Go Up River As Far As Wu Chang
泝江至武昌
家 本 洞 庭 上
歲 时 歸 思 催。
客 心 徒 欲 速
江 路 苦 邅 迴。
残 凍 因 風 解
新 正 度 臘 開。
行 看 武 昌 柳
髣 髴 映 楼 臺。
Su Jiang Zhi Wu Chang
Jia ben dong ting shang
Sui shi gui si cui.
Ke xin tu yu su
Jiang lu ku zhan hui.
Can dong yin feng jie
Xin zheng du la kai.
Xing kan wu chang liu
Fan fu ying lou tai.
Go Up River As Far As Wu Chang
My hometown above Dongting Lake
End of the year, need to hurry back home.
Traveler’s heart-mind wants to quickly return
River route demands a lot of portage and tacking back and forth.
Because of the winds, end-of-winter ice breaking up
End of January thaw, new flower buds appear.
Soon I will see the willows of Wuchang
An image appears: towered terraces among these trees.
Notes:
Dongting Lake: Large lake in northeast Hunan Province. Provides flood relief for the Changjiang river and is the origin of Dragon Boat racing.
Wuchang: Now a part of the modern city of Wuhan in the province of Hubei.
