Da Yu’s Shrine
禹 庙
禹 庙 空 山 里
秋 风 落 日 斜。
荒 庭 垂 橘 柚
古 屋 画 龙 蛇。
云 气 嘘 青 壁
江 声 走 白 沙。
早 知 乘 四 载
疏 凿 控 三 巴。
Yu Miao
Yu miao kong shan li
Qiu feng luo ri xie.
Huang ting chui ju you
Gu wu hua long she.
Yun qi xu qing bi
Jiang sheng zou bai sha.
Zao zhi cheng si zai
Shu zao kong san ba.
Da Yu’s Shrine
Da Yu’s shrine inside the empty mountains
Autumn winds, slanting sunset.
Uncultivated front courtyards, drooping tangerines and pomelos
unpicked
Old buildings with painted dragons and snakes.
Green cliffs exhale cloudy puffs of air
River sounds move along the white sand.
By early morning he realized the four uses of each river level
In three places he chiseled out holes to control water flows.
Notes:
Da Yu: Known as Yu the Great (c. 2200-2101 BC). Famous for introducing flood control projects, and as a founder of the Xia Dynasty.
