The Country of Homil胡蜜國
1Today a thousand lines of tears
又從吐火羅國。東行七日。至胡蜜王住城。當來於吐火羅國。逢漢使入蕃。略題四韻取辭。五言君恨西蕃遠。余嗟東路長。道荒宏雪嶺。險澗賊途倡。鳥飛驚峭嶷。人去偏樑。雖平生不捫淚。今日灑千行。冬日在吐火羅逢雪述懷。五言冷雪牽氷合。寒風擘地烈。巨海凍墁壇。江河凌崖囓。龍門絕瀑布。井口盤蛇結。伴火上𮌑歌。焉能度播蜜此胡蜜王。兵馬少弱。不能自護。見屬大𥦽所管。每年輸稅絹三千疋。住居山谷。處所狹小。百姓貧多。衣著皮裘氈衫。王著綾絹疊布。食唯餅𩚙土地極寒。甚於餘國。言音與諸國不同。所出羊牛。極小不大。亦有馬騾。有僧有寺。行小乘法。王及首領百姓等。總事佛。不歸外道。所以此國無外道。男並剪除鬚髮。女人在頭。住居山裏。其山無有樹水及於百草。
Again from the country of Tokhara I went east for seven days and reached the city where the king of Homil (胡蜜) lives.
When I came to the country of Tokhara before, I met an envoy of Han going into Seobeon (西蕃), the lands west of China, and I set down four rhymes in brief to take my leave. It is verse of five words to the line.
You grieve that the road to Seobeon is far; I sigh that the road to the east is long. The way is rough, and the snowy ridge stretches far; in the steep ravines bands of robbers swarm. Even flying birds are startled by the sheer peaks; a man barely crosses the leaning log bridge. In all my life I have never wiped away a tear, but today they fall in a thousand lines of tears.
On a winter day in Tokhara I met with snow, and set down what was in my heart. It is verse of five words to the line.
The cold snow draws the ice along and freezes it; the cold wind is fierce enough to split the earth. The great sea is frozen, spread flat like an altar (壇); the river waters gnaw at the cliffs. At Longmen (龍門) even the waterfall is cut off; at the mouth of the well the ice coils like a snake. With fire for company I climb the steps and try to sing, but how shall I ever cross that Pamil (播蜜)?
This king of Homil has few and weak troops and cannot defend himself. He is now under the rule of the Arabs, and every year he pays three thousand bolts of plain silk in tax. They live in mountain valleys, the place is narrow and small, and many of the people are poor. They wear leather coats and felt shirts, and the king wears figured and plain silk and wool cloth. Their food is only cakes and barley flour. The land is very cold, worse than the other countries. Their speech too is not like that of the other countries. The sheep and cattle that come from there are very small, not large. There are horses and mules as well.
There are monks and there are monasteries, and they practise the Law of the Lesser Vehicle. The king, the chiefs and the people all serve the Buddha and do not turn to the other creeds, and so in this country there are no other creeds. The men all cut their beards and hair, and the women let their hair grow. They live in the mountains, and on those mountains there are no trees, no water and no plants at all.
Interlinear notes 3
⿰肉亥
This is the character written with 亥 beside 肉.
⿱穴是
This is the character written with 是 beneath 穴.
⿰飠少
This is the character written with 少 beside 食.