江寧之龍蟠，蘇州之鄧尉，杭州之西溪，皆產梅。或曰：“梅以曲為美，直則無姿；以欹為美，正則無景；以疏為美，密則無態。”固也。此文人畫士，心知其意，未可明詔大號以繩天下之梅也；又不可以使天下之民斫直，刪密，鋤正，以夭梅病梅為業以求錢也。梅之欹之疏之曲，又非蠢蠢求錢之民能以其智力為也。有以文人畫士孤癖之隱明告鬻梅者，斫其正，養其旁條，刪其密，夭其稚枝，鋤其直，遏其生氣，以求重價，而江浙之梅皆病。文人畫士之禍之烈至此哉！

Where in Longpan of Jiangning, Dengwei of Suzhou, and Xixi of Hongzhou, there are plum trees planted.  People may say the beauty of plum tree is because of its shape of sinuous grace, which is not seen when it is standing straight; because of its slanted gesture, but not when it is in straight position.  The slant plum tree is regarded as a beauty, while the  one normally grown is lacking appreciable view.  And sparseness is prettier than density.  "It should be this way", that is what painters and literati are thinking.  But they are reluctant to reveal their thoughts to planters to cultivate the plum in this way, neither can they order the planter to cut off the straight trunk of plum and to remove the twigs that have been normally grown, so as to use the morbid plum to make more money.  Moreover, those planters are too ill-informed to make straight trunk slant, and to remove dense cluster to make plum look slender and thin.  Some guys hence unveil the secret and selfish mind of those painters and literati and persuade the sellers of plum to make straight twigs slant, cut off dense twigs to make them thin, and to nip the straight trunk in the bud as to seek a much better price.  In so doing, all plums in Jiangsu and Zejiang are abnormal and morbid, and what a disaster that painters and literati have brought to us! 

予購三百盆，皆病者，無一完者。既泣之三日，乃誓療之：縱之順之，毀其盆，悉埋於地，解其棕縛；以五年為期，必復之全之。予本非文人畫士，甘受詬厲，辟病梅之館以貯之。

I bought three hundred potted plums, and they were all sick, no exception.  After shedding tears of lamenting them for three days, I swore that I must cure them.  So, I set them free from bowls, planted them into soil, and untied them from knotting.  I also set a timetable of five years, until then I must recover those plums to what they should have been.  I will build up a house to store those ailed plum regardless of the vitriol from those literati and painters.  

嗚呼！安得使予多暇日，又多閒田，以廣貯江寧、杭州、蘇州之病梅，窮予生之光陰以療梅也哉！

Alas!  I hope I could spare more time and get more fields to cure the ailed plums of Jiangning, Hengzhou, and Suzhou.  I shall spend the rest of my life to save them with all my heart!