五柳先生传 The Master of Five Willows

先生不知何许人也，亦不详其姓字，宅边有五柳树，因以为号焉。 xiān shēng bù zhī hé xǔ rén yě, yì bù xiáng qí xìng zì, zhái biān yǒu wǔ liǔ shù, yīn yǐ wéi hào yān.
Nobody knows where the master came from, and his surname and courtesy name are not recorded either. Five willow trees stood beside his house, so he took them as his name.

闲静少言，不慕荣利。 xián jìng shǎo yán, bù mù róng lì.
He was quiet and spoke little, and he did not long for honour or gain.

好读书，不求甚解；每有会意，便欣然忘食。 hào dú shū, bù qiú shèn jiě; měi yǒu huì yì, biàn xīn rán wàng shí.
He loved reading but did not insist on explaining every detail; whenever a passage struck home, he was so pleased that he forgot to eat.

性嗜酒，家贫不能常得。 xìng shì jiǔ, jiā pín bù néng cháng dé.
By nature he loved wine, but his family was poor and could not often get it.

亲旧知其如此，或置酒而招之；造饮辄尽，期在必醉。 qīn jiù zhī qí rú cǐ, huò zhì jiǔ ér zhāo zhī; zào yǐn zhé jìn, qī zài bì zuì.
Relatives and old friends knew this, and sometimes set out wine and asked him over. He would go and drink it all, every time, intending to get properly drunk.

既醉而退，曾不吝情去留。 jì zuì ér tuì, zēng bù lìn qíng qù liú.
Once drunk he would leave, and never once did he make a fuss about staying or going.

环堵萧然，不蔽风日；短褐穿结，箪瓢屡空，晏如也。 huán dǔ xiāo rán, bù bì fēng rì; duǎn hè chuān jié, dān piáo lǚ kōng, yàn rú yě.
His four bare walls kept out neither wind nor sun. His short coarse coat was worn through and patched, and his rice basket and gourd ladle were often empty, yet he was at peace.

常著文章自娱，颇示己志。 cháng zhù wén zhāng zì yú, pō shì jǐ zhì.
He often wrote for his own pleasure, and his writing showed something of his aims.

忘怀得失，以此自终。 wàng huái dé shī, yǐ cǐ zì zhōng.
He put gain and loss out of mind, and so he lived to the end.

赞曰：黔娄之妻有言：“不戚戚于贫贱，不汲汲于富贵。” zàn yuē: qián lóu zhī qī yǒu yán: “bù qī qī yú pín jiàn, bù jí jí yú fù guì.”
The appraisal: The wife of Qian Lou once said, “He did not fret over poverty and low station, nor strain after wealth and rank.”

其言兹若人之俦乎？ qí yán zī ruò rén zhī chóu hū?
Do her words not describe someone of this man's kind?

衔觞赋诗，以乐其志，无怀氏之民欤？葛天氏之民欤？ xián shāng fù shī, yǐ lè qí zhì, wú huái shì zhī mín yú? gě tiān shì zhī mín yú?
A cup at his lips and a poem in the making, delighting in what he cared about. Was he a subject of Wuhuai? Was he a subject of Getian?