Pangu and the Parting of Heaven and Earth混沌形狀如鷄子
1The chaos was like an egg
混沌形狀如鷄子, ○盤古生於混沌裏.
The shape of the chaos was like a hen's egg, and Pangu was born inside that chaos.
Interlinear notes 1
三五曆紀曰, “未有天地之時, 混沌而狀如鷄子.” 通鑑外紀曰, “天地混沌如鷄子, 盤古生其中, 萬八千歲, 陽淸爲天, 陰濁爲地地.”
The Sanwu liji says, "Before there were heaven and earth, all was chaos, and its shape was like a hen's egg." The Tongjian waiji says, "Heaven and earth were a chaos like a hen's egg, and Pangu was born within it and lived eighteen thousand years; the clear yang became heaven and the murky yin became earth."
2Heaven and earth part
生後一萬八千歲, 上淸下濁分天地.
Eighteen thousand years after his birth, the clear above and the murky below parted into heaven and earth.
3Pangu dies and becomes the mountains and the sea
又萬八千歲之後, 攝提之歲元氣始, 頭爲五岳膏爲海, 眼爲日月盤古死.
After another eighteen thousand years, in the year of Sheti (攝提) the primal breath began; his head became the five great mountains and his fat became the sea, his eyes became the sun and the moon, and Pangu died.
Interlinear notes 1
三五曆紀曰, “歲在攝提, 元氣肇始.”
The Sanwu liji says, "When the year stood at Sheti, the primal breath first began."
4The Three Sovereigns arise in turn
爰有三皇次第作, ○天皇 ○地皇 ○人皇氏.
Then the Three Sovereigns arose in turn: Tianhuang, Dihuang, and Renhuang.
Interlinear notes 3
三五曆紀曰, “有神人, 一姓十二頭. 注云, ‘頭卽人也.’ 在崑崙山, 理一萬八千歲.” 云云. 天地旣位, 君臣道生, 君有五期. 注云, ‘誦五行也.’ 臣有三名, 注云, ‘公大夫也.’ 此詩, 必使其以明其事, 容或使於他字, 亦必使其意, 而未嘗妄加一字, 蓋效老杜之詩史也. 其世系·姓名·諡號·年代·都邑, 具載於詩, 則詞語重疊, 故不盡擧, 略標各下.
The Sanwu liji says, "There was a divine man, of one surname with twelve heads — the note says that a head is a person — who dwelt on Mount Kunlun and ruled for eighteen thousand years," and so it goes on. When heaven and earth had taken their places, the way of ruler and subject came to be: the ruler had five appointments — the note says this means reciting the five phases — and the subject had three names — the note says these are the duke and the great officers. This poem makes each word bring its own matter to light; even where another word is used, the sense is always kept, and not one word has ever been added at will. In the main it follows the poetic history of Lao Du, that is, Du Fu. The lines of descent, the names, the posthumous titles, the dates, and the capitals would make the wording heavy with repetition if they were all carried in the poem, so they are not all raised there but are marked in brief beneath each word.
一姓十一人, 興於龍門山, 代天皇, 理一萬一千歲. 定星辰, 分晝夜, 以三十日爲月, 十一月, 爲冬至.
Of one surname, eleven persons arose at Mount Longmen, succeeded Tianhuang, and ruled eleven thousand years. They fixed the stars, divided day from night, made thirty days a month, and made the eleventh month the winter solstice.
一姓九人, 生於荊馬山, 代地皇, 理一百五十代, 合四萬五千六百年.
Of one surname, nine persons were born at Mount Jingma, succeeded Dihuang, and ruled one hundred and fifty generations, forty-five thousand six hundred years in all.
5Yousao and Suiren
始作巢居號○有巢, 初興火熟, 名爲○煫.
The first to make nests to live in was called Yousao (有巢); the first to raise fire for cooking was named Suiren (燧人).
Interlinear notes 2
有天下百餘年, 或云百餘代.
He held the world a hundred years and more; some say a hundred generations and more.
以火德, 有天下百餘代, 八萬年. 已上年代, 或說不同. 以五行立德, 始於此.
By the power of fire he held the world for a hundred generations and more, eighty thousand years. The dates given above are not the same in every account. Setting up a ruling power by the five phases begins here.