高隱昔傳磨鏡客，
奇蹤今見補鍋人。
若將姓字留天地，
縱使巢由亦外臣。
{非薄巢、由，要見不留姓字為最高耳，必求其人以實之，毋乃鑿乎？}
In old stories there is a dignified recluse, a mirror grinder; [1]
In the present here is [a man of] unfathomable movements, a wok mender.[2]
If [he] makes [his] name known to the world,
Even Chao [Fu] and [Xu] You [3] will be nothing but his courtiers.
{This is not to belittle Chao [Fu] and [Xu] You. The thing is that the greatest [recluse] never reveals his name. [If we] have to find out his identity to prove [his existence], would it not be too pedantic?}
* From Shen Deqian 沈德潜 (1673-1769) ed., Qingshi biancai 清诗别裁 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1984), 6.248.
[1] Referring to the story of Fuju xiansheng 負局先生, a man of unknown origin, in Liu Xiang's 劉向 (77-8 BCE) Liexian zhuan 列仙傳; see Liexian zhuan jiaojian 列仙傳校箋, annotated by Wang Shumin 王叔岷 (1914-2008) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2007), 2.150; or a quick reference here). When grinding the mirror, Fuju xiansheng always asks if his client has any health issues and then offers pills which later prove effective.
[2] Here the poet probably hints at the itinerant business of the wok mender in jest. Wok menders often do not have a permanent stall or shop, so it can be difficult to know when they come and where they go.
[3] Both were famous hermits of legendary antiquity and became supreme models for scorning common pursuits of power and fame and choosing to eschew all social and political activities.
A wok mender in Canton, ca. 1790; watercolour and ink on paper
Image credit: Victoria and Albert Museum
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