金铜仙人辞汉歌并序
李贺
魏明帝青龙元年八月，诏宫官牵车，西取汉孝武捧露盘仙人，欲立致前殿。宫官既拆盘，仙人临载，乃潸然泪下。唐诸王孙李长吉遂作《金铜仙人辞汉歌》。
茂陵刘郎秋风客，夜闻马嘶晓无迹。
画栏桂树悬秋香，三十六宫土花碧。
魏官舝车指千里，东关酸风射眸子。
空将汉月出宫门，忆君清泪如铅水。
衰兰送客咸阳道，天若有情天亦老。
携盘独出月荒凉，渭城已远波声小。
Song of the Bronze Statue
Li He
In the eighth month of the first year of the Qinglong era, during the reign of Emperor Ming of Wei, the court ordered a palace officer to ride west and bring back the gilded bronze figure of an immortal holding a disc to catch dew made during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, in order to set it up in the front court. When the palace officer removed the disc and took the statue to his carriage, the bronze figure shed tears. So Li Changji, descended from a prince of the House of Tang, wrote this song.
Gone that emperor of Maoling,
Rider through the autumn wind,
Whose horse neighs at night
And has passed without trace by dawn.
The fragrance of autumn lingers still
On those cassia trees by painted galleries,
But on every palace hall the green moss grows.
As Wei’s envoy sets out to drive a thousand li
The keen wind at the East Gate stings the statue’s eyes…
From the ruined palace he brings nothing forth
But the moon-shaped disc of Han,
True to his lord, he sheds leaden tears,
And withered orchids by the Xianyang Road
See the traveler on his way.
Ah, if Heaven had a feeling heart, it too must grow old!
He bears the disc off alone
By the light of a desolate moon,
The town far behind him, muted its lapping waves.
（中国文学出版社 译）
The Song of the Bronze Immortal Statue Leaving the Former Capital (with the author’s preface)
Li He
In August of the first year in the rein of Emperor Ming of Wei Dynasty, some eunuchs were ordered to have the great Bronze Immortal Statue with a plate collecting dewdrops shifted to the new capital city of Luoyang, and set it up in front of the new palace. The statue had been built by Emperor Han Wu (156-87BC) of Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). When the plate for collecting dewdrops was taken down from the statue for transportation, the statue was said to shed tears. Li He, a prince’s descendant, sighed over it and wrote the following poem.
Could Emperor Han Wu 1 chant his Ode to Autumn Wind in his resting place?
Horses neighed at night, whereas they at dawn left no trace.
Osmanthus by the painted railings filled the air with fragrance;
Regrettable that everywhere in the former palace moss grew in luxuriance.
Now, the eunuchs were to take the bronze statue a thousand miles away;
At the east gate, the bronze statue felt sad, and wept as people would say.
Seeing him off the palace gate was the moon alone, faithful as ever;
In tears the immortal recalled the late emperor’s 2 longevity endeavor.
Along the road outside the deserted capital 3, wilted orchids seemed reluctant to part;
Heaven would pass from youth to age, had it sentiments in heart.
But the statue was too heavy to carry, only the plate moved on, in bleak moonlight;
As the roaring Weihe River 4 faded away, the former capital was out of sight.
- Emperor’s Ming of Wei Dynasty refers to Cao Rui (205-239AD), grandson of Cao Cao (155-220AD).
- The late emperor refers to Emperor Han Wu (156BC-87BC).
- The deserted capital refers to Xianyang, today’s Xi’an.
- The Weihe River is the longest branch of the Yellow River. It flows across Shanxi Province.
（卢炳群 译）
