Social Commentaries
Business Men
Translated by Arthur Waley (1918) · From A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1918)
Business men boast of their skill and cunning
But in philosophy they are like little children.
Bragging to each other of successful depredations
They neglect to consider the ultimate fate of the body.
What should they know of the Master of Dark Truth
Who saw the wide world in a jade cup,
By illumined conception got clear of Heaven and Earth:
On the chariot of Mutation entered the Gate of Immutability?
Cite this poem
MLA
Tzŭ-ang, Ch’ēn. “Business Men.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/chen-tzu-ang/0/.
Chicago
Tzŭ-ang, Ch’ēn. “Business Men.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/chen-tzu-ang/0/.
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