李徵は、若くして詩の才能に恵まれた隴西の才能ある若者だった。早くから科挙に合格し、地方の役人として身を立てたが、その傲慢で人を見下す性格のせいで、上司や同僚とうまくやっていけず、心の中でひそかに彼らを軽蔑していた。
Li Zheng was a young man of great poetic talent from Longxi. He passed the imperial examinations early and began his career as a local official, but his arrogant, condescending nature kept him at odds with his superiors and peers, whom he privately looked down on.
役人としての生活に嫌気が差した李徵は、ついに官職を辞めて詩作に専念しようと決意した。「平凡な人々と肩を並べて生きるよりも、独りで詩の道を究めて後世に名を残したい」と彼は考えた。妻子のことも顧みずに、故郷に引きこもったのだった。
Tired of life as a bureaucrat, Li Zheng finally decided to resign his post and devote himself entirely to writing poetry. "Rather than walk alongside ordinary people, I want to pursue the way of poetry alone and leave my name to later generations," he told himself, and so he withdrew to his hometown without a thought for his wife and child.
しかし、詩人としての名声は簡単には上がらなかった。月日を重ねるうちに、家の財産は次第に傾き、妻子の衣食すらまともに賄えなくなった。やむを得ず再び役人として働き始め、地方の地位の低い役職に甘んじる身となったが、かつての同僚はすでに高い地位に登っており、彼らの前で頭を下げる屈辱は、李徵の自尊心を絶えず傷つけ続けた。
But fame as a poet did not come easily. As the months and years passed, the family fortune steadily dwindled, until he could no longer even provide proper food and clothing for his wife and child. With no other choice, he returned to government service and took a lowly provincial position; meanwhile his former peers had already risen to high rank, and the humiliation of bowing his head before them gnawed at his pride without a break.
ある夜、公務で旅の途中にあった李徵は、突然狂気に取りつかれた。「誰かが俺を呼んでいる」と叫ぶや否や、宿を駆け出し、闇の中へと姿を消した。供の者がいくら探しても、その行方は分からなくなってしまった。
One night, while traveling on official business, Li Zheng was suddenly seized by madness. "Someone is calling me!" he cried, and the moment the words were out he bolted from the inn and disappeared into the darkness. No matter how hard his attendants searched, they could not find any trace of him.
それから一年余りが過ぎた頃のことである。役人の袁傪が天子の命を受けて南方へ向かう途中、深い山にさしかかった。「この先の深い森には人喰い虎が出るので、日が高く昇るまでは進まない方がいい」と、宿の者は袁傪に強く忠告した。
A little more than a year passed. The official Yuan Can, traveling south on the emperor's orders, came upon a deep mountain pass. "A man-eating tiger appears in the forest ahead, so you'd better not set out until the sun is high in the sky," the innkeeper warned him sternly.
朝霧の中、袁傪一行が森へ踏み入ったその時、案の定一匹の猛虎が草むらから躍り出た。虎は今にも襲いかかりそうな勢いだったが、突然体を返し、再び草陰へと消えていった。やがて草の奥から、「危ないところだった」と人の言葉でつぶやくような声が聞こえてきた。
In the morning mist, just as Yuan Can's party stepped into the forest, sure enough a great tiger leapt out from the grass. The tiger seemed ready to spring on them at any moment, but then it suddenly turned around and disappeared back into the brush. Soon after, from deep in the grass came what sounded like a human voice murmuring, "That was close."
袁傪は耳を疑った。その声には聞き覚えがあったのだ。「もしや、李徵君ではないか」と呼びかけると、草むらの中からはしばらくむせび泣くような声が漏れ、やがて「いかにも、隴西の李徵である」と低く悲しげな返事があった。
Yuan Can could not believe his ears. He recognized the voice. "Could it be — is that you, Li Zheng?" he called out. From within the grass came a brief sound like sobbing, and then a low, sorrowful answer: "It is. I am Li Zheng, of Longxi."
袁傪は涙を抑えきれず、なぜそのような姿になったのかと尋ねた。李徵は深い後悔を込めて、そのいきさつを語り始めた。「ある夜、声に誘われて山中を駆けるうちに、気がつけば四肢は地につき、毛は逆立ち、自分でも自身の運命がすぐには信じられなかった」と、彼は語った。
Yuan Can could not hold back his tears, and he asked how his friend had come to look like this. With deep regret, Li Zheng began to explain what had happened. "One night, drawn by a voice, I ran through the mountains, and when I came to myself my four limbs were on the ground and my hair was standing on end — even I could hardly believe my own fate," he said.