From the very commencement of the world

Nowhere has there been a man who has not

Under the influence of external conditions

Altered the course of his inherent features.

I will therefore try and put a question strictly.

The petty men for the sake of gain are ready

To sacrifice their souls; wise scholars do that

For the sake of fame in coming generations;

Great officers strive for the sake of their clans,

While sagely minded leaders just for the sake

Of their leadership do so. These various classes,

With different statuses and different reputations,

Have agreed in doing injury to their primaries,

Sacrificing their natures. But what's the use?

According to my viewpoint, those who knew well

To govern people would not act so. From of old

Men have been vested with their constant roles:

They wove and made themselves clothes;

They tilled the ground and got rich crops --

That was their common faculty; they were all one

And did not form themselves into the classes,

So were they constituted and left to their naturalness.

But if the raw materials had not been hacked,

Who could have made the sacrificial vessels?

If the natural jade had not been cut and carved,

Who could have made the sacred discs and tablets?

If the instincts of the nature had not been departed,

How should music and rites have come into function?

If all colours gathered together had not been perplexed,

How should the ornamental figures have been formed?

If all the musical notes had not been disconcerted,

How should they have supplemented them by accords?

Therefore, should we consider the cutting and hacking

Of the raw materials in order to form the tools and vessels

As the crime of the skilful craftsmen of the olden times?

The question remains open, as the injury has been done

To the primary nature for the sake of discrimination.

Was it the error of the sagely founders of civilization?