When did fame and fortune ever keep you company?
For no reason, summoned by decree from the dusty world.
Entanglements are generally hard to sever—
Do not blame others for their frequent mockery.
English titles, text, and notes are AI-assisted for reading only; for scholarship cite the Chinese and authoritative editions.
Annotation
The third of Baoqin's ten nostalgic quatrains, commemorating hermits of Bell Mountain. The riddle answer is debated. The poem's theme of withdrawal from versus engagement with the world echoes the novel's central motif.
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