Summer Day in a Southern Pavilion Thinking of Xin Da
夏日南亭怀辛大
山 光 忽 西 落
池 月 渐 东 上。
散 发 乘 夕 凉
开 轩 卧 闲 敞。
荷 风 送 香 气
竹 露 滴 清 响。
欲 取 鸣 琴 弹
恨 无 知 音 赏。
感 此 怀 故 人
中 宵 劳 梦 想 。
Xia Ri Nan Ting Huai Xin Da
Shan guang hu xi luo
Chi yue jian dong shang.
San fa cheng xi liang
Kai xuan wo xian chang.
He feng song xiang qi
Zhu lu di qing xiang.
Yu qu ming qin tan
Hen wu zhi yin shang.
Gan ci huai gu ren
Zhong xiao lao meng xiang.
Summer Day in a Southern Pavilion Thinking of Xin Da
Sunset afterglow suddenly leaves the west
Step by step, moon rises on the eastern pond.
Cool sunset, hair falls down loose and free
Open windows, lie down in the leisure room.
Wind sends the sweet fragrance of lotus
Echoes of clear dew drops fall off the bamboo.
Want to find my qin to play and sing
Too bad no one here to enjoy these words together.
Can feel the hearts-minds of old friends
Middle of the night, difficult to find them in a dream.
Notes:
Xin Da: a hometown friend
The sweet fragrance of lotus: A flower of the summertime and symbolic of the Buddha.
Qin: a multi-stringed musical instrument played in China from ancient times. Nowadays it is called a guqin. Similar to the western zither.
Commentary:
The fifth and sixth lines of this poem are perhaps some of the most beautiful I have seen so far in Chinese, and maybe in any language. For Meng to hear the echoes of dew drops, that would take some serious silence.
