Silk, Sense, and Sensibility

國雖靡止，或聖或否。民雖靡膴，或哲或謀，

或肅或艾。如彼泉流，無淪胥以敗。

不敢暴虎，不敢馮河。人知其一，莫知其他。

戰戰兢兢，如臨深淵，如履薄冰。

Our country is in chaos,

and the people are in need.

We need wisdom and order,

or else we’ll drown.

We can’t fight tigers with bare hands. We can’t cross rivers without boats.

We’ve already seen enough tragedy as we tremble in fear,

Walking as if on a cliff’s edge, treading as if on thin ice.

—Excerpt from the Classic of Poetry, transcribed by Fan Enze