Prologue to the Poem On the Fool’s Stream..........Liu Zongyuan

愚溪诗序

柳宗元

灌水之阳有溪焉，东流入于潇水。或曰：冉氏尝居也，故姓是溪为冉溪。或曰：可以染也，名之以其能，故谓之染溪。予以愚触罪，谪潇水上。爱是溪，入二三里，得其尤绝者家焉。古有愚公谷，今余家是溪，而名莫能定，土之居者，犹龂龂然，不可以不更也，故更之为愚溪。

愚溪之上，买小丘，为愚丘。自愚丘东北行六十步，得泉焉，又买居之，为愚泉。愚泉凡六穴，皆出山下平地，盖上出也。合流屈曲而南，为愚沟。遂负土累石，塞其隘，为愚池。愚池之东为愚堂。其南为愚亭。池之中为愚岛。嘉木异石错置，皆山水之奇者，以予故，咸以愚辱焉。

夫水，智者乐也。今是溪独见辱于愚，何哉？盖其流甚下，不可以溉灌。又峻急多坻石，大舟不可入也。幽邃浅狭，蛟龙不屑，不能兴云雨，无以利世，而适类于予，然则虽辱而愚之，可也。

宁武子“邦无道则愚”，智而为愚者也；颜子“终日不违如愚”，睿而为愚者也。皆不得为真愚。今予遭有道而违于理，悖于事，故凡为愚者，莫我若也。夫然，则天下莫能争是溪，予得专而名焉。

溪虽莫利于世，而善鉴万类，清莹秀澈，锵鸣金石，能使愚者喜笑眷慕，乐而不能去也。予虽不合于俗，亦颇以文墨自慰，漱涤万物，牢笼百态，而无所避之。以愚辞歌愚溪，则茫然而不违，昏然而同归，超鸿蒙，混希夷，寂寥而莫我知也。于是作《八愚诗》，纪于溪石上。

Prologue to the Poem On the Fool’s Stream

Liu Zongyuan

  To the north of the river Guanshui, there is a stream flowing east into the river called Xiaoshui. Some people said that a man surnamed Ran used to live there, so the stream was called Ranxi (Stream Ran). Others said that the stream water could be used for dyeing, so it was named dyeing stream (also pronounced as Ranxi in Chinese) after its function. As I sinned foolishly, I was demoted and have been put in exile to Xiaoshui. I like Ranxi. Once after walking two or three miles along it, I found a place of a most wonderful view, where I have settled down ever since. In ancient times, there was a place called Foolish Old Man’s Valley. When I first settled down beside this stream, the name was not finalized. Since the local people were still debating about it, I felt it necessary to rename it. I therefore changed its name to Fool’s Stream.

  I then bought a knoll above the Fool’s Stream, which I named Fool’s Knoll. Walking sixty steps northeast of Fool’s Knoll, I found a spring, which I bought and named Fool’s Spring. The Fool’s Spring has a total of six spring mouths, all of which are located in the flat ground near the foot of a hill, with the spring water spurting upward. All the spring water converges and winds its way south, and I named its course Fool’s Ditch. I had earth carried there and stones piled up to block the narrow channel to form a pool named Fool’s Pool. To the east of the Fool’s Pool is the Fool’s Hall, to the south of which is the Fool’s Pavilion. In the center of the Fool’s Pool is the Fool’s Isle. Beautiful trees and oddly-shaped rocks appear here and there, constituting most wonderful sceneries, but all of them are defiled with the word “fool” just because of me.

  Water is the favorite of wise men, but only this stream is cursed with the word “fool”. Why so? Simply because the water flows in a channel that is too lowly situated for irrigation; the banks are too steep, and the rapid water is intercepted by too many shoals and boulders for any big ships to get in. As some part is deep, some shallow and some narrow, flood dragons disdain to dwell there and gather clouds to cause rain, so the stream does nothing good to the world just like me. As it is, even if the stream is defiled by the word fool, that is all right.

  Ning Wuzi behaved “as if he had been foolish when the country was in turmoil and without principle.” That was about intelligent men playing dumb. Yan Zi “never mentioned his different opinions from his tutor, thus seeming foolish.” That was about wise men playing dumb. These two men who deliberately appeared foolish were not really foolish. Now, in the surroundings that are not in turmoil and without principle, I have done foolish things contrary to rationality, and there is no one else as foolish as I am. As it is, none in the world can dispute with me over the stream, so I have the exclusive right to name it.

  The Fool’s Stream does nothing good to the world but, clean and limpid, it is able to reflect and identify all things, produce sounds as clangorous as jade hitting metals, and attract foolish people to it where they feel free to frolic, laugh and love it to such an extent that they can hardly tear themselves away. Unworldly as I am, I can still comfort myself by writing articles, and depicting everything with my brush pen and ink for self-satisfaction, as nothing nor any phenomenon in the world is beyond my description or needs avoiding. When I use foolish words to sing the praises of the Fool’s Stream, I feel blank although nothing is against the truth, and I look perplexed while all seems to be making for the same destination beyond the obscure nonentity and going into the mysterious void, where I am lonely without anyone understanding me. Therefore I compose the Poem of Eight Fools to be engraved on the rock beside the Fool’s Stream.

Translated by Jin Deming