In degenerate times, people love extravagance;
the masses blindly follow suit.
In the city and all four directions
they ape each other with no end in sight.

In Kuang-ling, fatuous excess thrives:
people build homes like those of dukes and princes!
They stuff on meat, and wear fine silks,
exhausting ingenuity to please their petty selves.
The pursuit of pleasure has rendered them obtuse,
and as ill luck would have it, they possess excessive wealth.
As for me, it's Ch'eng Chung-tzu I love,
residing in dignity among fishermen and saltmen.
The springtime wilds are overgrown with weeds
but amongst them grows this elegant orchid.
How can one set a different tone in life?
Try the style of this pure-blowing breeze.