈
Respectfully Presented in Response to
Administrative Assistant Li's “Impromptu at the
Government Office”
公 府 日 无 事
吾 徒 只 是 闲
草 根 侵 柱 础
苔 色 上 门 关
69
饮 砚 时 见 鸟
卷 帘 晴 对 山
新 诗 吟 未 足
70
昨 夜 梦 东 还
Everyday passes with nothing to do at the regional
headquarters, 68
All of us here are idle.
Grass roots are eroding the pillars' foundations,
Moss is growing on the doors.
Birds are often seen drinking from ink slabs,
Raising the curtains, the clear sky complements
the mountains.
Chanting new poems does not bring satisfaction;
Last night I dreamt of returning east.
68 公 府 (gongfu) here refers to the Beiting Protectorate's headquarters. See Zhang Hui, ed., Cen Shen biansaishixuan, p.
71.
69 The Yingkuilvsui 瀛 奎 律 髓 , a Yuan 元 dynasty compilation of Tang and Song pentasyllabic and heptasyllabic regulated
verse edited by Fang Hui 方 回 (1227-1306), replaces 饮 (yin, drink) with 映 (ying, reflect), a variation which produces
a translation of “In the ink slab one often sees reflections of birds” 映 砚 时 见 鸟 . See Yingkuilvsui 瀛 奎 律 髓 42.5 in
SKQS.
70 CSJJZ, p. 162.