Qu Yuan, banished, wandered by the Tsanglang River. As he walked he recited poems. Haggard he looked and thin.

An old fisherman saw him, and asked: "Aren't you the knight Ch'ü Yüan? What brought you to such a pass?"

"The crowd is dirty," said Ch'ü Yüan, "I alone am clean. The crowd is drunk, I alone am sober. So I was banished."

"A wise man shouldn't be too particular," said the fisherman, "but should adapt himself to the times. If people are dirty, why don't you wallow with them in the mud? If people are drunk, why don't you drink a lot too? Why should you think so hard and hold so aloof that you were banished?"

Qu Yuan said: "They say, after you wash your hair you should brush your hat; after a bath you should shake your dress. How can a man sully his clean body with the dirt outside? I would rather jump into the river, and bury myself in the belly of the fish, than suffer my cleanliness to be sullied by the filth of the world!"

The old man smiled and paddled away, singing:

"When the river water's clear, I can wash my tassels here. Muddied, for such use unmeet, Here I still can wash my feet." This said, the old man went away.

Editor: Shi Liwei