Matching the Rhymes of Elder Mun and Pak Hwango on Their Discussion of the Rose of Sharon次韻文長老，朴還古論槿花。
1Preface
長老文公，東皐子朴還古。各論槿花名。或云無窮。無窮之意。謂此花開落無窮。或云無宮。無宮之意。謂昔君王愛此花。而六宮無色。各執不決。因探樂天詩。取其韻各賦一篇。亦勸予和之。
Elder Mun and Pak Hwango the Donggoja each argued over the name of the geunhwa (槿花), the rose of Sharon. One called it mugung (無窮), and the sense of this mugung is that the blooming and falling of this flower has no end. The other called it mugung (無宮), and the sense of that mugung is that a king of old loved this flower so much that the Six Palaces (六宮) lost their luster. Each held fast to his own and no conclusion was reached. So they sought out a poem of Bai Letian, took its rhymes, and each composed a piece. They also urged me to respond.
Interlinear notes 1
并序
Including the preface.
槿花之二名。發自吾二友。滯一各不移。若尙左尙右。我將試新勇。兩敵破一手。嘗聞古之人。戱韭以爲九。宮窮亦似戱。初傳自誰口。予獨立可斷。如辨醇醨酒。此花片時榮。尙欠一日久。人嫌似浮生。不忍見落後。反以無窮名。儻可無窮有。二子聞之驚。闔吻如閉牖。我說誠有憑。問君肯之否。如將移諸朝。亦可言亥首。
The two names of the geunhwa came out of my two friends. Each is blocked by his one word and will not shift, as though one held the left high and the other the right. I shall try out my new courage and break both adversaries with one hand. I once heard that a man of old in jest read the character for leek, gu (韭), as the character for nine, gu (九). Saying gung (宮) or gung (窮) seems to be such a jest too; from whose mouth was it first handed down? I can stand alone and give the judgment, as one tells strong wine from weak. This flower blooms for a moment and does not last even a single day. People dislike how like our floating life it is and cannot bear to look at it once it has fallen. So instead they named it mugung, the endless: did they mean perhaps to make it last without end? The two of them heard this and were startled, shutting their mouths as one shuts a window. My words have real ground to stand on; I ask you, do you grant it? If this were carried into the court, it might also be called a case of "the head of hae" (亥首).