文／清．胡澹庵（生卒年不詳）

終日忙忙只為饑，才得飽來又思衣，

衣食兩般皆具足，房中又少美貌妻。

娶得嬌妻並美妾，出入無轎少馬騎，

騾馬成群轎已備，田地不廣用支虛。

買得良田千萬頃，又無官職被人欺，

七品五官皆嫌小，四品三品仍嫌低。

一品當朝為宰相，又想君王做一時，

心滿意足為天子，更望萬世死無期。

總總妄想無止息，一棺長蓋抱憾歸。

──選自《解人頤》

Song of Discontentment

Hu Dan'an (Years unknown, Qing Dynasty)

English translation:

Ven. Miao Guang and Ven. Zhi Yue

Working all day only to satisfy hunger,

Yet when hunger is satisfied, one craves clothing.

When both hunger and clothing are satisfied,

One thinks of wedding a beautiful young wife;

Yet with a lovable wife and also concubines,

A sedan and horses for transportation are missing.

Yet with a herd of mules and horses,

Narrow farmlands become an issue.

Yet upon purchasing a million hectares of fertile land,

A government position is needed

to prevent being cheated.

One then complains that seventh or fifth rank

are too minor,

And then the fourth or the third are still too low.

Yet when one becomes first rank in the imperial court,

One then desires to be the emperor.

Once all content as the Son of Heaven,

Then comes the hope of being immortal.

Wishful thinking and ambitions will never end,

Only grief and regret will accompany us

on our journey to biting dust.

── from Jie Ren Yi

(Making People Laugh)