The original text and annotated translation of "The Story of Shizhongshan"
"The Story of Shizhong Mountain"
Author: Su Shi
"Shui Jing" says: "There is Shizhong Mountain at the mouth of Pengli." Li Yuan thought that he was facing a deep pool. The breeze blows and the waves stir, the water and rocks compete with each other, and the sound is like a loud bell. This is true, but people often doubt it. Now if a bell and chime are placed in the water, even though there is a strong wind and waves, it cannot make any sound, but it is worse than a stone! In the Tang Dynasty, Li Bo began to visit his remains. He found two stones on the pool, clasped them and listened to them. The south sound was like Hu, and the north sound was clearer and clearer. I think I got it. However, I doubt it. The sound of a stone is everywhere, but this one is only named a bell. Why?
In the sixth month of the seventh year of Ding Chou, Yu Ziqi'an came to you on a boat trip, and the eldest son Maijiang went to Raozhi Dexingwei and sent him to Hukou, because he could watch the so-called stone bell. The monk asked the boy to hold an ax and pick one or two of them among the rocks to buckle them. Yu Gu laughed and didn't believe it. At the end of the night, when the moon was bright, I took a small boat with Mai alone to the bottom of the cliff. The boulders stand thousands of feet sideways, like ferocious beasts and strange ghosts, eager to attack people; while the falcons sitting on the mountain will startle when hearing the sound of people, and they will roar in the sky; there is also an old man coughing and laughing in the valley, which may be called this stork. also. Yu Fang's heart was eager to return the favor, and he made loud noises on the water, like bells and drums. The boat people were terrified. If you look at it slowly, you will find that there are stone caves under the mountain. I don't know how shallow or deep they are. Microwaves penetrate into them and they are filled with surging waves. This is why. The boat returned between the two mountains and was about to enter the port. There was a large rock in the middle of the stream, which could seat a hundred people. There were many orifices in the air, which were in harmony with the Feng Shui. There was the sound of drilling and boring mandarins, which corresponded to those who were facing it, and it was like a piece of music. . Because of his laughter, he said to Mai, "You know what you know? Those who are squeaking are like King Jing of Zhou Dynasty who has no shot; those who are boring and boring mandarins are like the song of Wei Zhuangzi. The people of ancient times are not deceived!"
Is it okay to make assumptions about the existence of something without seeing it or hearing it? What Li Yuan saw and heard is almost the same as that of Yu, so it is unknown. The scholar-bureaucrats were unwilling to use their boats to anchor under the cliff at night, so they could not know. Although the fishermen and navy knew it, they could not tell it. This is why it is not passed down in this world. But the humble people seek it by testing the weight of the axe, thinking that they have achieved it. After I remembered it, Gai sighed at Li Yuan's simplicity and laughed at Li Bo's ugliness.
Notes
1. Selected from "The Collected Works of Su Shi".
2. Peng Li: Another name for Poyang Lake.
3. Li Yuan: Li Daoyuan, the author of "Shui Jing Zhu".
4. Drum: vibration.
5. Fight: hit, shoot.
6. Hong Zhong: Big bell.
7. It means: this statement.
8. Qing (qìng): an ancient percussion instrument, shaped like a ruler and made of jade or stone.
9. Li Bo: A native of Luoyang in the Tang Dynasty, he wrote an article "The Story of Stone and Zhongshan".
10. Traces: old site, old traces. This refers to the location.
11. Nan Sheng Han Hu: The sound from the south (that rock) is thick and unclear. Letter to Hu means "vague".
12. Beiyin Qingyue: The sound from the north (the rock) is clear and loud. Yue, high.
13. 桴(fú)stops the sound: the drumstick stops (beating), but the sound is still spreading. Teng, spread.
14. The lingering sound slowly fades away: the lingering sound slowly disappears. Rhyme here refers to sound. Xu, slow.
15. Dezhi: Found this (reason). It refers to the reason why Shizhong Mountain was named.
16. Especially: more.
17. Keng (kēng): the loud sound made by striking gold and stone.
18. It is the same everywhere: It is like this everywhere. Yes, that's it.
19. Yuanfeng: The reign name of Song Shenzong.
20. June Ding Chou: the ninth day of the sixth lunar month.
21. Qi’an: in today’s Huangzhou, Hubei.
22. Linru: Ruzhou (now Linru, Henan).
23. Go: Here it means to go to take office or take office.
24. Hukou: Today’s Hukou, Jiangxi.
25. 硿硿(kōng) Yan: 硿硿地 (makes a sound). Yan is equivalent to "ran".
26. Mo (mù) night: night. Mo, pass "Twilight".
27. Senran: describes dense and upright.
28. Beat people: catch people, beat them.
29. Falcon (hú): an eagle in its nest. Falcon, a type of eagle.
30. Zhe (zhé): the sound of birdsong.
31. Stork Crane: The name of a water bird. It looks like a crane but does not have a red crown. Its neck and beak are longer than that of a crane.
32. Heartbeat: This means frightened.
33. Chēnghóng: This describes the loud sound of the bell.
34. Boatman: Boatman.
35. Xià: Crack.
36. Han surging: waves are surging. Handan, water waves are turbulent. Surging, waves stimulate each other.
37. To do this: form this sound.
38. Middle flow: the center of the flow.
39. In the air: The middle is empty.
40. Aperture: hole.
41. 徾徳kuǎnkǎn)boring mandarin orange (tángtà): 羾凯, the sound of hitting something. Boring mandarins, the sound of bells and drums.
42. You know (zhì): Do you know those (allusions)? Know, know.
43. King Zhou Jing’s Wushe (yì): "Guoyu" records that the "Wushe" bell was cast in the 23rd year of King Zhou Jing's reign (522 BC).
44. Wei Zhuangzi’s Singing Bell: "Zuo Zhuan" records that in the eleventh year of Lu Xianggong (561 BC), the Zheng people dedicated a singing bell and other musical instruments to the Marquis of Jin, and the Marquis of Jin gave half of it to Jin. Doctor Wei Jiang. Zhuangzi, Wei Jiang’s posthumous name. Singing bell, ancient musical instrument.
45. The ancients did not deceive me: The ancients (called this mountain "Shizhong Mountain") did not deceive me! Not bullying others means "not bullying others".
46. Conjecture: Judgment based on subjective guessing. Guess, chest.
47. Almost: Probably.
48. End: eventually.
49. Fisherman: Fisherman (and) boatman.
50. Words: refers to expressing and recording in words.
51. The reason why it is not passed down in this world: This (is) the reason why it has not been passed down in this world (the origin of the name of Shizhong Mountain).
52. Humble person: A humble person.
53. Use the ax to hit the stone to find out: Use the ax to hit the stone to find the reason (the reason why Shizhong Mountain got its name). Test: percussion.
54. Reality: refers to the truth of the matter.
Translation
"Shui Jing" said: "There is a Shizhong Mountain at the mouth of Poyang Lake." Li Daoyuan believed that the bottom of Shizhong Mountain is close to a deep pool, and the breeze vibrates the waves, and the water is gentle. The stones beat against each other, making a sound like a big bell. This statement is often doubted. If a bell is placed in the water, it will not make any sound even in strong winds and waves, let alone a stone! It was not until the Tang Dynasty that Li Bo visited the old site of Shizhong Mountain. Find two rocks by the deep pool, knock them, and listen to their sounds. The sound of the rock in the south is thick and vague, and the sound of the rock in the north is clear and loud. The drumsticks stop beating, and the sound is still spreading. , the lingering sound slowly disappeared. He himself thought he had found the reason why Shizhongshan was named. But I am more skeptical about this statement. Stones that make a loud sound when struck are everywhere, but this mountain is the only one named after a bell. Why?
On the ninth day of the sixth month in the seventh year of Yuanfeng, I took a boat from Qi'an to Linru. My eldest son Su Mai was about to take office as the county captain of Dexing County in Raozhou, so I sent him to Hukou. You can see the said Stone Bell Mountain. The monk in the temple asked the child to hold an ax and hit one or two places among the rocks to make a crackling sound. Of course I found it very funny and did not believe it. At night, the moonlight was bright, and Su Mai and I took a boat to the bottom of the broken wall. Huge rocks stand slopingly, thousands of feet high, like ferocious beasts and strange ghosts, gloomily trying to attack people; the eagles nesting on the mountains are frightened and fly up when they hear the sound of people, and they fly in the sky. There were clanging sounds; there was also a sound like an old man coughing and laughing in the valley. Some people said it was a stork.
I was frightened and wanted to go back, when suddenly a huge sound came from the water, loud and loud like the beating of bells and drums. The boatman was frightened. I slowly observed that there were caves and crevices under the mountain. I don’t know how deep they were. Subtle water waves poured into them, and the water waves stirred and made this sound. The boat returned between the two mountains and was about to enter the port. There was a big stone facing the middle of the water. There could be about a hundred people sitting on it. The middle was empty and there were many holes. It swallowed up the breeze and water waves and spit it out, making a sound. The sound of the boring mandarin echoes with the previous sound, like music playing. So I smiled and said to Su Mai: "Do you know those allusions? The clanking sound is the sound of King Zhou Jing's Wushe bell, and the sound of the boring mandarin is the sound of Wei Zhuangzi's singing bell. The ancients did not deceive. Me! ”
You don’t need to see anything with your eyes or hear it with your ears, and you can only guess whether it exists or not based on your subjective assumptions, is that okay? What Li Daoyuan saw and heard was probably the same as mine, but he did not describe it in detail; after all, the scholar-bureaucrats were unwilling to use small boats to anchor under the cliffs at night, so no one knows; fishermen and boatmen, Although I know the truth behind the naming of Shizhong Mountain, I cannot record it in writing. This is the reason why Shizhong Mountain got its name has not been handed down in the world. However, simple people even use axes to hit stones to find the reason for the name of Shizhong Mountain, thinking that they have got the truth about the name of Shizhong Mountain. Therefore, I wrote down the above experience, lamenting Li Daoyuan's simplicity and laughing at Li Bo's shallowness.