Substance, Shadow, and Spirit by T'ao Ch'ien Noble or base, wise or stupid, none but cling tenaciously to life. This is a great delusion. I have put in the strongest terms the complaint of Substance and Shadow and then, to resolve the matter, have made Spirit the spokesman for naturalness. Those who share my tastes will all get what I am driving at. I Substance to Shadow Earth and heaven endure forever, Streams and mountains never change. Plants observe a constant rhythm, Withered by frost, by dew restored. But man, most sentient being of all, In this is not their equal. He is present here in the world today, Then leaves abruptly, to return no more. No one marks there's one man less–– Not even friends and family think of him; The things that he once used are all that's left To catch their eye and move them to grief. I have no way to transcend change, That it must be, I no longer doubt. I hope you will take my advice: When wine is o