Boldness and Dash世説新語 豪爽第十三
1He shook out his sleeves and rose, raised the stick and struck with force, as though no one were beside him
王大將軍年少時，舊有田舍名，語音亦楚。武帝喚時賢，共言伎藝之事，人人皆多有所知；唯王都無所關，意色殊惡。自言知打鼓吹。帝即令取鼓與之，於坐振袖而起，揚槌奮擊，音節諧捷，神氣豪上，傍若無人。舉坐嘆其雄爽。
When Wang the Grand General was young he had long borne the name of a farmhouse man, and his speech too was in the accent of Chu.
Emperor Wu called together the worthies of the day to talk of skills and accomplishments, and every one of them knew a great deal. Only Wang Dun had nothing at all to do with it, and his mood and his face were decidedly bad.
He said of himself that he knew how to beat the drum and blow the pipes, and the emperor at once had a drum brought and given to him.
He shook out his sleeves and rose from his seat, raised the stick and struck with force. The sound and the beat were in harmony and quick, and his spirit and his bearing were bold and soaring, as though no one were beside him.
The whole company sighed at his valor and openness.
Interlinear notes 1
或曰：敦嘗坐武昌釣臺，聞行船打鼓，嗟稱其能。俄而一槌小異，敦以扇柄撞几曰：「可恨！」應侍側曰：「不然，此是回颿槌。」使視之，云「船人入夾口」。應知鼓又善於敦也。
Some say: Wang Dun once sat at the fishing terrace at Wuchang, and hearing a drum beaten on a passing boat he exclaimed in praise of the skill of it. Presently one stroke was a little different, and Wang Dun struck the armrest with the handle of his fan and said, "What a pity!" Wang Ying was attending at his side and said, "Not so. That is the stroke for turning the sail." He sent a man to look, and the report came, "The boatmen have entered a narrow mouth." Wang Ying's knowledge of the drum was better than Wang Dun's.
2A thing like this is very easy
王處仲世許高尚之目，嘗荒恣於色，體為之弊。左右諫之，處仲曰：「吾乃不覺爾。如此者，甚易耳！」乃開內後閤，驅諸婢妾數十人出路，任其所之。時人嘆焉。
Wang Chuzhong was granted by the world the name of a lofty and high-minded man, but he had been wild and unrestrained with women, and his body was worn out by it.
Those about him remonstrated with him, and Chuzhong said, "I had not noticed it. A thing like this is very easy."
Then he opened the inner back chamber and drove several tens of maids and concubines out onto the road, leaving them to go where they would. The men of the day sighed at it.
Interlinear notes 1
鄧粲《晉紀》曰：「敦性簡脫，口不言財，其存尚如此。」
Deng Can's Jin ji says, "Wang Dun was plain and unfettered by nature, and his mouth never spoke of wealth. What he held and esteemed was of this kind."
3Lofty and clear, free and open, and my learning goes through to Master Zuo
王大將軍自目：「高朗疎率，學通左氏。」
Wang the Grand General said of himself, "Lofty and clear, free and open, and my learning goes through to Master Zuo."
Interlinear notes 1
《晉陽秋》曰：「敦少稱高率通朗，有鑒裁。」
The Jin yangqiu says, "In his youth Wang Dun was called lofty and open, penetrating and clear, and he had discernment and judgment."
4He beat on the spittoon with his ruyi until the mouth of it was all chipped away
王處仲每酒後，輒詠「老驥伏櫪，志在千里；烈士暮年，壯心不已」，以如意打唾壺，壺口盡缺。
After wine Wang Chuzhong would always chant, "The old steed lies in the stall, but its will is on a thousand li; the fierce man in his evening years, his stout heart does not cease," and he beat on the spittoon with his ruyi until the mouth of it was all chipped away.
Interlinear notes 1
魏武帝《樂府詩》。
It is a yuefu poem of Emperor Wu of Wei.
5In a single night he made the pool, and by dawn it was finished
晉明帝欲起池臺，元帝不許。帝時為太子，好養武士。一夕中作池，比曉便成。今太子西池是也。
Emperor Ming of Jin wished to raise a pool and a terrace, and Emperor Yuan would not allow it.
Emperor Ming was crown prince at the time and was fond of keeping fighting men. In a single night he made the pool, and by dawn it was finished. The West Pool of the crown prince today is this one.
Interlinear notes 1
《丹陽記》曰：「西池，孫登所創，吳史所稱西苑也。明帝修復之耳。」
The Danyang ji says, "The West Pool was made by Sun Deng, and it is the West Park that the histories of Wu speak of. Emperor Ming only restored it."
6I shall lead three thousand soldiers and prod his legs with a lance to send him on his way
王大將軍始欲下都處分樹置，先遣參軍告朝廷，諷旨時賢。祖車騎尚未鎮壽春，瞋目厲聲語使人曰：「卿語阿黑：何敢不遜！催攝面去，須臾不爾，我將三千兵，槊腳令上！」王聞之而止。
When Wang the Grand General first meant to come down to the capital to settle matters and make appointments, he sent an adjutant ahead to inform the court and to hint at his purpose to the worthies of the day.
Zu, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, was not yet holding Shouchun. He glared and said in a harsh voice to the messenger, "Tell Ahei this. How dare he be so lacking in deference? Let him gather up his face and be gone at once. If he is not gone in a moment, I shall lead three thousand soldiers and prod his legs with a lance to send him on his way."
Wang Dun heard of it and stopped.
Interlinear notes 1
敦小字也。
It was Wang Dun's childhood name.
7This march of mine will be like this shot
庾稚恭既常有中原之志，文康時權重，未在己。及季堅作相，忌兵畏禍，與稚恭歷同異者久之，乃果行。傾荊、漢之力，窮舟車之勢，師次于襄陽。大會參佐，陳其旌甲，親授弧矢曰：「我之此行，若此射矣！」遂三起三疊，徒眾屬目，其氣十倍。
Yu Zhigong had long had his mind set on the Central Plain, but Wenkang's power was heavy at the time and the matter did not rest with him.
When Jijian became chancellor, he shrank from arms and feared disaster, and it was only after he and Zhigong had long gone back and forth over what they agreed and disagreed on that it was at last carried out.
He threw in the strength of Jingzhou and the Han, exhausted the force of boat and cart, and the army halted at Xiangyang.
He gathered his adjutants and aides in a great assembly, drew up their banners and armor, took bow and arrows in his own hands, and said, "This march of mine will be like this shot."
Then three times he rose and three times he struck the mark. The host fixed their eyes on him, and their spirit was ten times what it had been.
Interlinear notes 1
《漢晉春秋》曰：「翼風儀美劭，才能豐贍，少有經緯大略。及繼兄亮居方州之任，有匡維內外，埽蕩群凶之志。是時，杜乂、殷浩諸人盛名冠世，翼未之貴也。常曰：『此輩宜束之高閣，俟天下清定，然後議其所任耳！』其意氣如此。唯與桓溫友善，相期以寧濟宇宙之事。初，翼輒發所部奴及車馬萬數，率大軍入沔，將謀伐狄，遂次于襄陽。」《翼別傳》曰：「翼為荊州，雅有正志。每以門地威重，兄弟寵授，不陳力竭誠，何以報國。雖蜀阻險塞，胡負凶力，然皆無道酷虐，易可乘滅。當此時，不能掃除二寇，以復王業，非丈夫也。於是徵役三州，悉其帑實，成眾五萬，兼率荒附，治戎大舉，直指魏、趙，軍次襄陽，耀威漢北也。」
The Han Jin chunqiu says, "Yu Yi's bearing and manner were handsome and fine, his talent and ability were ample, and in his youth he had a great design for ordering the warp and the weft of things. When he followed his elder brother Yu Liang in the charge of a province, he had it in mind to set right and hold together what lay within and without, and to sweep away the whole crowd of villains. At that time Du Yi, Yin Hao, and the rest had great names that were first in the world, but Yu Yi did not esteem them. He used to say, 'This lot should be tied up and put away on a high shelf. Wait until the realm is clear and settled, and only then discuss what they are to be given.' His mind and his spirit were of this kind. Only with Huan Wen was he on good terms, and the two pledged each other to the work of bringing peace to the world. At the first, Yu Yi called out the slaves, carts, and horses of his command, some ten thousand of them, led a great army into the Mian, and planned a campaign against the barbarians, and so halted at Xiangyang." The Yi biezhuan says, "When Yu Yi was in Jingzhou he had a fine and upright purpose. He always said that since his house was weighty in standing and his brothers had been favored with office, how could he repay the state if he did not put out his strength and exhaust his sincerity. Although Shu was barred by steep passes and the Hu bore a fierce strength, all of them were without the Way and were harsh and cruel, and could easily be taken and destroyed. He said that if at such a time he could not sweep away the two brigands and win back the royal work, he was no true man. So he levied service from three provinces, emptied their storehouses, raised a host of fifty thousand, led along with them those who had come in from the wilds, put the army in order and raised it in force, and pointed straight at Wei and Zhao. The army halted at Xiangyang and made its might shine north of the Han."
8It is a grief to me that you gentlemen never saw Wang the Grand General
桓宣武平蜀，集參僚置酒於李勢殿，巴、蜀縉紳，莫不來萃。桓既素有雄情爽氣，加爾日音調英發，敘古今成敗由人，存亡繫才。其狀磊落，一坐嘆賞。既散，諸人追味餘言。于時尋陽周馥曰：「恨卿輩不見王大將軍。」
When Huan Xuanwu had pacified Shu, he gathered his adjutants and clerks and set out wine in Li Shi's hall, and there was not one of the gentry of Ba and Shu who did not come and join them.
Huan Wen had of old a valiant heart and an open air, and on that day his voice and his cadence bloomed like a flower besides. He set forth how the successes and the ruins of old and of today come from men, and how surviving and perishing hang upon talent. His bearing was towering, and the whole company sighed and praised him.
When they had broken up, the others went back over his words and savored what was left of them.
At this Zhou Fu of Xunyang said, "It is a grief to me that you gentlemen never saw Wang the Grand General."
Interlinear notes 1
《中興書》曰：「馥，周撫孫也，字湛隱。有將略，曾作敦掾。」
The Zhongxing shu says, "Zhou Fu (馥) was the grandson of Zhou Fu (撫), and his courtesy name was Zhanyin. He had the judgment of a general, and he once served as a clerk under Wang Dun."
9Who could carry himself as sheer as a mountain stream like this?
桓公讀《高士傳》，至於陵仲子，便擲去曰：「誰能作此溪刻自處！」
Lord Huan was reading the Gaoshi zhuan, and when he came to Chen Zhongzi of Yuling he threw it aside and said, "Who could carry himself as sheer as a mountain stream like this?"
Interlinear notes 1
皇甫謐《高士傳》曰：「陳仲子字子終，齊人。兄戴相齊，食群萬鍾。仲子以兄祿為不義，乃適楚，居於陵。曾乏糧三日，匍匐而食井李之實，三咽而後能視。身自織屨，令妻擗纑，以易衣食。嘗歸省母，有饋其兄生鵝者。仲子嚬顣曰：『惡用此鶂鶂為哉？』後母殺鵝，仲子不知而食之。兄自外入曰：『鶂鶂肉邪？』仲子出門，哇而吐之。楚王聞其名，聘以為相，乃夫婦逃去，為人灌園。」
Huangfu Mi's Gaoshi zhuan says, "Chen Zhongzi's courtesy name was Zizhong; he was a man of Qi. His elder brother Chen Dai was chancellor of Qi and his stipend was ten thousand zhong. Zhongzi held his brother's stipend to be unrighteous, and so he went to Chu and lived at Yuling. Once his food ran out, and after three days he crawled to a plum by the well and ate its fruit; only after three swallows could he see. He wove sandals himself and had his wife beat hemp thread, and with these they got clothing and food. Once he came back to visit his mother, and someone had sent his elder brother a live goose. Zhongzi knit his brows and said, 'What use is this honking thing?' Later his mother killed the goose, and Zhongzi ate it without knowing. His brother came in from outside and said, 'Is that the honking thing's flesh?' Zhongzi went out of the gate and retched it up. The king of Chu heard his name and would have engaged him as chancellor, and at that husband and wife fled away and watered gardens for other men."
10In Heshuo they came at last to cut short the ague with his name
桓石虔，司空豁之長庶也；小字鎮惡，年十七八，未被舉，而童隸已呼為鎮惡郎。嘗住宣武齋頭，從征枋頭；車騎沖沒陳，左右莫能先救。宣武謂曰：「汝叔落賊，汝知不？」石虔聞，氣甚奮；命朱辟為副，策馬於數萬眾中，莫有抗者。徑致沖還。三軍嘆服。河朔遂以其名斷瘧。
Huan Shiqian was the eldest son by a concubine of Huan Huo, the Minister of Works. His childhood name was Zhen'e, and at seventeen or eighteen, when he had not yet been put forward for office, the boy servants were already calling him Lord Zhen'e.
He once stayed in Xuanwu's study, and he went along on the campaign to Fangtou.
Huan Chong, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, was caught in the enemy ranks, and none of those about him could go first to save him.
Xuanwu said to him, "Your uncle has fallen among the brigands. Do you know it?"
When Shiqian heard this his spirit rose fiercely. He ordered Zhu Bi to be his second and whipped his horse into the midst of a host of tens of thousands, and there was none who withstood him. He brought Huan Chong straight back. The three armies sighed and submitted to him.
In Heshuo they came at last to cut short the ague with his name.
Interlinear notes 2
《豁別傳》曰：「豁字朗子，溫之弟。累遷荊州刺史，贈司空。」
The Huo biezhuan says, "Huan Huo's courtesy name was Langzi; he was Huan Wen's younger brother. Through one post after another he rose to Inspector of Jingzhou, and Minister of Works was conferred on him."
《中興書》曰：「石虔有才榦，有史學，累有戰功。仕至豫州刺史，贈後軍將軍。」
The Zhongxing shu says, "Huan Shiqian had talent and ability and learning in history, and he had merit in battle many times. He rose in office to Inspector of Yuzhou, and General of the Rear Army was conferred on him."
11Sun Bofu's purpose and his work were never fulfilled
陳林道在西岸，都下諸人共要至牛渚會。陳理既佳，人欲共言折。陳以如意拄頰，望雞籠山嘆曰：「孫伯符志業不遂！」於是竟坐不得談。
When Chen Lindao was on the western bank, the people of the capital together asked him to come to Niuzhu for a gathering.
Chen Lindao's grasp of principle was fine, and they meant among them to talk him down.
Chen Lindao propped his cheek on his ruyi, gazed toward Mount Jilong, and sighed, "Sun Bofu's purpose and his work were never fulfilled."
At this the whole company was unable to talk after all.
Interlinear notes 2
《晉陽秋》曰：「逵為西中郎將，領淮南太守，戍歷陽。」
The Jin yangqiu says, "Chen Kui was General of the Household Gentlemen of the West, held the post of Governor of Huainan, and garrisoned Liyang."
《吳錄》曰：「長沙桓王諱策，字伯符，吳郡富春人。少有雄姿風氣，年十九而襲業，眾號孫郎。平定江東，為許貢客射破其面，引鏡自照，謂左右曰：『面如此！豈可復立功乎？』乃謂張昭曰：『中國方亂，夫以吳、越之眾，三江之固，足以觀成敗。公等善相吾弟。』呼大皇帝授以印綬曰：『舉江東之眾，決機於兩陳之閒，卿不如我；任賢使能，各盡其心，我不如卿。慎勿北渡！』語畢而薨，年二十有六。」
The Wu lu says, "King Huan of Changsha's taboo name was Ce and his courtesy name Bofu; he was a man of Fuchun in Wu commandery. In his youth he had a valiant bearing and a fine air, and at nineteen he took up his father's work, and the host called him Lord Sun. He was pacifying Jiangdong when a retainer of Xu Gong shot him and broke his face. He drew a mirror and looked at himself, and said to those beside him, 'With a face like this, how can I make merit again?' Then he said to Zhang Zhao, 'The Central Land is falling into disorder. With the host of Wu and Yue and the firmness of the Three Rivers, there is enough here to watch how things succeed and fail. Do you gentlemen aid my younger brother well.' He called the Great Emperor and gave him the seal and cord, saying, 'In taking up the host of Jiangdong and deciding the moment between two battle lines, you are not my equal. In entrusting the worthy and employing the able so that each gives his whole heart, I am not yours. Take care not to cross to the north.' When he had finished speaking he died, at the age of twenty-six."
12At that moment I felt there was no one in the room
王司州在謝公坐，詠「入不言兮出不辭，乘回風兮載雲旗」。語人云：「當爾時，覺一坐無人。」
Wang of Sizhou was sitting with Lord Xie, and he chanted, "He comes in without a word and goes out without a farewell, riding the whirling wind and bearing cloud banners."
He said to someone, "At that moment I felt there was no one in the room."
Interlinear notes 1
離騷九歌少司命之辭。
These are words of the Junior Master of Fate, in the Nine Songs of the Li sao.
13The pipes and the flutes have a sound left in them, but where is the king of Liang?
桓玄西下，入石頭。外白：「司馬梁王奔叛。」玄時事形已濟，在平乘上笳鼓並作，直高詠云：「簫管有遺音，梁王安在哉？」
Huan Xuan came down from the west and entered Shitou.
From outside came the report, "Sima, the king of Liang, has fled and turned rebel."
By then the shape of things had already gone Huan Xuan's way, and on the pingcheng barge, with reed pipes and drums sounding together, he chanted straight out in a high voice, "The pipes and the flutes have a sound left in them, but where is the king of Liang?"
Interlinear notes 2
《續晉陽秋》曰：「梁王珍之字景度。」《中興書》曰：「初，桓玄篡位，國人有孔璞者，奉珍之奔尋陽。義旗既興，歸朝廷，仕至太常卿，以罪誅。」
The Xu Jin yangqiu says, "The king of Liang, Zhenzhi, had the courtesy name Jingdu." The Zhongxing shu says, "At first, when Huan Xuan usurped the throne, there was a man of the state named Kong Pu who bore Zhenzhi away in flight to Xunyang. When the righteous banner had been raised, he returned to the court and rose in office to Chamberlain for Ceremonials, and he was put to death for a crime."
阮籍詠懷詩也。
It is Ruan Ji's Yonghuai shi.