The other gathers water-chestnuts on cool July evenings.
When frost begins, plump chickens are killed each day;
In mid-autumn the crabs are at their best and always in the pot.
When the sun rises in winter, the one is still asleep;
The other keeps cool in the dog days of summer.
Throughout the year one does as he pleases in the hills;
In all four seasons the other is happy on the lake.
By gathering firewood you can become an Immortal;
There is nothing worldly about fishing.
Sweet smell the wild flowers growing outside my door;
Smooth are the green waves lapping at my boat.
A contented man never speaks of high honors;
A settled nature is stronger than a city wall.
Higher than a city wall for resisting enemy armies;
More illustrious than holding high office and listening to imperial decrees.
Those who are happy with mountains and rivers are few indeed;
Thank Heaven, thank Earth, and thank the spirits.
When the two of them had recited their verses and matched couplets they came to the place where their ways parted and bowed to each other to take their leave. “Brother Li,” said Zhang Shao, “look after yourself on your way home and keep a sharp look-out for tigers up in the hills. If you met with an accident then 'an old friend would be missing on the road tomorrow.'“ This made Li Ding angry.
“You scoundrel,” he said, “I'm your friend; I'd die for you. How could you put such a curse on me? If I'm killed by a tiger, you'll be capsized by a wave.”
“I'll never be capsized!” retorted Zhang Shao.
“'In nature there are unexpected storms and in life unpredictable vicissitudes,'“ quoted Li Ding, “so how can you be sure you'll never have an accident?”
“Brother Zhang,” replied the fisherman, “despite what you just said, it's your life that's insecure, whereas my life is certain: I'm sure that I shan't have an accident.”
“Your life on the water is very dangerous and insecure,” said the woodcutter, “so how can you be so certain?”
“There's something you don't know,” said Zhang Shao. “Every day I give a golden carp to a fortune-teller on the West Gate Street in Chang'an, and he passes a slip into my sleeve telling me I'll catch something every time provided I go to the right place. I went to buy a forecast from him today, and he told me that if I cast my nets to the East of the bend in the Jing River and lowered my lines on the Western bank, I would be bound to get a full load of fish and shrimps to take home. Tomorrow I shall go into town to sell them to buy wine, and we can continue our talk then, brother.” With this they parted.
How true it is that if you talk on the road there will be someone listening in the grass. A patrolling yaksha from the Jing River Palace overheard Zhang Shao's remark about always catching fish and rushed straight back to the palace of crystal to make an urgent report of disaster to the dragon king.
“What disaster?” asked the dragon king, and the yaksha replied, “Your subject was patrolling in the water by the river's edge when I heard a fisherman and a woodcutter talking. Just when they were parting they sounded very dangerous. The fisherman said that there is a soothsayer on West Gate Street in Chang'an city whose predictions are very accurate. The fisherman gives him a golden carp every day, and he hands the fisherman a slip saying that he'll catch fish at every attempt. If his calculations are so accurate, won't all we water folk be wiped out? Shall we fortify the water palace, or shall we make some leaping waves to strengthen Your Majesty's prestige?”
The dragon king seized his sword in a great rage, intending to go straight to Chang'an city and destroy this fortune-teller, but then his dragon sons and grandsons, shrimp officials, crab soldiers, shad generals, mandarin-fish ministers, and carp premier submitted a joint memorial that read: “We beg Your Majesty not to act in anger. As the saying goes, 'words overheard are not to be trusted.' If Your Majesty were to go now you would have to be accompanied by clouds and helped by rain; and if this frightens the common people of Chang'an, Heaven may take offence. Your Majesty is capable of making all sorts of transformations, and of appearing and vanishing unexpectedly; so you should change into a scholar for this visit to Chang'an. If you find that it is true, you will be able to punish him at your leisure; and if it turns out to be false, you will avoid killing an innocent man.” Taking their advice, the dragon king put aside his sword, and without raising clouds or rain he climbed out on the back, shook himself, and turned into a scholar dressed in white. He was
Handsome and noble,
Towering into the clouds.
His step was stately
And he observed the rules of conduct.
In his speech he showed his respect for Confucius and Mencius,
His manners were those of the Duke of Zhou and King Wen.
He wore a gown of jade-green silk,
A cloth wrapped casually round his head.
Once on the road he strode straight to West Gate Street in Chang'an city, where he saw a crowd of people pushing and shouting. One of them was proclaiming grandiloquently, “He who was born under the Dragon will clash with the one who belongs to the Tiger. Although the cyclical characters are supposed to be in concordance, I'm afraid that the Year Planet may be offended by the Sun.” As soon as he heard this the dragon king knew that this was the place where fortunes were told, so he pushed through the crowds to look inside. He saw:
Four walls covered with pearls,
A room full of silken embroideries,
Incense ever rising from a burner,
Clear water in a porcelain pot.
On either side were paintings by Wang Wei;
High above the seat hung a picture of the Devil Valley Hermit.
An inkstone from Duanxi County,
“Golden smoke” ink,
On which leant a large brush of finest hairs;
A forest of fiery pearls,
The prediction of Guo Pu,
As he diligently compared them to the Tai Zheng Xin Jing.
He was deeply versed in the six lines of the diagrams,
A great expert on the Eight Trigrams.
He understood the principles of Heaven and Earth,
And saw into the feelings of gods and devils.
He knew all about the cyclical numbers,
And had a clear picture of the constellations.
He saw the events of the future,
The events of the past,
As if in a mirror.
Which house would rise,
Which house would fall,
He could tell with divine perception.
He knew when good and bad was coming,
Could predict death and survival.
His words hastened wind and rain;
When he wielded his writing-brush, gods and devils trembled.
His name was written on a signboard:
Master of Divination Yuan Shoucheng.
Who was he? He was Yuan Shoucheng, the uncle of Yuan Tiangang the Imperial Astrologer. He was famous throughout the country, and the leading member of his profession in Chang'an. The dragon king went in to see him, and when they had greeted each other he asked the dragon king to sit down, while a servant brought tea.
“What have you come to ask about, sir?” asked the soothsayer, and the dragon king replied, “I beg you to uncover the secrets of the sky for me.” The soothsayer passed him a slip of paper from his sleeve and said, “Clouds obscure the mountain peak, mist covers the tree tops. If there is to be rain, it will certainly come tomorrow.”
“When will it rain tomorrow,” asked the dragon king, “and how many inches of rain will fall?”
“Tomorrow the clouds will gather at mid-morning; late in the morning there will be thunder; at noon it will start to rain; and in the early afternoon the rain will finish, after 3 feet 3.48 inches have fallen,” replied the soothsayer.
“I trust that you are not fooling,” said the dragon king. “If it rains tomorrow at the time and to the depth you have predicted I shall pay you a fee of fifty pieces of gold. If it does not rain, or if it does not rain at the time and to the depth you say it will, then I'm telling you straight that I'll smash up your shopfront, tear down your sign and run you out of Chang'an so that you won't be able to deceive the people a moment longer.”