爱华网An Epigraphin Praise of My Humble Home
by Liu Yuxi
Amountain needn't be high,
山不在高,
It is famous so long as there is a deity on it.
有仙则名；
A lake needn't bedeep,
水不在深，
It has supernatural power so long as there is a dragon init.
有龙则灵。
My home is humble,
斯是陋室，
But it enjoys the fame of virtue so long as I am living init.
惟吾德馨。
The moss creeping onto the doorsteps turns them green.
苔痕上阶绿，
The color of the grass reflected through the bamboo curtains turnsthe room blue.
草色入帘青。
Erudite scholars come in good spirits to talk with me,
谈笑有鸿儒，
And among my guests there is no unlearned common man.
往来无白丁。
In this humble room, I can enjoy playing my plainly decorated qin,or read the Buddhist Scriptures quietly.
可以调素琴，阅金经。
Without the disturbance of the noisy that jar on the ears, or thesolemn burden of reading official documents.
无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形。
My humble home is like the thatched hut of Zhuge Liang of Nanyang,or the Pavilion Ziyun of Xishu.
南阳诸葛庐，西蜀子云亭。
Confucius once said: "How could we call a room humble as long asthere is a virtuous man in it?"
孔子云：“何陋之有？”
