子髦丱摳趨章縫，頫仰鉛槧。
  As a child with hair still in tufts he was already drawn to classical texts,
  bending over and raising his head among writing brushes and tablets.
弱冠，異業懷資，即次比於他邦。
  Then by the time he came of age,
  though not pursuing the standard (scholar-official) track he still had scholarly aims,
  and so he took to living briefly in different regions.
籌算泯棼，饔飧有弗逮焉。
  (However,) His plans were tangled and unclear,
  and even daily meals were sometimes beyond reach.
然篤學操縵，志將震起聾聵。
  Yet he persevered in his faithful study of the qin repertoire,
  aspiring to "take action" (ctext) regarding what he found "deaf and dull" (in himself ).
及之標鹿，曰：
  And then, when he reached a level mindset ("treetops and deer": Zhuangzi: ctext), he declared:

土硎在薦，不登青黃；
  Clay and whetstone though present, cannot grind blue or yellow grain (without proper skill: ctext);
任姒正位，不姱施嬙。
  (Proper wives like Tai) Ren and (Tai) Si can hold their place,
  though not adorned like (the famous beauties) (Xi) Shi or (Mao) Qiang (ctext).
溺鄭、衛而廢韶、護昧也，
  To wallow in (the frivolous sounds of) Zheng and Wei while abandoning (the proper sounds of) Shao and Hu, this is ignorance;
羨魚、兔而筌蹄、罔也。
  To envy fish and rabbits while ignoring traps and snares, this is folly.
昧與罔，君子奚取焉？
  Ignorance and folly — what should a gentleman take from them?”

廼探顧鉤深，
  Thereupon he delved deep, cast his gaze and hooks afar,
蒐奇彙，精蕪者，治舛者。
  Gathered marvels and compiled them, refining what was crude, and correcting what was confused.
正不遺餘，晷有茲帙。
  He set it all aright, overlooking nothing — and thus in what seemed like the brief span of a sundial’s shadow was this volume born.
比類麗辭，辨於黟堊。
  He has organized this by category, written with a fine sense of style,
  allowing clear distinctions between the fixed ("ebony") and the changeable ("chalk").²
昭昭乎，希音也知哉！
  Bright and radiant it is indeed — these rarest of tones can now be understood!

今夫百家所揖旅普有是，
  Now among the Hundred Schools, many pay respect to and follow this work;
拊髀為其知，
  They slap their thighs in admiration of its wisdom.
弗若與秕糠眯目，天地易位，
  Those less perceptive seem to be blinded by chaff, confusing the positions of Heaven and Earth,
執則爾矣。
  They are just stubborn, and that's all it is.

固曰：西麓氏幾矣哉！
  Indeed it must be said: The gentleman of the western foothills is truly remarkable!

西麓名芝，字時瑞，世家邑西山，汪氏，其編謂《琴統》云。
  Xilu’s given name is Zhi, style name Shirui.
  His family has long lived among the western hills of the county.
  They are of the Wang clan.
  His compilation is called the Qintong.

嘉靖乙酉秋七月既望，賜進士及第、 翰林院侍講學士、奉訓大夫、 經筵講官兼修國史、前充朝鮮正使賜一品服、歙人唐皋撰。
  In autumn of the Jiajing reign yǐyǒu year (1525), on the day just after the full moon in the seventh month,
  a Presented Scholar (jinshi) who has been Assistant Scholar of the Hanlin Academy, an imperially appointed Academic Tutor,
  Court Lecturer, State Historian, and former Chief Envoy to Chosŏn Korea (awarded first-rank robes),
  and native of Shexian, Tang Gao, wrote this.