f u P oe t ry : an anC i e n t-s t y l e r Ha P s oDy 73
Gives free rein to the many ministers 恣羣臣 (zì qún chén)
To present advice and criticism, 奏得失 (zòu dé shī)
480 And within the four seas, 四海之內 (sì hăi zhī nèi)
No one is denied reward. 靡不受獲 (mí bú shòu huò)
“At this time, all in the empire greatly rejoice, face his virtuous wind and heed its sound, follow his
current and are reformed, spontaneously promote the Way and revert to morality. Punishments
are discarded and no longer are used. His virtue is loftier than that of the Three Kings, and his
achievements are more abundant than those of the Five Emperors. Only under these conditions can
hunting be enjoyed.
於斯之時，天下大說， 鄉風而聽，隨流而化，芔然興道而遷義，刑錯而不用，德隆於三皇，功羡於
五帝。若此，故獵乃可喜也。490 “As for 若夫 (ruò fū)
Galloping and riding all day long, 終日馳騁 (zhōng rì chí chĕng)
Tiring the spirit, straining the body, 勞神苦形 (láo shén kŭ xíng)
Exhausting the utility of carriage and horses, 罷車馬之用 (bà jū mă zhī yòng)
Sapping the energy of officers and men, 抏士卒之精 (wán shì zú zhī jīng)
Wasting the wealth of treasures and storehouses, 費府庫之財 (fèi fŭ kù zhī cái)
495 While depriving the people of generous
beneficence: 而無德厚之恩 (ér wú dé hòu zhī ēn)
Striving only for selfish pleasure; 務在獨樂 (wù zài dú lè)
Not caring for the common people, 不顧眾庶 (bú gù zhòng shù)
Ignoring the administration of the state, 忘國家之政 (wàng guó jiā zhī zhèng)
Craving only a catch of pheasants or hares, 貪雉菟之獲 (tān zhì tù zhī huò)
500 These are things a benevolent ruler would not do. 則仁者不繇也 (zé rén zhĕ bù yóu yĕ)
“Looking at it from this perspective, are not the actions of Qi and Chu lamentable? Their territory does
not exceed a thousand leagues square, yet their parks occupy nine hundred of them. This means the
vegetation cannot be cleared, and the people have nothing to eat. If someone of the insignificance of a
vassal lord enjoys the extravagances fit only for an emperor, I fear the common people will suffer the ill
effects.”
從此觀之，齊楚之事，豈不哀哉！地方不過千里，而囿居九百，是草木不得墾辟， 而民無所食也。夫以
諸侯之細，而樂萬乘之所侈，僕恐百姓被其尤也。
Thereupon, the two gentlemen paled, changed expressions, and seemed dispirited and lost in thought.
As they retreated and backed away from the mat, they said, “Your humble servants have been stubborn
and uncouth, and ignorant of the prohibitions. Now this day we have received your instruction. We
respectfully accept your command.”
於是二子愀然改容，超若自失，逡巡避席，曰：鄙人固陋，不知忌諱，乃今日見教，謹受命矣。
[SJ 117.3016–3043; HS 57.2547–2575; WX 8.361–378]Sima Xiangru’s masterwork is his “Fu on the Imperial Park.” The traditional ac-
count of how Sima Xiangru happened to compose this piece is somewhat amus-
ing. Sima Xiangru was living in Chengdu when he received a summons, perhaps❀