1st of the 7th lunar month of the year geng-shen

The battle for the throne between the eight princes has begun.
I, like the fisherman, watch each moment unfold across the Five Lakes.
This vast and populous Chinese land,
In the absence of a worthy leader, will collapse beneath our feet.
The innocent and weak crumble like clods in a furnace.
If heaven regards not our suffering, then we will share this fate.
Between the four seas, no saviour can be found.
The earthly realm, though vast, brings forth few heroes.
By good Fortune, Gansu as yet remains undisturbed.
I may yet stroll amongst the fields and enjoy my natural years.

*

3rd of the 7th lunar month of the year geng-shen

A great wind came forth,
Dust rose on high.
Having conquered by virtuous example the hearts of the people
I returned to my home village.
When the Ming prince emerged
The Way prospered.
Heaven sent forth a hero
To save the two lands.

*

While enjoying the mountain scenery, I gaze upon harvested fields.
Here neighbours live at peace, Yet they are forced to part ways!
As the dust rises in this battle to the throne, who is to be made lord?
Silently I pray, my forehead pressed hard upon the cracked turf.
By ploughing the fields and harvesting the grain, I will get by.
Secluded in these mountains I recite the scriptures, and nourish the heaven-born soul.

*

5th of the 7th lunar month of the year geng-shen

It is not easy, for a layman, to live as a recluse.
Yet how hard, for an official, to be a recluse.

*

A response after reading Account of the Flight of the Sage

To glean a message from the books and records, the strength of the Manchu Qing was not on a par with the barbarian Jin 金 and Yuan. All the more for Jin 晋 and Song, who fled south of the River and founded a new court that kept the Chinese system alive for several centuries. The Ming Prince Fu transported his court to the southern capital but in less than two years his court was destroyed and he himself was taken prisoner. Though this is put down to the deliberate punishment of heaven, it is what happens when men set sail against the tide.

*

When Tang Wu led a revolution,
It took one military jacket for all under heaven to submit.
Since Sun Li launched his insurrection,
Ten years have passed and the lands are yet to find peace.
The bureau chief and the monk calmed all under heaven in three by seven.
Jianwu and Zhenguan settled the lands of the sage in two by nine.
Since ancient times every bandit who established a fief gave out alms.
Under the current regime the heroes of the hour love not their home land.

*

Preface to this collection

Gaozu of Han destoyed Qin within three years, and Chu within five. Taizu of Ming embarked on his military career in the 15th year of the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan dynasty; in the 28th year, he established his own calendar under the Hongwu reign, took Beijing and revived the Chinese dynastic order. Guangwu of Han conquered Shu in the 12th year of the Jianwu reign, regaining control over his old possessions. Tang Taizong wiped out all the bandit parties in the 7th year of Wude, spreading one law across all the mountains and rivers.

*

庚申七月一日

八王爭權起亂哄，
五湖伺隙作漁翁。
土廣人稠神州地，
無人維持將陸沉。
無辜弱民涂遭炭，
天不悔禍奈若何。
四海縱廣無救主，
天下雖大鮮英雄。
深幸隴右暫安靜，
悠游畎畝樂天年。

*

庚申七月三日

大風起兮塵飛揚 ，
德服國人兮來故鄉。
明王出兮道其昌 ，
天生英雄兮救兩方。

*

登高玩景觀刈麥，
眾人相聚切瓜分。
塵蜂起，誰是主，
哀哀默首扣旱天。
躬耕賣谷將日度，
隱山念經養性天。

*

庚申七月五日

以民為隱尚非易
以官為隱豈不難

*

閱聖安本紀有感而作

閱籍載籍滿清之勢力不如五胡金元甚而晉宋敗竄江佐立朝數百年以存中華之制。明福王繼統南都不二載國滅身虜雖曰天意抑亦人謀之不藏偶。

*

湯武革命一戎衣而天下大定
孫黎變政十易歲而海內弗安
廳長沙彌三七安天下
建武貞觀二九定神州
自古各據鵂雄尚能恤民
當今一統偉人罔知愛國

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此批對聯之事序

漢高祖三年滅秦五年滅楚威加海內明太祖元至正十五年投軍二十八年改元洪武取北京復帝中華漢光武建武十二年平蜀克復舊物唐太宗武德七年削平群盜一統山河

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