Complete Collection of Li Taibai

Author: Li Bai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-09-01
Features: Excerpt: Vol. 1 of the Complete Works of Li Taibai, Eight Ancient Poems of Fu, The Great Peng Fu (with Preface) [Zhuangzi] There is a fish in the Northern Deep. Its name is Kun. The size of Kun is unknown for how many thousands of miles. It transforms into a bird. Its name is Peng. The back of Peng is unknown for how many thousands of miles. When it flies in anger, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. This bird, when the seas stir, will migrate to the Southern Deep. The Southern Deep is the Heavenly Pool. Qi Xie is a chronicler of strange tales. His records say that when Peng migrates to the Southern Deep, the water makes a sound for three thousand miles. Those who ride the whirlwind upward travel ninety thousand miles. They leave with the June breezes.
Tang asked Ji about this. In the northern region beyond the barren lands, there is a vast sea called the Northern Deep. It is the Heavenly Pool. There is a fish there. Its width is several thousand miles. No one knows its length. Its name is Kun. There is a bird there. Its name is Peng. Its back is like Mount Tai. Its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. It rides the whirlwind, ascending ninety thousand miles. It breaks through the clouds, carrying the blue sky on its back. Then it plans to fly south to the Southern Deep.
The small bird Chiji laughs and says, "Where will it go?" I leap up and fly no more than a few feet before coming down. I flutter among the weeds. This is also the ultimate in flying. But where will it go? This is the difference between the small and the great.
I once met Sima Ziwwei in Jiangling. He said I had the aura of a immortal and the bones of a Taoist. I could travel with the gods beyond the eight poles. Therefore, I wrote the Fu of the Great Peng Meeting the Rare Bird to broaden my own spirit. This Fu has already been passed down in the world. People often see it in the mortal realm and regret their youthful works, not fully understanding its profound meaning. In middle age, they abandon it. Later, when reading the Book of Jin, I saw Ruan Xuanzi's Ode to the Great Peng and found it shallow. I then recalled more memories, finding many differences from the old text. Now, both the Xiao edition and the Miao edition mistakenly write "belly" instead of "back." I dare not pass it on to the author. I can only show it to my disciples.
During the Tang Dynasty, Jiangling Prefecture was the same as Jingzhou. It was under the Eastern Circuit of Shannan.
In the "New Words of the Great Tang," Sima Chengzhen, styled Zixi, was a hermit in Mount Tai. He called himself the White Cloud Immortal. He had the art of alchemy and was frequently summoned by Empress Wu and Emperor Zhongzong but refused to serve. Emperor Ruizong, who revered Taoism, showed him great respect. Chengzhen was on his way to be summoned when he suddenly requested to return. He was given a precious qin and a floral sash in farewell.
[The Book of Han] Expanses the four directions, breaks the eight poles. Gao You's annotation: The eight poles refer to the extremes of the eight directions.
[The Strange Records] Mount Kunlun has a great bird named Xiyou. It faces south with its left wing covering the Eastern King, and its right wing covering the Western Queen. The small area on its back is bare. It is nineteen thousand miles long. The Western Queen ascends to the Eastern King each year on its wing. The bird is inscribed: There is a bird named Xiyou. Its red light is brilliant. It does not sing or eat. It covers the Eastern King to the east and the Western Queen to the west. The Western Queen wants to go east, so she climbs onto its wing to travel. Yin and Yang are mutually dependent, and their meeting is beneficial.
[Yang Xiu's Reply to the Letter of the Prince of Linzi] Yang Xiu's family member Yun was ignorant of matters. He forcibly wrote a book. He regretted his youthful works.
[The Book of Jin] Ruan Xiu, styled Xuanzi, once wrote an Ode to the Great Peng: The vast Peng, born in the Northern Deep, borrows spiritual essence and transforms into life. Its wings are like clouds, and its form is like a mountain. When the seas stir, it strikes the water and rises on the whirlwind. It ascends ninety thousand miles in a flash, carrying the blue sky on its back. Its ambition is the heavens and earth. It cares not for thunder and lightning. The small birds look up and laugh, despising it. It flies high and far, and no one knows its intentions.
[The Rhyme Dictionary] "Jiang" means "to be with." Its text says: The old immortal of the South, Laozi, revealed the secrets of immortality in the garden of Lacquer. He spoke of towering heights and extraordinary words. He recorded the strange tales of Qi Xie, discussing the fish in the Northern Deep. I do not know how many thousands of miles long it is. Its name is Kun. It transforms into the Great Peng. Its form is dense and primal. It sheds its scales on the island and spreads its feathers at the gate of heaven. It brushes the spring currents of the vast seas and dries the morning sun of Fusang. It shines brilliantly in the universe, soaring over Mount Kun. The smoke and mist obscure the sand, and the five mountains tremble. The rivers rush and.
[The Book of Tang] In the first year of the Tianbao era, an edict was issued to enshrine Zhuangzi as the True Immortal of the South.
[The Records of the Grand Historian] Zhuangzi was from Meng. His name was Zhou. He once served as an official in Lacquer Garden. His learning was all-encompassing, but its essence returns to the words of Laozi. Therefore, his writings are over a hundred thousand words, mostly fables. The commentary says: According to the "Records of Territories," the old city of Lacquer Garden is seventeen miles north of Yuanju County in Caozhou. Zhuang Zhou served as an official in Lacquer Garden here. His city was originally part of Meng County. Lu Deming's annotations on Zhuangzi say: Qi Xie is a person's name.
[Guo Pu's Ode to the River] It resembles the primal chaos in its coming together. Li Shan's annotation: The primal chaos was still unformed and had not yet solidified.
[Mo Hua's Ode to the Sea] The scales pierce the clouds, and the spines. Li Shan's annotation: The spine is the dorsal fin of a fish. The "Zeng Yun" says: All small spines on the sides of fish and dragons are called spines.
[Simao Xiangru's Ode to the Void] The boat floats on the vast seas. Yan Shigu says: The vast seas are branches of the sea. Sima Zhen says: According to the "Ode to the Capital of Qi," the sea is called Bo at the edge of the sea, and a broken stream is called Xie.
[The Book of Han] The sun rises in Yanggu, bathes in Xianchi, and brushes past Fusang, called Dawn.
[The Chu Ci] The sun will rise in the east. It shines on my balustrade and Fusang. Wang Yi's annotation: The sun begins to rise in the east, radiant and splendid. In the east, there is the Fusang tree, which is ten thousand feet tall. The sun bathes in Tanggu and brushes past Fusang. It begins to climb and shines in all directions. Niu Hong's "Music Bureau" says: The sun rises at Fusang. Xiao Shiyang says: The old character was "hun," but it is now "he." Zhuangzi says: The sun rises and flares its spines. White waves rise like mountains. The sea trembles, and the sound is as loud as that of ghosts and gods. It shines for a thousand miles. The "Shiben" originally wrote "hun," but it was mistakenly written as "jiao" by copyists. People could not understand it, so they wrote "hun." I have now corrected it.
[The Records of Early Learning] The four directions above and below are called the universe. The past and the present are called the universe. Some call heaven and earth the universe.
[The Zuo Zhuan] He climbed my city walls. Du Yu's annotation: "Feng" means to press close.
[The Records of the Marvels of the World] The highest place in the land is Mount Kunlun. It is ten thousand miles wide and ten thousand miles high. It is where divine creatures are born and where sages and immortals gather. It emits five-colored clouds and five-colored flowing water. The water flows south into China and is called the Yellow River. The mountain corresponds to the heavens, with eighty cities surrounding it. The southeastern corner of China occupies one part of it.
[The Sayings of the Garden] The five mountains: Mount Tai is the Eastern Mountain. Mount Hua is the Southern Mountain. Mount Hua is the Western Mountain. Mount Heng is the Northern Mountain. Mount Song is the Central Mountain.
[The Book of Songs, Xiaoya] The rivers boil and surge.
[Xie Lingyun's Poetry] The banks collapse and rush. Lü Xiang's annotation: The old character was "shui," but it is now "shui." The banks collapse and rush.
○ The sound of "zheng" is "cheng." The sound of "pi" is "pi." The sound of "xie" is "xie." The sound of "tun" is "tun." The sound of "chan" is "chan." The "er" character means to stumble and lift the earth. It raises the sky, stretches across the layers of clouds, and pierces the deep seas. It rises with three thousand and moves swiftly with ninety thousand. Its back is like Mount Tai. The original character was "daxia," but it was mistakenly written as "daxia." The original character was "cuwei," but it was mistakenly written as "cuwei." Its wings raise the long clouds. It turns left and right. In an instant, it is dark and then bright. It twists through the boundless and bends gracefully. The "Han" character in the old text was "ta," but it was mistakenly written as "ta." The "Changhe" character is "zheng." It stirs the boundless and fans the thunder. The stars shift, and the sky moves. The mountains shake, and the seas tilt. It has nothing to fight, and it has no pride. It can only imagine its momentum and vaguely see its form.