韩愈·《龙说》英译

龙嘘气成云，云固弗灵于龙也。然龙乘是气，茫洋穷乎玄间，薄日月，伏光景，感震电，神变化，水下大，汩陵谷，云亦灵怪矣哉！

云，龙之所能使为灵也。若龙之灵，则非云之所能使为灵也。然龙弗得云，无以神其灵矣。失其所凭依，信不可欤。异哉！其所凭依，乃其所自为也。

《易曰》：“云从龙。”既曰“龙，云从之矣。”

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On Dragons

Han Yu

The belch of a dragon creates a cloud, and therefore, the cloud is not as magically powerful as the dragon. However, it is this cloud that the dragon rides when it roams about in the boundless firmament, when it approaches the sun or the moon, when it shades lights or reflections, when it fires thunderbolts, when it transforms into different forms, when it spreads rain onto the earth, or when it submerges valleys. Therefore, the cloud also has power.

It is the dragon’s magical power that makes the cloud powerful, not the reverse. However, without the cloud, the dragon cannot exert its power. So the dragon cannot do without what it depends on, can it? How strange this is: it depends upon its own creation!

The Book of Changes says, “The cloud follows the dragon.” And it continues, “Therefore, where there is a dragon, there should be a cloud.”