English Original
A man from the state of Chu was singing loudly in the capital city of Ying. He began with the folk songs "Xia Li" and "Ba Ren," and thousands of people in the city joined him in singing.
When he proceeded to sing "A Yang" and "Jiu Lu," several hundred people were still able to join in.
Then he sang "Yang Chun" and "Bai Xue." At this point, only a few dozen people could follow along. Finally, when he started singing those melodious tunes with complex, rising and falling melodies, very few could still accompany him. The more refined and elegant his songs became, the fewer people could sing along.
中文翻译
一个楚国人在郢都城里高声歌唱。起初，他唱起《下里》和《巴人》这类通俗歌曲，城中跟着他唱的有好几千人。
当他唱起《阿阳》和《薤露》时，能跟着唱的还有几百人。
随后，他又唱起《阳春》和《白雪》。这时，能跟着他唱的不超过几十人。最后，当他开始唱起那些悠扬婉转、音调起伏复杂的歌曲时，还能跟得上的人就寥寥无几了。他唱的曲调越高雅，能够应和的人就越少。