I hold my reins, adjust my whip,
Decide to go visit Goumang of the East.
Crossing the Great Brightness, I wheel over to the right,
Send Flying Wind to announce him our coming.

Yang in its first gentle flashes, not quite bright,
We ford the waters of the Pool of Heaven.
The Lord Wind drives ahead of us,
To blow the dust away, make all clear and cool.

Phoenixes wing along, bearing up my pennant,
As we pass Rushou, the Western Sovereign.

I seize the Broom Star for a banner,
And lift the Dipper’s Handle as my baton.

Plunging and soaring, we go up and down,
Wandering on the floating waves of unsteady mist.

As the daylight fades into gathering darkness,
I summon the Dark Warrior to join as our leader.
The god of Literary Glory follows, marshalling the progress,
Selecting all the gods for their different places.

Far-off the road stretches, on and on,
Carefully, stopping in places, we ascend to lofty heights.
On my left the Rain God guides us on the way;
On my right the Thunder God serves a bodyguard.

Thus I go beyond the world, forget all about returning:
My mind all unrestrained pushes up and away.
Deep within so full of joy and spontaneous delight,
Oh, how merry I am now, so perfectly happy!

Traversing fresh blue clouds, I am floating freely,
Yet suddenly I glimpse the old village down below.
My groom homesick, my own heart full of sadness.
Even the trace-horses look back -- none would go any further

Thinking of my dear old friends in my imagination.

? I heave a heavy sigh and brush the tears away.
?Slowly again I float, rising ever farther:
?Suppressing now my will, keeping myself controlled.

I point to the God of Fire and gallop straight to him,
?Wishing to journey to the world’s southern end.
?I gaze on wilderness beyond all known directions,
?Float on and on over watery expanse.

The Blessed Melter of the South stops me on the way,
? So I go back by phoenix and visit the River Consorts.
? They play the ‘Pool of Heaven’ and sing me ‘To the Clouds’;
?Both ladies then perform the Nine Songs of Shao.

Asking the Xiang goddesses to play their zithers for me,
?I bid the Sea God dance with the River God.
? They pull up water monsters ti step forward with them,
? Their bodies coiling and writhing in ever swaying motion!

Gracefully the Lady Rainbow circles all around them;
?The Phoenixes soar up, stay hovering above --
? The music swells ever higher, into infinity.

At this point I leave to wander yet again;
?With my entourage, I gallop far away.

At the world’s far end at the Gate of Coldness,
?I race the rushing wind to Clarity Springs.
? I follow Zhuanxu of the North over piled-up ice,
? Turn from my path to pass through Mystery Darkness.

Striding on cosmic mainstays, I look back behind me,
?Summon Qian Lei the Creator to appear,
? To go in front of me on the level way.

Thus I tour all four outlands,
? Traverse all the six regions,
?Up to the crakes of Heaven,
? Down to the Great Abyss.

Below just lofty openness, there is no more earth;
? Above just empty vastness, there is no more heaven.

I look but my vision blurs, nothing to be seen;
?I listen but my ears are numb, nothing to be heard.

Going beyond non-action, I reach the Clarity,
?Become a neighbour of the Great Beginning.

[excerpted from The Taoist Experience by Livia Kohn]

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