Chinese Poems

八至 李治 至近至远东西，至深至浅清溪。 至高至明日月，至亲至疏夫妻。 Eight Most Li Ye nearest furthest, east west deep, a shallow, a clear creek highest brightest sun and moon so close so far—man wife （Christopher Kelen, Hilda Tam, Song Zijiang, Iris Fan and Carol Ting 译）...

Liu Zongyuan 秋晓行南谷经荒村 柳宗元 杪秋霜露重，晨起行幽谷。 黄叶覆溪桥，荒村唯古木。 寒花疏寂历，幽泉微断续。 机心久已忘，何事惊麋鹿？ Morning Walk in Autumn to South Valley Passing an Abandoned Village Liu Tsung-yuan Autumn’s end: frost and dew become heavy. Get up early. Walk in secluded ravine. Yellow leaves cover stream and bridge. Deserted village: only ancient trees. Cold flowers, sparse: quiet, alone. Secluded spring, a little: heard, unheard. Scheme of mind now lost a long time, What is it that startles a young deer? （Wai-lim Yip 译）...

客中即事 朱静庵 华屋沉沉乳燕飞，绿杨深处啭黄鹂。 疏帘不卷薰风静，坐看庭花日影移。 Impromptu on a Trip Zhu Jing’an The splendid mansion is quiet, young swallows fly. In the deep shade of green poplars, orioles sing. The breeze is gone, the light curtain still, I sit and watch flower shadows shift in the garden. （Michelle Yeh 译）...

秋日见蝶 朱静庵 江空木落雁声悲，霜染丹枫百草萎。 蝴蝶不知身是梦，又随秋色上寒枝。 Seeing a Butterfly on an Autumn Day Zhu Jing’an Vast river, falling leaves, eagles’ sorrowful cries, Frost dyes crimson maples, all plants wither. Not knowing itself a dream, a butterfly Flits toward a cold twig in this autumn scene. （Michelle Yeh 译）...

闺怨 朱静庵 啼鸟惊回晓梦醒，起来无力倚银屏。 蛾眉未得张郎画，羞见东风柳眼青。 Grievance from the Boudoir Zhu Jing’an Awakened from daydreaming by twittering birds, She leans languidly on a silver screen. Her slender brows have not been painted by Scholar Zhang She’s too shy to see green willow eyes in the east wind. （Michelle Yeh 译）...

染甲 朱静庵 金盘和露捣晴霞，红透纤纤玉笋芽。 翠袖笼香理瑶瑟，绿阴新锭海棠花。 Coloring My Fingernails Zhu Jing’an In a golden plate dew is mixed with dawn sunlight, Applying red to fingers slender and white like young bamboo shoots. Green sleeves with an exquisite scent play the zither In green shade crab apple flowers newly in bloom. （Michelle Yeh 译）...

湖曲 朱静庵 湖光山色映柴扉，茅屋疏篱客到稀。 闲摘松花酿春酒，旋裁荷叶制秋衣。 红分夜火明书屋，绿涨晴波没钓矶。 惟有溪头双白鸟，朝朝相对亦忘机。 Songs on the Lake Zhu Jing’an Shimmering lake and mountain glow refracted on the bramble door, Behind the makeshift fence, in the thatched hut, visitors are few. In leisure I pluck juniper berries to brew spring wine And tailor water lily leaves into an autumn gown. Red flames in the night illuminate my studio; Green waves on a clear day immerse the fishing rock. Only a pair of white birds at the head of the stream Standing side by side they have forgotten the world. （Michelle Yeh 译）...

绿珠·《懊侬歌·其三》 我有一所欢，安在深阁里。 桐树不结花，何由得梧子。 Song of Worries III As I keep my lover deep in my mind, How can I rest at ease within my bower? Because the tung trees bear no flower, Where are the seeds for me to find? （汪榕培 译）...

吴山怀古 朱静庵 万里中原战血腥，宋家南渡若为情。 忠臣有志清沙漠，庸主无心复汴京。 北塞春风啼蜀魄，西湖夜月照瑶筝。 百年兴废空陈迹，回首吴山落照明。 Reflecting on Antiquity on Wu Hill Zhu Jing’an Blood of war washed the ten-thousand-mile Central Plains.1 Thereupon the Song court moved to the south: Loyal ministers were determined to clear the desert, But incompetent lords had no intention of recovering the lost capital. In northern passes, cuckoos of Shu cry in spring breeze; On West Lake the night moon shines on the jade zither. Past glory and disgrace are but empty traces I turn to gaze at the setting sun still glowing on Wu Hill. 1. The Chinese heartland; the reference is to the fall of northern China to the Jürchen armies in 1127. （Michelle Yeh 译）...

绿珠·《懊侬歌·其二》 江陵去扬州，三千三百里。 已行一千三，还有二千在。 Song of Worries II The journey from Jiangling to Yangzhou Covers three thousand and three hundred li. The first one thousand and three hundred is slow And there are still two thousand li to go. （汪榕培 译）...

libai 长相思 李白 日色欲尽花含烟，月明如素愁不眠。 赵瑟初停凤凰柱，蜀琴欲奏鸳鸯弦。 此曲有意无人传，愿随春风寄燕然。 忆君迢迢隔青天，昔日横波目，今为流泪泉。 不信妾肠断，归来看取明镜前。 Longing Li Po Sunlight beings to fade, mist fills the flowers, The moon as white as silk weeps and cannot sleep, Chao zither’s Phoenix frets no more shall I touch, Shu lute’s Mandarin Duck strings I’ll sound instead: This song has a meaning that no one can tell, It follows the Spring wind as far as Yen-jan To you far, far away beyond the blue sky— Whom once I gave A sideways glance With eyes that now Are wells of tears— If you do not believe that my heart breaks, Come back and look with me into this glass! （Arthur Cooper 译）...

与朝歌令吴质书 曹丕 五月二十八日，丕白： 季重无恙。途路虽局，官守有限，愿言之怀，良不可任。足下所治僻左，书问致简，益用增劳。 每念昔日南皮之游，诚不可忘。既妙思六经，逍遥百氏，弹棋间设，终以博奕，高谈娱心，哀筝顺耳。弛骛北场，旅食南馆，浮甘瓜于清泉，沈朱李于寒水。白日既匿，继以朗月，同乘并载，以游后园。舆轮徐动，宾从无声，清风夜起，悲笳微吟，乐往哀来，怆然伤怀，余顾而言，斯乐难常。足下之徒，咸以为然。今果分别，各在一方。元瑜长逝，化为异物，每一念至，何时可言！ 方今蕤宾纪时，景风扇物，天意和暖，众果具繁。时驾而游，北遵河曲，从者鸣笳以启路，文学托乘于后车。节同时异，物是人非，我劳如何！ 今遣骑到邺，故使枉道相过。行矣自爱， 丕白。 Letter to Wu Zhi, Magistrate of Zhaoge Cao Pi Fifth month, twenty-eighth day, Pi reporting: Are you well, Jizhong? The distance that separates us is not great, but office imposes restrictions and I find I have no way to convey the thoughts I want to speak of. The place you are governing now is awkwardly situated and out of the way and our correspondence as a result is sketchy, a fact that increases my depression. Each time I think back to those days when we amused ourselves at Nanpi, I find them more unforgettable than ever. After mulling over the secrets of the Six Classics and wandering at will through the Hundred Philosophers, we found time to squeeze in a little chess, ending up with a game of liubo.1 Lofty discourse delighted our minds, plaintive strings soothed the ear. We galloped in haste to the northern ground, feasted with the crowd in the southern hall, floating sweet melons in the clear fountain, dunking crimson plums in its cold waters. And when the bright sun had gone into hiding, we carried on by the glow of the moon. Sharing a single carriage or…...

篱竹 郑板桥 一片绿阴如洗，护竹何劳荆杞？ 仍将竹作芭篱，求人不如求已。 Fenced Bamboos Zheng Banqiao In the clear stretch of green gloom, Why bother thorns and brambles to shelter the bamboos? Put the bamboos in the catalogue of wattled walls, Because self-help is better than help from others. （吴松林 译）...

旅夜闻寇 方维仪 蟋蟀吟秋户，凉风起暮山。 衰年逢世乱，故国几时还。 盗贼侵南甸，军书下北关。 生民涂炭尽，积血染刀镮。 While Traveling in Autumn, I Hear of the Invading Bandits Fang Weiyi At autumn portals crickets hum, A cool wind rises amid dusky peaks. In my declining years, I run into troubled times, When will I return to my native land? Bandits invade the southern townships, Military orders are dispatched to the northern passes. Human horror is at its height: Layers of blood coat our swords to the hilt. （Paula Varsano 译）...

出塞 方维仪 辞家万里戍，关路隔风烟。 赋重无馀饷，边荒不种田。 小兵知有死，贪吏尚求钱。 倚赖君王福，何时唱凯旋。 Setting out from the Passes Fang Weiyi Left home for an outpost ten thousand miles away Where the mountain roads are severed by wind and smoke. Too many taxes, no extra victuals, The frontier is barren no planting of fields. Foot soldiers ever mindful of death, A grasping official still demanding his sum Relying on the bounty of our lord and king, When will we sing out: Victory! and home! （Paula Varsano 译）...

死别离 方维仪 昔闻生别离，不言死别离。 无论生与死，我独身当之。 北风吹枯桑，日夜为我悲。 上视沧浪天，下无黄口儿。 人生不如死，父母泣相持。 黄鸟各东西，秋草亦参差。 予生何所为，死亦何所辞。 白日有如此，我心徒自知。 Parted by Death Fang Weiyi Since times of old we hear of separation; Who has spoken of partings by death? Yet whether it be by life or by death I face it all alone. The north wind buffets the barren mulberry, It mourns for me night and day. I lift my eyes to the broad azure sky Below, no wide-mouthed babe.1 To live thus is worse than death, Still, mother and father cling and weep. Two orioles fly one east, one west, The autumn grasses, too, are in disarray. I live and what do I serve? I die why should I refuse? That under the white sun there can be such torment, My heart knows well, in vain. 1. She raises her eyes to heaven in supplication, like the speaker of poem 65 in the Book of Odes. The expression huang kou er describes a fledgling chick or a baby. This couplet alludes grimly to the yuefu poem “Leaving from the Eastern Gate” (“Chu dongmen xing”), in which a wife pleads with her husband not to depart: “Other families only care for wealth and fortune, /Your humble wife would simply…...

伯姊之粤有赠 方维仪 昨岁长溪来，今岁粤中去。 此别又数年，离情复何语。 明发皖江城，山川隔烟雾。 皓月临苍波，春风满江树。 To My Older Sister on Her Departure to Yue1 Fang Weiyi You came last year from Changxi2, And this year depart for Yue. Separated as we shall be for years to come, What remains to be said of our parting pain? At dawn you’ll set out from Wanjiang town3, The mountain river veiled by smoky mist. A bright white moon shall survey blue-green waves, And spring’s wind shall fill the river’s trees. 1. Yue refers to the southeastern region of China, especially the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi. 2. Changxi is in northeastern Fujian province. 3. Wanjiang town is probably Wancheng, on the Wan River in northern Anhui province. （Paula Varsano 译）...

《露书》·《刑矮》 姚旅 刑进士身矮，尝在鄱阳遇盗。盗既有其资，欲灭之以除患，方举刀，刑谕之曰：“人业呼我为刑矮，若去其头，不更矮乎？”盗大笑掷刀。 姚旅撰《露书》 Shortly Xing There was a jingshi1 named Xing who was short of stature. Once he fell into the hands of a robber on Poyang Lake. After stripping him of all his valuables, the robber thought of killing him so as to remove the cause of future trouble. As he raised his sword, Xing said: “People are already calling me Shortly Xing. If you must chop off my head, would that make me shorter still?” At that the robber burst into a side-splitting laughter and threw down his sword. Yao Lü: Lu shu (Book of Dew) （卢允中 译）...

延年术 苏轼 自省事以来，闻世所谓道人有延年之术者，如赵抱一、徐登、张元梦，皆近百岁，然竟死，与常人无异。及来黄州，闻浮光有朱元经尤异，公卿尊师之者甚众，然卒亦病，死时中风搐搦。但实能黄白，有余药，金皆入官。不知世果无异人耶，抑有而人不见，此等举非耶？不知古所记异人虚实，无乃与此等不大相远，而好事者缘饰之耶？ The Secret of Longevity Su Shih Ever since I was a child, I have heard of Taoists who can prolong life. But people like Chao Paoyi, Shü, and Chang Yuanmeng all lived to about a hundred, and died just like any other people. After I came to Huanchow, I heard of Chu Yuanching at Foukuang, who enjoyed a high reputation and was regarded as a master by many high officials. But he, too, died of an illness in a violent paroxysm. However, he really could transmute gold and left some gold and power behind, now in the hands of the government. I am beginning to wonder whether such immortals ever existed, or whether they do exist but are not seen by people. Or are we all mistaken? Is it not possible that the stories in the ancient books about Taoists who never died are just like the cases mentioned above and exaggerated by the writers? （林语堂 译）...

劈破玉 民间曲调 要分离，除非天做了地； 要分离，除非东做了西； 要分离，除非官做了吏。 你要分时分不得我， 我要离时离不得你； 就死在黄泉也， 做不得分离鬼！ Broken Jade: Separation folk tune To separate, let heaven fall into earth; To separate, let east turn into west; To separate, let greybeard become greenhorn. You’d rather separate, but I would not; I’d rather separate, but you would not. Even if we die, in netherworld, We are not to be separated. （王宏印 译）...

醉太平·寒食其三 王元鼎 辜负了禁烟。 冷落了秋千。 春光去也怎留恋？ 听莺啼燕喧， 红馥馥落尽桃花片。 青丝丝舞困垂杨线， 扑簌簌满地坠榆钱， 芳心堕倦。 The Cold Food Day To the Tune of Intoxication in Peace Wang Yuanding Wasting the golden chance of banning cooking, Abusing the jolly time of having a swing. Having no way to make the prime of spring lingering, I have to listen to orioles and swallow’s twittering. No peach blossoms blooming but the pink petals whirling, The slender willow twigs are growing weary of dancing, Streaming down in breeze are elm seeds everywhere rustling. Sitting in the room alone I’m wearing. （周方珠 译）...

醉太平·寒食其二 王元鼎 声声啼乳鸦， 生叫破韶华， 夜深微雨润堤沙， 香风万家。 画楼洗净鸳鸯瓦， 彩绳半湿秋千架。 觉来红日上窗纱， 听街头卖杏花。 Tune: Drunk in Time of Peace Cold Food Day Wang Yuanding Nursling crows caw out cry on cry, Breaking the early day of spring. Last night the drizzle moistened the sand far and nigh, Thousands of homes sweetened by the breeze on the wing. The lovebirds tiles of painted house are washed clean, The colored ropes of the swing wet before the bower. I wake to find the sun redden the window screen And hear the street cry of selling apricot flower. （许渊冲 译） Ode on Cold Festival1 to the tune of Tipsy in a Peaceful Time Wang Yuanding Incessantly the young ravens call in chime That break suddenly the fair spring time. Drizzle at deep night dampens the dam and sand, In the fragrance of wind myriad houses stand. Paired tiles on the painted tower are washed clean, Slightly wet is the colour ropes of the swings, Awake, one finds the red sun shining on the window screen, In ears the call of the seller of apricot flowers rings. the traditional Chinese festival, celebrated on the day before Qingming when people eat cold food only. （辜正坤 译）...

凭阑人·闺怨 王元鼎 垂柳依依惹暮烟， 素魄娟娟当绣轩。 妾身独自眠， 月圆人未圆。 Boudoir Repining To the Tune of Person Learning on the Railing Wang Yuanding Swaying in the breeze are willows in the mist of twilight, The splendid boudoir is bathed in the soothing moonlight. I have to sleep alone at night, The moon is full, I’m yearning to reunite. （周方珠 译） Resentment Heard in the Bower to the tune of Person Leaning on the Railing Curling up over the willows is the smoke approaching night, Hanging above outside the painted window is the moon chaste and white. Sleeping quietly I am lonely in a plight, The moon is full, my man is out of sight. （辜正坤 译）...

宫词三十首（存二十七首，录一） 王涯 白雪猧儿拂地行，惯眠红毯不曾惊。 深宫更有何人到，只晓金阶吠晚萤。 “Palace Poem” Wang Ya A snow-white terrier brushes the ground as it walks; Used to sleeping on red carpet, it has no sense of fright. Who could have come the palace’s innermost quarter? It barks only at evening fireflies by the gold-inlaid steps. (No. 13 from A Series of 27) （Irving Y. Lo 译）...