Wen Fu 7 “Music” [文赋七] by Lu Ji [陆机]

Matter comes in countless varieties,
And the forms are evershifting, as well.
Writers must dance the varied characters
To dulcet lines where elegance dwells,
Finding the right pace, cadence, and stresses
To blend like harmony in the five hues.
Though the tune fades in and out randomly
And the path is rugged and hazard-strewn,
Those who know the ways of change and order
Will find all falls into place with a flow.
But if one misses the proper pivots
It's like grabbing the tail to steer the nose --
Like yellow painted onto wet, black walls,
One's writing becomes muddy, and it stalls.

The original in Simplified Chinese:

其为物也多姿,其为体也屡迁。 
其会意也尚巧,其遣言也贵妍。
暨音声之迭代,若五色之相宣。
虽逝止之无常,固崎锜而难便。
苟达变而识次,犹开流以纳泉。
如失机而后会,恒操末以续颠。
谬玄黄之粗叙,故浍涊而不鲜。

Wen Fu 6 [文赋六] “Modes of Writing” by Lu Ji [陆机]

Poetry is poignant and ornate;
Essays are deep and content-centric.
Stele entries are true to the essence;
Paeans, moving and melancholic.
Inscriptions are concise and kindly;
Telltales have a logic and cadence.
Odes show great grace and refinement;
Op-eds are unrepressed and intense.
Music 's penetrating and stately;
Speeches must sparkle with cleverness.
Though there ever so many forms,
All thwart evil and allow release:
Expression, sans pride overweening,
With no waste of words or lost meaning.

Original in Simplified Chinese:

诗缘情而绮靡,赋体物而浏亮。
碑披文以相质,诔缠绵而凄怆。
铭博约而温润,箴顿挫而清壮。
颂优游以彬蔚,论精微而朗畅。
奏平彻以闲雅,说炜晔而谲诳。
虽区分之在兹,亦禁邪而制放。
要辞达而理举,故无取乎冗长。