A poem on curing my illness理病詩
予自去秋八月三十日。被病如丹毒者。至今凡一百三十有餘日矣。衆醫畀藥無效。偶用俚俗所言。取海水浴之。是夜便不癢。而如硬沙者皆去。因作詩。遍告衆醫。令愧之。
From the last day of the eighth month last autumn I have suffered an illness like erysipelas (丹毒), and by now it has been all of a hundred and thirty days and more. The medicines given me by various physicians had no effect; then, chancing to follow what people say among the common folk, I drew seawater and washed my body with it. That very night the itching stopped, and what had been like hardened sand was all gone. So I have made a poem and let it be known widely among the physicians, to shame them.
Interlinear notes 1
幷序
With a preface.
去秋八月晦。紅粟被渾體。如丹復非丹。匪疥眞如疥。爬梳味甚佳。梳罷酸痛倍。痛定成硬沙。色似濃墨灑。癢發又難忍。㧓作微汁潰。須臾還痱㿔。何異蝦蟆背。比如衆小人。初以甘言快。笑刀藏其中。覆爲君子害。謁醫皆不效。棄置無可奈。偶聞俚俗言。鹹水取於海。一浴癢立除。再浴體淸泰。迺知世上醫。爲術一何昧。不及靈胥濤。餘威猶可賴。遙向伍大夫。頓首敢再拜。濟人苟如此。忠憤庶可解。
On the last day of the eighth month last autumn Something like red millet broke out over my whole body Like erysipelas, yet not erysipelas Not the scab, yet truly like the scab While I scratch it the feeling is exceedingly good But once scratched the smarting is doubled When the pain subsides it turns like hardened sand And its color is as if thick ink had been sprinkled on When the itching flares up it is hard to bear again And scratching bursts out a little watery discharge Then at once the millet-like grains break out afresh And how does it differ from a toad's back To compare it, it is like the crowd of petty men Who at first refresh you with sweet words Then hide a blade within their laughter And harm the gentleman instead I sought out physicians, and none had any effect So I left it be, with nothing to be done Then by chance I heard what people say among the common folk And drew salt water from the sea Washed once, the itching was gone at once Washed twice, my body became clear and at ease Only now do I know how the physicians of this world Are so benighted in the healing art They are not even a match for the numinous waves of Wu Zixu (伍子胥) Whose lingering majesty may be trusted after all Facing afar toward Grandee Wu (伍大夫) I bow my head and dare to make two obeisances If he truly saves people in this way His loyal indignation may well be nearly appeased