Yuan Dynasty
山坡羊（四）
Shān pō yáng · Qí sì
Qīng xiāo yǒu lù, huáng jīn wú shù, quàn jūn wàn shì cóng kuān shù.
Fù zhī yú, guì yě yú, wàng jiāng hòu dài ér sūn hù, fù guì bù yī gōng dào qǔ.
Ér, yě shòu kǔ; sūn, yě shòu kǔ.
Translation
There may be a road to the blue heights; there may be countless gold. Still, I urge you to treat all things with breadth and mercy. Wealth may abound; rank may abound as well. But think of protecting your descendants. If wealth and status are not gained justly, sons will suffer, and grandsons will suffer too.
Analysis
This poem shifts from personal withdrawal to ethical warning. Wealth and status are not condemned merely because they are worldly; they are condemned when gained unjustly. The emphasis on sons and grandsons turns social satire into generational morality: corrupt success becomes inherited suffering.
About the Author
Chen Cao’an’s writing is often admonitory and satirical. Rather than ornate language, he uses plain diction and compact judgments to expose greed, official corruption, and the instability of worldly success.