Record of Places Outside the Tributaries

The quiet, distant, and winding emotions are subtle and profound. It is as if one has personally experienced them. How could I find another Zisai personal name? I sigh at the Tang Tang Dynasty poet Song Yu a famous ancient poet and his Rhapsody on the Gao Tang a poem often associated with romantic encounters, and I laugh at Deng Tuzi a legendary figure criticized for lechery for his dissolute conduct. I ask for restraint. Tao Yuanming famous poet wrote of leisure and emotion, while Prince Zhaoming of the Liang Dynasty considered these to be changes in the Guofeng Airs of the States from the Book of Songs. I have already appreciated works beyond these two. Someone asked, "What is this 'Chastity and Righteousness' that Zisai writes about?" I replied, "This is also a matter of conduct." I am an old acquaintance from Yan County, and I recognize the depth of his grand moral teachings.

Written in the rain during the fifth month of the Wuyin year of the Chongzhen reign 1638, by your younger brother Ma Quan, inscribed at the Dushutai Reading Terrace.