原文

嘉靖初，郁林苦采砂之役。有州同顾起纶者，谓葛洪南来，鲍靓留居罗浮，实未尝得砂于此。今日之役，恐徒靡敝吾民，不如市之辰州便。台府不从，役三万工于菉山西岭，穿三池，得砂一斤。于绿珠涌渫深井，得巨砂二十余两，乃知勾漏亦无砂云。郁林古勾漏地，昔之所有，今之所无，亦天地气运使然。连州往亦产砂，至宋时已绝，又安知辰州、贵阳他日不如勾漏邪！

白话

中文

明朝嘉靖初年，郁林（今广西玉林）的百姓深受开采丹砂的劳役之苦。当时有一位名叫顾起纶的州同官说：“（传说中东晋的）葛洪南下，（其岳父）鲍靓留在罗浮山修道，实际上他们并未曾在这里（指勾漏地区）采得过丹砂。如今这项劳役，恐怕只会白白耗费民力、使百姓困顿，不如直接去辰州（今湖南沅陵一带，以产朱砂闻名）购买方便。” 但是上级官府没有听从他的建议，征发了三万工人在菉山的西岭开采，挖掘了三个矿坑，才得到一斤丹砂。又在绿珠涌疏浚深井，得到大块的丹砂二十多两。这才知道勾漏这个地方（当时）也确实不产丹砂了。郁林是古代勾漏郡的所在地，过去曾经有的（丹砂），现在却没有了，这也是天地气运变化的结果。连州（今广东连州）过去也出产丹砂，到了宋代时就已经枯竭了。又怎么知道辰州、贵阳（当时的主要产地）将来不会变得像勾漏一样（资源枯竭）呢！

英文

In the early Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, the people of Yulin (present-day Yulin, Guangxi) suffered greatly from the corvée labor of mining cinnabar. At that time, a Vice Prefect named Gu Qilun said: "(According to legend) Ge Hong came south (in the Eastern Jin Dynasty), and (his father-in-law) Bao Jing stayed at Luofu Mountain for Daoist practice, but in reality, they never obtained cinnabar from here (referring to the Goulou area). Today's labor duty, I fear, will only needlessly exhaust and impoverish our people. It would be more convenient to purchase it directly from Chenzhou (around present-day Yuanling, Hunan, famous for cinnabar production)." However, the higher authorities did not heed his advice. They conscripted thirty thousand laborers to mine on the western ridge of Lushan Mountain, dug three pits, and obtained only one jin (about 0.5 kg) of cinnabar. They also dredged a deep well at Luzhuyong and found large pieces of cinnabar weighing over twenty liang (about 0.75 kg). Only then did they realize that the Goulou area indeed no longer produced cinnabar at that time. Yulin is the location of the ancient Goulou Commandery. What existed in the past (cinnabar) is gone now; this is also the result of the changing cycles of Heaven and Earth ('Tiandi Qiyun'). Lianzhou (present-day Lianzhou, Guangdong) also produced cinnabar in the past, but its deposits were exhausted by the Song Dynasty. How can we know that Chenzhou and Guiyang (major production areas at the time) will not become like Goulou in the future (with depleted resources)!

文化解读/分析

此条目记述了明代嘉靖年间郁林（古勾漏地）开采丹砂的事件，具有多重文化与历史价值：

1. 地方资源变迁与经济史：明确记录了古勾漏地区丹砂资源的枯竭过程，并与连州、辰州、贵阳等地的矿产情况进行对比。这不仅反映了特定区域矿产资源的自然变迁，也揭示了地方经济对资源依赖性的变化，以及不同区域间资源贸易的可能性（如顾起纶建议从辰州购买）。
2. 历史传说的辨析与理性精神：顾起纶引用葛洪、鲍靓在罗浮山修道而未在勾漏得砂的传说，试图论证当地并非丹砂产地，以劝阻劳民伤财的开采。这体现了一种基于历史考据和现实观察的理性态度，试图挑战可能基于不实传闻的官方决策。
3. 社会民生与官方决策：生动描绘了“苦采砂之役”给百姓带来的沉重负担（“靡敝吾民”、“役三万工”），以及官府不听劝谏、强行开采最终得不偿失的过程。这反映了封建社会中官方工程对民力的征用以及决策失误可能带来的社会问题。
4. 传统自然哲学观：将资源的枯竭归因于“天地气运”，体现了中国古代一种普遍的自然观和历史观。认为事物的盛衰、资源的有无受到某种宇宙节律或命运的支配，这既是对无法解释的自然现象的一种解释，也可能带有一种宿命论的色彩。
5. 道教文化印记：提及葛洪、鲍靓与丹砂，间接关联到道教炼丹术。丹砂（朱砂）在道教外丹术中是极其重要的原料，寻找和开采丹砂与道教实践活动有一定联系。虽然文本主旨并非谈论道教，但其背景涉及了与道教文化相关的元素。

关键词

勾漏砂、丹砂、朱砂、郁林、玉林、顾起纶、葛洪、鲍靓、罗浮山、辰州、矿产资源、资源枯竭、明代、嘉靖、徭役、天地气运、道教炼丹、广东新语