Poem #8 of the Twenty-Four Classes of Poetry. I feel my skills as a translator fall particularly short here. There are a number of concepts (e.g., 真, 素, 神) throughout these poems that I render in fairly traditional ways, but in doing so I also fall prey to the weaknesses of those interpretations. Mind you, I don't have any fresh insight into these concepts or their translations; I'm merely remarking on the sort of redundant effect that comes from limited English expressions of Chinese ideas. Someone out there has undoubtedly done a better job than me.
微臣
史大偉
勁健
司空圖
行神如空
行氣如虹
巫峽千尋
走雲連風
飲真茹強
蓄素守中
喻彼行健
喻彼行健
是謂存雄
天地與立
神化攸同
期之以實
禦之以終
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"Potency"
Sikong Tu
Spirit like the empty
sky
life force like a
rainbow—
amidst the towering
mountains of Wu Gorge
scudding clouds run on
the wind
Drinking of
the Real and eating of the strong
gathering up the
unblemished, storing it within
embodying this practice
of building strength—
this is called a
steadfast existence
Stand as one with
heaven and earth
render the spirit
harmonious—
set yourself to this
fully
see it through until
the end
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