Chinese Poems

凤凰台上忆吹箫·残灯 贺双卿 已暗忘吹， 欲明谁剔？ 向侬无焰如萤。 听土阶寒雨， 滴破残更。 独自恹恹耿耿， 难断处、 也忒多情。 香膏尽， 芳心未冷， 且伴双卿。 星星。 渐微不动， 还望你淹煎， 有个花生。 胜野塘风乱， 摇曳渔灯。 辛苦秋蛾散后， 人已病、 病减何曾？ 相看久， 朦胧成睡， 睡去还惊。 Fenghuangtai shang yi chuixiao: Fading Lamp He Shuangqing Already dimming I forget to blow on it; Were it to shine brightly, who would trim it? Flameless in front of me, glowing like a firefly. I listen to the cold rain on the earthen steps Dripping through the third night watch, Alone by myself, sick and sleepless. Hard to extinguish You too are excessive in feeling. The scented oil is finished, But your fragrant heart has not cooled, Do keep company with Shuangqing for a while. Star after star Gradually fades into motionlessness. But I hope you will suffer through, And then blossom forth again. You will surpass those fishing lamps swaying In the chaotic wind on the wild pond. When autumn’s hard-working moths scatter, I am already ill, And when has my illness ever diminished? Long we watch each other, Vaguely sleep comes upon me… From sleep I am startled awake again. （Grace S. Fong 译）...

春从天上来·饷耕 贺双卿 紫陌春情， 漫额裹春纱， 自饷春耕。 小梅春瘦， 细草春明。 春田步步春生。 记那年春好， 向春燕、 说破春情。 到于今， 想春笺春泪， 都化春冰。 怜春痛春春几？ 被一片春烟， 锁住春莺。 赠与春侬， 递将春你， 是侬是你春灵。 筭春头春尾， 也难筭、 春梦春醒。 甚春魔， 做一场春梦， 春误双卿！ Chun cong tian shang lai: Taking Food to Do Spring Plowing He Shuangqing Purpled paths bright in spring weather. Slowly I tie a spring gauze on my head, And eat by myself during spring plowing. The small plum tree is thin in spring, Fine blades of grass glisten in spring. At each step along the fields spring comes to life. I remember that year in a fine spring To a spring swallow I blurted out spring feelings. And now, I think spring letters and spring tears Have all melted with the spring ice. I cherish spring, dote on spring for how many more springs? By an expanse of spring mist The spring oriole is locked in. You present gifts to a springtime me, And I offer presents to a springtime you: Am I or are you the spirit of spring? You can count the start and end of spring, But it will be hard to tell my spring awakenings from spring dreams. （Grace S. Fong 译）...

惜黄花慢·孤雁 贺双卿 碧尽遥天， 但暮霞散绮， 碎剪红鲜。 听时愁近， 望时怕远， 孤鸿一个， 去向谁边？ 素霜已冷芦花渚， 更休倩、 鸥鹭相怜。 暗自眠， 凤凰纵好， 宁是姻缘！ 凄凉劝你无言。 趁一沙半水， 且度流年。 稻梁初尽， 网罗正苦， 梦魂易警， 几处寒烟。 断肠可似婵娟意， 寸心里， 多少缠绵！ 夜未闲， 倦飞误宿平田。 Xi huanghua man: A Stray Wild Goose He Shuangqing Emerald spreads to the end of the distant sky, Only rosy dusk clouds scattering their fine silk Snipped into fragments of fresh red. When I listen, I worry that it’s so nearby, When I gaze, I dread its being far away: One lone wild goose To whom can it turn? White frost has already chilled the sandbar’s reed flowers, So don’t even ask the gulls and egrets for sympathy. In the dark, sleep alone. Though the phoenix may be fine, When is there ever a bond with it? Mournful, I have no words to encourage you; Go along a sandy shore or halfway up a stream Just to pass the fleeting years. With the rice grains recently exhausted, The fowler’s nets cannot wait; Your dream-soul is easily frightened Many times in the cold mist. Is your grief like a woman’s? In that tiny heart there is so much tender attachment. The night is not yet quiet, Yet, tired from flight, you make the mistake…...

摸鱼儿·谢邻女韩西馈食 贺双卿 喜初晴， 晚霞西现， 寒山烟外青浅。 苔纹干处容香履， 尖印紫泥犹软。 人语乱， 忙去倚、 柴扉空负深深愿。 相思一线， 向新月搓圆； 穿愁贯恨， 珠泪总成串。 黄昏后， 残热犹怜细喘。 小窗风射如箭。 春红秋白无情艳， 一朵似侬难选。 重见远， 听说道， 伤心已受殷勤饯。 斜阳刺眼， 休更望天涯， 天涯只是， 几片冷云展。 Mo yu’r: Thanking the Neighbor Girl Han Xi for Her Gift of Food He Shuangqing Cheered by the end of the rains, The evening clouds in the west appear; Beyond the haze the chilly mountains look light blue. Where strips of moss are dry, fragrant shoes can tread. Sharp prints stay on the purplish mud still soft. Clamor of people’s voices: I rush to go lean on the brushwood door vainly harboring deep deep desire. My thoughts of you are all one strand Spun from the new moon to the full, Threaded with grief, strung with remorse, pearls of tears enough for one whole string. After dusk, still warm and damp, Who will sustain my struggle to breathe? Through the small window the wind shoots in like an arrow; Springtime red, autumn white, heartless beauty; Difficult to pick a bud like me. Our next meeting is so far off. I hear the heartbroken one Has already received her lavish feast. The sunset hurts the eyes; Don’t look to the horizon, The horizon only shows…...

别云间 夏完淳 三年羁旅客，今日又南冠。 无限河山泪，谁言天地宽？ 已知泉路近，欲别故乡难。 毅魄归来日，灵旗空际看。 Farewell to Yunjian1 Xia Wanchun Three years I’ve been a warrior on the move, Only to wear a captive’s cap today!With endless tears for my native land and sea, Who says there’s wide space ‘twixt Heav’n and Earth? Nay! Already I know to me Hades is near, And yet ‘tis hard to part with homeland dear! The day my staunch soul here again comes by, I wish our combat flags’ll be flying high! 1. Yunjian was the name of Songjiang County, Jiangsu Province, near Shanghai. Xia was a native there. （王知还 译） Adieu, My Homeland Xia Wanchun1 I struggled three long years, Captive again today. My land’s worth bitter tears. Could I come homeward way? I know my death is near; It’s hard to leave my land. See when my soul comes here, I’ll wave my flag in hand. 1. The poet carried out anti-Manchurian activities at the age of fifteen and was put to death at seventeen. （许渊冲 译） Farewell to Yunjian Xia Wanchun Three years in a strange land And I end, here, in prison. Hot tears flow endlessly For our own land, endlessly dear. Oh, all I have left of this beloved, lovely…...

山坡羊 刘致 朝朝琼树， 家家朱户， 骄嘶过沽酒楼前路。 贵何如， 贱何如？ 六桥都是经行处， 花落水流深院宇。 闲， 天定许； 忙， 人自取。 Tune: “Sheep on the Mountain Slope” Liu Chih Every morning, emerald trees. Every house, made of ruby. Horses neigh on the road before the tavern. High position: what is it? Low position: what is it? All six bridges we have crossed. Flowers fall, water flows in deep courts and halls. Leisure is Heaven-given. Busyness is All manmade. （Wai-lim Yip 译）...

《怨歌行》/《怨诗》/《团扇诗》 班婕妤 新裂齐纨素，鲜洁如霜雪。 裁为合欢扇，团团似明月。 出入君怀袖，动摇微风发。 常恐秋节至，凉飚夺炎热。 弃捐箧笥中，恩情中道绝。 A Present from the Emperor’s New Concubine Lady P’an I took a piece of the rare cloth of Ch’i, White silk glowing and pure a frost on snow, And made you a fan of harmony and joy, As flawlessly round as the full moon. Carry it always, nestled in your sleeve. Wave it and it will make a cooling breeze. I hope, that when Autumn comes back And the North Wind drives away the heat, You will not store it away amongst old gifts And forget it, long before it is worn out. （Kenneth Rexroth 译） The Fan Fine, freshly woven silk of Qi Is white as frost or snow; A piece, embroidered, makes a fan As round as the bright moon. My lord keeps the fan about him, Its motion makes a gentle breeze for him; But I dread the coming of autumn When cold winds steal away the sultry heat. And the fan is tossed, unwanted, into a casket, Its short term of favor ended. （杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）...

与致虚妹丈 高尔俨 昨宵乐甚！碧天一色，澄澈如昼，又松竹影交加，翠影被面，月光落酒杯中，波动影摇。吹洞箫数阙，清和婉妙，听之怡然；响绝余音，犹绕耳间不退。出户一望，空旷无际。大醉后笔墨撩乱，已不复记忆。 今晨于袖中得纸幅，出而视之，则所谓“笔墨撩乱”者也。然亦殊可爱，以为有骀荡之趣。把笔效之，不能及巳。因即以昨日所就者请正。 To My Brother-in-Law Zhixu Gao Eryan How happy I was last night! The sky was light blue all over and was as clear as in the day. The shadows of pine branches and bamboos interwove and cast a shadow of greenish colour on my face, while the moonlight fell into my winecup, presenting a microscopic scene of undulating waves and shaking shadows. Someone blew on the Xiao several times, and the music so produced was tranquilizing and fascinating. I was delighted by it, for I felt that it was lingering at my ears long after the playing had ceased. I went out of the door and all I saw was the boundless vacant space. How I used writing brush and Chines ink to draw in an irregular and disorderly way after my inebriation—that was something I forgot. This morning I took the scroll out of my sleeve and had a look at what was “irregularly and disorderly drawn”. But it turned out to be rather lovely, as I thought it had an element of freedom and unconstraint. I tried to make another copy of the picture, but the new one fell short of the original. So I presented…...

夜泉 袁中道 山白鸟忽鸣，石冷霜欲结。 流泉得月光，化为一溪雪。 A Spring Seen in the Night Yuan Zhongdao Hills turning white, birds suddenly cry; Rocks, very cold, are frosting over. The gurgling spring stroked by moonlight Has turned into a stream snowwhite. （王晋熙、文殊 译）...

悟道诗 无尽藏 尽日寻春不见春，芒鞋踏破岭头云。 归来笑捻梅花嗅，春在枝头已十分。 All day long I looked vainly for a sign of Spring My grass shoes raising clouds from the dust of all fields Returning home, I smilingly pick a plum-blossom and sniff it And lo! here on the sprig is Spring in its fullness. （钱钟书 译） 网站注：原诗无诗题。...

董娇饶 宋子侯 洛阳城东路，桃李生路旁。 花花自相对，叶叶自相当。 春风东北起，花叶正低昂。 不知谁家子，提笼行采桑。 纤手折其枝，花落何飘扬。 请谢彼姝子，何为见损伤。 高秋八九月，白露变为霜。 终年会飘堕，安得久馨香。 秋时自零落，春月复芬芳。 何如盛年去，欢爱永相忘。 吾欲竟此曲，此曲愁人肠。 归来酌美酒，挟瑟上高堂。 Dong Jiaorao Song Zihou East of Luoyang the capital, Plum and peach on roadsides grew. One blossom faced another; Leaves greeted each other. A vernal breeze rose from the northeast. Blossoms and leaves their heads tossed. Whose daughter was this girl? She was to pick mulberry leaves with a basket in hand. Her slender hands broke the branches; Blossom petals fluttering down to the ground. “Pray say, pretty girl, why do you hurt me so?” “In high autumn of the eighth and ninth moon, Hoary dews have turned into sleets. You will in the end fall. How can you long keep the fragrant smell?” “In Autumn I do fade and fall, In Spring fragrance comes back to all. How can the prime of life exist forever? How should love be forgotten for long?” I want to end this tune For it makes one sigh and moan. Back home I fill high the glass; With lyres I go to the upper house. （李正栓 译）...

叙陈正甫会心集 袁宏道 世人所难得者唯趣。趣如山上之色、水中之味、花中之光、女中之态，虽善说者不能下一语，唯会心者知之。今之人，慕趣之名，求趣之似，于是有辨说书画、涉猎古董，以为清；寄意玄虚，脱迹尘纷，以为远。又其下，则有如苏州之烧香煮茶者。此等皆趣之皮毛，何关神情！夫趣得之自然者深，得之学问者浅。当其为童子也，不知有趣，然无往而非趣也。面无端容，目无定睛；口喃喃而欲语，足跳跃而不定；人生之至乐，真无逾于此时者。孟子所谓不失赤子，老子所谓能婴儿，盖指此也，趣之正等正觉最上乘也。山林之人，无拘无缚，得自在度日，故虽不求趣而趣近之。愚不肖之近趣也，以无品也，品愈卑，故所求愈下。或为酒肉，或为声伎；率心而行，无所忌惮，自以为绝望于世，故举世非笑之不顾也，此又一趣也。迨夫年渐长，官渐高，品渐大，有身如梏，有心如棘，毛孔骨节，俱为闻见知识所缚，入理愈深，然其去趣愈远矣。[余友陈正甫，深于趣者也，故所述《会心集》若干卷，趣居其多，不然，虽介若伯夷，高若严光，不录也。噫，孰谓有品如君、官如君、年之壮如君、而能知如此者哉] 注：[…] 部分未有英文译文。 Preface to Hweishin Collection of Poems of Chen Chengfu Yuan Chunglang I find that zest is a rare gift in life. Zest is like hues on the mountains, taste in water, brilliance in flowers, and charm in women. It is appreciated only by those who have understanding, and is difficult to explain in words. True enough, it is common nowadays to find people who affect a taste in certain diversions. Some cultivate a love for painting, calligraphy, and antiques, and others are fascinated by the mystics and the recluses and the life of a hermit. Still others are like the people of Soochow who make a hobby of tea and incense, turning it almost into a cult. These are superficial, and have nothing to do with real zest and understanding of the flavor in living. This zest for living is more born in us than cultivated. Children have most of it. They have probably never heard of the word “zest,” but they show it everywhere. They find it hard to look solemn; they wink, they grimace, they mumble to themselves, they jump and skip and hop and romp. That is why childhood is the happiest period of…...

诉衷情 吴激 夜寒茅店不成眠， 残月照吟鞭。 黄花细雨时候， 催上渡头船。 鸥似雪， 水如天。 忆当年。 到家应是， 童稚牵衣， 笑我华颠。 Suzhongqing Wu Ji On a cold night, no sleep comes to a village inn; The whip glows in the waning moon as I ride and sing. A drizzle sprinkles the yellow flowers and my coat; In a hurry, I board a ferry boat. Gulls are white as snow, Water is sky blue— Same as years ago. When travel I have done, The kids will sure tug my clothes and run, And laugh at my hoary hair in great fun.1 1. Hoary hair is symbolic of the old. He Zhizhang, poet of the early Tang Dynasty, ever wrote the poem On Home Coming: I returned home old while left still a lad, local accent is unchanged, hoary hair I had. Kids I meet on the way regard me a stranger, ask politely, “Where are you from, dear sir?” （陈君朴、冯修文 译）...

笑府·凳脚 冯梦龙 乡间坐凳，多以现成树丫叉为脚者。一脚偶坏，主人命仆往山中觅取。仆持斧出，竟日空回。主人责之，答曰：“丫叉尽有，都是向上生，更无向下的。” Most stools in the countryside used ready-made branches as legs. One stool leg happened to be broken. The master asked his servant to search for one in the woods. The servant went out with an axe. He didn’t come back until quite late at night. His master asked what took him so long. He replied: “Though there are plenty of branches, they all grow upwards. I didn’t find a single one that goes downwards.” （陈沅恺 译）...

芦花 雍裕之 夹岸复连沙，枝枝摇浪花。 月明浑似雪，无处认渔家。 Reed Catkins Yong Yuzhi Lining both banks and nighing the sands on drift, The sprays all sway on the spindrift. Illumined by refulgent Luna, to snow they bear a close resemblance And, thus, obstruct the view to identify the whereabouts of fisherman’s residence. （黄龙 译）...

Xu Wei-徐渭 桃叶渡三首 徐渭 一 书中见桃叶，相忆如不死。 今过桃叶渡，但见一条水。 二 忆渡桃叶时，绿杨娇粉面。 丈水五石泥，好影照不见。 三 忆渡桃叶时，徘徊影自顾。 丈水五石泥，钗落在何处？ Peach Leaf Ferry Hsu Wei I In a book seeing peach leaves I thought of you sadly as if you hadn’t died. Crossing now at Peach Leaf Ferry I see only the river. II Sad at Peach Leaf Ferry for the green willows graceful, delicate. Ten feet of water, five gallons of mud, and their lovely reflections can’t be seen. III Sad at Peach Leaf Ferry confused reflections of her face. Ten feet of water five gallons of mud and her hairpin’s fallen where? （James Cryer 译）...

Xu Wei-徐渭 鱼蟹 徐渭 夜窗宾主话，秋辅鳙鱼肥。 配饮无钱买，思将换画归。 Crabs Hsu Wei Night at the window talking. Fall River crabs So plump they deserve a little drink. Think I’ll go swap a painting. （James Cryer 译）...

Xu Wei-徐渭 云门寺题画梅 徐渭 浮桥流水雪潺潺，客子来游二月阑。 蓓蕾已青酸满树，梅花只就画中看。 Cloud Gate Temple/Painting Plum Trees Hsu Wei Floating bridge water flowing the snow spits as I wander late in March the buds now green in trees awash with coldness, but the only plum blossoms to be seen are in my painting. （James Cryer 译）...

画竹 徐渭 东吴药绢白濛濛，况值胶矾盏内空。 烂颖扫来孤凤影，江湘细雨淡烟中。 Painting Bamboo Hsu Wei Cheap silk from Eastern Wu dull and damp, and too the pot is bare of sizing but when my brush sweeps through the shadow of a solitary phoenix here’s silken rain on the Hsiang Chiang River and pale mists. （James Cryer 译）...

虞姬 朱静庵 力尽重瞳霸气消，楚歌声里恨迢迢。 贞魂化作原头草，不逐东风入汉郊。 The Consort Yu1 Zhu Jing’an Strength exhausted, Xiang Yu lost the hegemonic light in his double-pupiled eyes. Surrounded by the singing of Southern songs, he felt endless regret. A faithful soul, she turned into grass on the battleground, Refusing to follow the east wind into Han territory. 1. Yu was the favorite consort of Xiang Yu (232-202 B.C.E.), hegemon of Chu and the arch rival of Liu Bang in the struggle for control of the empire that preceded Liu’s founding of the Han dynasty. When Xiang (who was said to have double pupils) was cornered in Gaixia, Liu had his soldiers sing Southern songs at night, leading Xiang to believe that his home territory, Chu, had joined Liu’s forces. Consort Yu committed suicide before Xiang’s defeat in the final battle the next day. （Michelle Yeh 译）...

懊侬歌·其一 绿珠 丝布涩难缝，令侬十指穿。 黄牛细犊车，游戏出孟津。 Song of Worries I The satin is so difficult to sew, That the needle pierces my fingertip. In a carriage drawn by oxen you go, Wandering to Mengjin on a trip. （汪榕培 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）...