蘭亭集序（晉）王羲之【1】
Preface to the Lanting Poetry Anthology
Written by Wang Xizhi(Jin Dynasty)
永和九年【2】，歲在癸丑【3】，暮春之初，會于會稽山陰之蘭亭【4】，修禊事【5】也。群賢畢至，少長咸集。此地有崇山峻嶺，茂林修竹；又有清流激湍，映帶左右，引以為流觴曲水，列坐其次。雖無絲竹管弦之盛，一觴一詠，亦足以暢敘幽情。

In the beginning of late spring in the ninth year of Yonghe, namely the GuiChou year, there was a meeting held in Lanting, which is in the Shanyin Town of Kuaiji County, for executing the Xiuxi ceremony. The celebrities in the county, including the young and old, all came to attend this ceremony. Around the place, there are high mountains and lofty hills, flourishing woods and tall bamboo bushes, and clear streams full of the rushing water from both the left and right sides. All guests sat by a winding canal in a row and drank with one wine cup floating on it so as to wash away minousness. Although without the grand situation of string and wind instruments, however some were drinking and some were expressing their heart feelings in verse or song, so that it was also enough to talk cheerfully their intense emotions.
是日也，天朗氣清，惠風和暢，仰觀宇宙之大，俯察品類之盛，所以游目騁懷，足以極視聽之娛，信可樂也。
This day had clear and fresh air under the blue sky and a gentle breeze was freely blowing. Facing up to look at the vast expanse of the universe and bowing down to examine the flourish matter category, skimming over every thing in the universe and giving free rein to extend their range of vision, then people can be enough to get the pleasure of seeing through and hearing about to the extreme. Actually, it should look as very happy.
夫人之相與，俯仰一世，或取諸懷抱，晤言一室之內；或因寄所托，放浪形骸之外。雖取舍萬殊，靜躁不同，當其欣于所遇，暫得于己，快然自足，不知老之將至。及其所之既倦，情隨事遷，感慨系之矣。向之所欣，俯仰之間，已為陳跡，猶不能不以之興懷。況修短隨化，終期于盡。古人云：“死生亦大矣?！必M不痛哉！

Yet, people deal and cope with others in all their lives. When alive, they get each other in embracing; or talk freely what are on their hearts in a room; or place their emotions to others as to be unrestrained out of the formality. Although fetch or abandon of each one is very different, and their tempers may be not alike, for instance, or quiet or impetuous, when enjoying for getting something from opportunity, they may think that they have obtained achievements and feel self-sufficiency. However, they do not know old and death will come before long. Until they are tired of what have been obtained and their emotions changed together along with what have happened，and then sighs with emotion have to be approached. The joy of them in the past，in an instant, have become an old trace，unable to give rising to their new desire. Moreover，the length of life lies on luck and at last must be finished. Therefore, the ancients had said, "One person's life and death is the most important thing for himself." Isn't that painful? 　　
每覽昔人興感之由，若合一契，未嘗不臨文嗟悼，不能喻之于懷。固知一死生為虛誕，齊彭【6】殤為妄作。后之視今，亦猶今之視昔。悲夫！故列敘時人，錄其所述，雖世殊事異，所以興懷，其致一也。后之覽者，亦將有感于斯文。

While viewing the reasons of the sighs with emotion of the ancients, if it evokes my sympathy，I always sigh of sorrow but cannot explain why it is？ I originally understand that the thoughts such as "life is equated with death" is only an absurd and so-called that "no body has long age more than a died young child'' and "Pangzu，who lived to the age of eight hundred，is also merely a short age person'' are the preposterous opus. I consider, that the later generations regard contemporary is same as the contemporary regard their ancients！How sad it is？ So in this paper，I appraised the current people on a list and wrote down their brilliant expositions. Though their experiences and affairs were very different, from the viewpoint of sighs with emotion, their results are the same. The readers of later generations, I consider，would have the same feeling that I expressed in this preface.

譯注

【1】Wang Xizhi (321～ 379 A.C.) , styled Yishao, was born in Langya of Linyi (Linyi is a city in Shandong Province today) and resided in Shanyin Huaiji (Shaoxing is a city in Zhijiang province today) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He was skilful in painting and calligraphy, and the Chinese characters he wrote is graceful, exquisite and statuesque. He, as a famous calligraphist in our country has exerted tremendous influence on the later generations. Therefore, he acquired the title of “Calligraphy Sage” in China. He was a man of broad-minded, and very fond of the scenery with hills and water . He had taken up the office of Inner Historian in Huaiji and had promoted to the office of the General of Right Side Army, so that the people of later ages often called him as Wang Right General.中文：王羲之（公元321～379年）字逸少，東晉瑯琊臨沂（今山東臨沂市）人，居會稽山陰（今浙江紹興市）。他擅長書畫，字寫得峻拔挺秀，為我國著名的書法家，對后世的影響很大，有“書圣”的稱號。為人胸懷曠達，愛好山水。曾任會稽內史，官至右軍將軍，故世稱王右軍【7】。

【2】 Ninth year of Yonghe（353 A.C.): Yonghe was the title of Emperor Mu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty; the ninth year of Yonghe is equivalent to 353 A. C. in the Christian era. 中文：永和九年：即公元353年。永和是東晉穆帝的年號。

【3】GuiChou: Gui is the last of the Ten Heavenly Stems; Chou is the second of Twelve Earthly Branches; In the lunar calendar, the years are designated by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the cycle of the way of counting years in the system of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches is sixty years. 中文：癸丑，癸是中國天干地支記元中天干（12個）中的最后一個，丑是地支（10個）中的第二個，在中國用天干地支記年、月、日，周期為六十。

【4】Lanting: Lanting is located at the foot of the Lanzhu Mountain in the West-South of Shoaling city in China. Wang Xizhi, a famous calligraphist in the East Jin Dynasty ; he invited 41 persons with literary reputation here to execute a local memorial ceremony named Xiuxi in the ninth year of Yonghe (353 A.C.) . And then，a famous article named Preface to the Lanting Collection was written by him. The existing building and garden in Lanting were rehabilitated in the twenty-seventh year of Jiaqing (1548 A.C.) . There is a little stream of water passing through this place, called the crooked water. Nearby the water can find the Liuchang pavilion, Wang Xizhi's statue is standing in the ancestral temple of Wang Right General. In the temple, there are Mohua Pond and Mohua Pavilion，which has two corridors and on its walls the stone carvings were embedded and the practicing calligraphy by the calligraphists in successive Dynasties after the handwriting of Wang Xizhi are shown there. Behind the Liuchang pavilion, there is the Emperor Stele Pavilion, where standing Lanting Stele written by the Emperor Kangxi (Qing Dynasty). Thirty meters before this pavilion is the Goose Pond and a stone tablet is standing in the pavilion. On the tablet two large Chinese characters “鵝池” （the Goose Pond）were written. According to legend, these two large Chinese characters are the true handwriting of the famous calligraphist, Wang Xizhi.中文：蘭亭,位于中國浙江省紹興市西南的蘭渚山下。東晉書法家王羲之在永和九年（ 353 ）邀請名士41人在蘭亭修禊，由王作《蘭亭序》?，F存建筑和園林是明嘉靖二十七年（1548 )重建的。有小溪流經此處，稱為曲水。臨溪有流觴亭，亭內有王右軍祠，祠內正殿中有王羲之像，內有墨華池、墨華亭，兩廊壁上嵌有歷代書法家臨王羲之書法的石刻。流觴亭后有御碑亭，內立有清康熙書蘭亭碑一塊。亭前30米處為鵝池。 庭中立有刻有“鵝池”兩大字的石碑一塊，相傳為王羲之書。

【5】Xiuxi: Xiuxi was a custom in ancient China. The ancient Chinese people set the up the Ji day (Ji is the sixth of the Twelve Earthly Branches) of the first ten-day of the third month as the day of Xiuxi (After the Wei Dynasty, adopted the third day of the third month） . On this day, people held a kind of memorial ceremony. They kept closed to the river, washing for eliminating the ill omens. 中文：修禊是中國古代的一種風俗，中國古代老百姓設置了一個名為“巳”的日子，即地支中的第六天。一般把農歷三月中第一個十天中的第六天定為“修禊”日，在魏朝后，這一天改為三月份的第三天。在這一天里，人們在河邊舉行祭奠儀式，洗滌沐浴以清除不祥。

【6】Pangzu: An ancient old man in the Chinese legend; he lived to the age of eight hundred. 中文：彭祖，相傳古代中國的一位老人，他活到了800歲。

【7】The General of Right Side Army: From the Dynasty Wei, Jin to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the central authority of China government had set up some positions of the army as the middle, front and back generals. However, those positions were not the official position for really commanding the army. 中文：王右軍，中國古代從魏、晉到南北朝，朝廷設置了像軍隊里將軍名稱的官職，如“中將軍”、“前將軍”。“后將軍”等。但這類官職并非真正用來指揮軍隊的。王羲之曾擔任過“右將軍”的官職。
墨華：Mohua: In Chinese words, Mohua has the meaning of Chinese ink stick cream.
康熙：Kangxi: The title of Emperor Shengzu of the Qing Dynasty.
嘉慶：Jiaqing: The title of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty.