On the Crane-Releasing Pavilion..........Su Shi

放鹤亭记

苏轼

熙宁十年秋，彭城大水。云龙山人张君之草堂，水及其半扉。明年春，水落，迁于故居之东，东山之麓。升高而望，得异境焉，作亭于其上。彭城之山，冈岭四合，隐然如大环，独缺其西一面，而山人之亭，适当其缺。春夏之交，草木际天；秋冬雪月，千里一色；风雨晦明之间，俯仰百变。

山人有二鹤，甚驯而善飞，旦则望西山之缺而放焉，纵其所如,或立于陂田，或翔于云表；暮则傃东山而归。故名之曰“放鹤亭”。

郡守苏轼，时从宾佐僚吏往见山人，饮酒于斯亭而乐之。挹山人而告之曰：“子知隐居之乐乎？虽南面之君，未可与易也。《易》曰：‘鸣鹤在阴，其子和之。’ 《诗》曰：‘鹤鸣于九皋，声闻于天。’盖其为物，清远闲放，超然于尘埃之外，故《易》《诗》人以比贤人君子。隐德之士，狎而玩之，宜若有益而无损者；然卫懿公好鹤则亡其国。周公作《酒诰》，卫武公作《抑戒》，以为荒惑败乱，无若酒者；而刘伶、阮籍之徒，以此全其真而名后世。嗟夫！南面之君，虽清远闲放如鹤者，犹不得好，好之则亡其国；而山林遁世之士，虽荒惑败乱如酒者，犹不能为害，而况于鹤乎？由此观之，其为乐未可以同日而语也。”山人忻然而笑曰：“有是哉！”乃作放鹤、招鹤之歌曰：

鹤飞去兮西山之缺，高翔而下览兮择所适。翻然敛翼，宛将集兮，忽何所见，矫然而复击。独终日于涧谷之间兮，啄苍苔而履白石。

鹤归来兮，东山之阴。其下有人兮，黄冠草屦，葛衣而鼓琴。躬耕而食兮，其馀以汝饱。归来归来兮，西山不可以久留。

元丰元年十一月初八日记 《放鹤亭记》

On the Crane-Releasing Pavilion

Su Shi

In the autumn of the reign title of Xining, Pengcheng was flooded. The water rose up to half height of the door of the thatched cottage of a man called Cloud & Dragon Recluse Zhang. In spring the next year when the water receded, Recluse Zhang moved to the foot of the East Hill on the east side of his former residence. Ascending to a high place and looking around, he found a wonderful location, where he had a pavilion built. Hills and mountain ranges connect and close up around Pengcheng, looking vaguely like a big ring, only leaving a gap in the west, and the Recluse’s pavilion is just located facing that gap. At the turn of spring and summer, the lush vegetation grow so high as to reach the sky; the bright moon in autumn and the auspicious snow in winter each look of the same color for thousands of miles. Windy or rainy, dark or bright, quick changes of weather can take place in a moment.

The Recluse kept two cranes, which were very docile and good at flying. In the morning, he would set them free toward the gap in the West Hill, and let them fly wherever they might; sometimes they would stand in the fields on the hillside, or fly beyond the sea of clouds. In the evening, they would fly back towards the East Hill. Therefore he named the pavilion “Crane-Releasing Pavilion.”

Su Shi, Governor of the prefecture, went to visit the Recluse with his guests and retinue, and drank wine with him in the Pavilion for enjoyment. With hands clasped, the Governor bowed to the Recluse and asked, “You must have known the happiness of seclusion, haven’t you? Not even the monarch could exchange his life style for this happiness of yours. The Book of Change says: ‘When the crane calls in the north, its fledglings will respond.’ The Book of Songs says: ‘When cranes in the marsh cry, their cryings reach the sky.’ Probably the creatures of crane seem tranquil, far-reaching, leisurely and magnanimous, as well as being detached from the secular world, and therefore they are compared to sages or gentlemen in The Book of Change and The Book of Songs. Those recluses of virtue get close to and play with the cranes as if they are beneficial and do no harm. But Duke Yi of Wei’s love for cranes caused his state to perish. Duke of Zhou issued his Admonition Against Alcohol and Duke Wu of the State of Wei publicized The Restraint, both holding that nothing was worse than alcohol in causing absurdities, disorders and disasters. And people like Liu Ling, Ruan Ji and the like kept their true nature and became well-known to the later generations for their liking of alcohol. Alas, emperors or monarchs, even though they are tranquil, far-reaching, leisurely and magnanimous like cranes, shouldn’t indulge themselves in alcohol. Otherwise they would bring their states to ruin. Whereas recluses or sages, who live in seclusion detached from secular affairs, would not become scourges even if they acted like drunkards under absurd delusions and with disastrous confusions, to say nothing of their liking of cranes. By this token, the happiness of a monarch and that of a recluse are not to be identified with one another.” The Recluse smiled and said: “Quite right!”Then he composed a song of crane-releasing and crane-recalling with the following lyrics：

“The cranes fly towards the gap in the Western Hill, looking down from high above for somewhere to perch and land. They suddenly fold their wings as if about to descend. Having caught sight of a creature, they flap their wings and swiftly soar into the sky. All day long they linger alone between the valleys and the streams, pecking green moss and stepping on white stones.”

“Fly back, cranes, to the north side of the East Hill. A man sits there in a yellow hat and a pair of straw shoes, wearing a coat of ko-hemp cloth and playing a stringed instrument. By farming himself he earns his meals, and the remainder is enough to keep you alive. Fly back, fly back, West Hill is not for you to linger long.”

The essay On the Crane-Releasing Pavilion was written on the 8th day of the 11th lunar month of the 1st year of the reign title of Yuanfeng.

Translated by Jin Deming