扈從登封途中作 宋之問

扈從登封途中作       宋之問(656?-712)

帳殿鬱崔嵬，仙遊實壯哉，

曉雲連幕捲，夜火雜星回。
谷暗千旗出，山鳴萬乘來，
扈遊良可賦，終乏掞天才。

Written on the Way to Dengfeng in Cortege of His Majesty

Song Zhiwen (656?-712)

On the high Mt. Song majestic palaces of brocade upholsteries spread out in salient effulgent files,

The Emperor is making a magnificent tour amidst the heavens and the celestial,
Around the tents the morning clouds unfurl,
On His way back amidst the lights stars tremble,
The myriad imperial standards flutter in the dark vales,
To greet the Emperor’s carriage even the mountains hail,
Tugging onto His Majesty’s cortege is a great honour for which a poem should be written to extol,
But I’m not the man with the best flair to make the poem excel.

 

 

臨洞庭上張丞相 孟浩然

臨洞庭上張丞相      孟浩然(689-740)

八月湖水平，涵虛混太清，  

氣蒸雲夢澤，波撼岳陽城。  
欲濟無舟楫，端居恥聖明，  
坐觀垂釣者，徒有羡魚情。  

A Poem Presented to Chancellor Zhang While Gallivanting at Lake Dongting             MengHaoran(689-740)

The eighth month flushes the lake at the flood with brimming waters,

Its diaphanous glamour merges high up with the azure ether,
Over the Cloud Pool and Dream Pool Rivers brumous vapours hover,
On the Yue Yang city wall billows batter,
With no boat I can hardly cruise on the lake waters,
I would have eclipsed His Majesty’s sageship if I still idle in retire,
It’s futile idling to admire the angler,
Catching the fish with one’s own hands one should hanker.

 

 

秋登宣城謝朓北樓 李白

秋登宣城謝朓北樓         李白(701-762)

江城如畫裏，山曉望晴空，

兩水夾明鏡，雙橋落彩虹。
人煙寒橘柚，秋色老梧桐，
誰念北樓上，臨風懷謝公。

Mounting the North Xie Tiao Tower in Xuan City in Autumn

Li Bai (701-762)

As picturesque as a painting is the Xuan City by the river,

Right before my eyes the dainty mountain stands graciously against the hyaline ether,
Inlaid in a mirror are the Wan and Ju Streams beneath the tower,
The two bridges over the streams are two rainbows vis-a-vis each other,
Amidst autumnal chills, the tangerines and pomelos in the multitude of households wizened with puckers,
Autumnal tints paint deep on the divested paulownia,
Who else will climb this tower,
And pay tribute to the great Xie Tiao in the whiffling air.

 

 

幸蜀回至劍門 玄宗皇帝

幸蜀回至劍門       玄宗皇帝(685-763)

劍閣橫雲峻，鑾輿出狩回，

翠屏千仞合，丹嶂五丁開。

灌木縈旗轉，仙雲拂馬來，

乘時方在德，嗟爾勒銘才。

Passing Jian Ge Back from My Expedition to Shu

Emperor Xuan Zong of Tang (685-763)

Sticking out like swords from amidst the clouds are the precipitous Jian Ge pinnacles,

Returning on my imperial carriage from my expeditional battles,
Thousand foot verdant peaks ranges surround me like panels,
Thanks to the herculean trail blazers of old who explored through these flaming piky ranges on these forbidding high and craggy levels,
Around my imperial standards ancient bushes and shrubbery unfurl,
Puffing into my horses are clouds of diaphanous brume floats,
As an emperor one should justify himself by magnanimous benevolence to one and all,
Seeing to that I’m back safe and sound your feat will be phenomenal.

 

 

 

上高侍郎 高蟾

上高侍郎     高蟾(唐)

天上碧桃和露種，日邊紅杏倚雲栽。

芙蓉生在秋江上，不向東風怨未開。

Presented to Deputy Chancellor Gao       Gao Chan (Tang Poet)

On dews the verdant peach in heavens thrives,

By the bright sun the crimson apricot on drizzly mist flushes,
Desolately on the autumnal river the lotus rifes,
It blames not the east wind for not having its splendour like others in spring to flourish.

 

觀永樂公主入番 孫逖

觀永樂公主入番        孫逖(696-761)

邊地鶯花少，年來未覺新。

美人天上落，龍塞始應春。

On Princess Yongle Marrying Off to a Feudal State Out in the Borders                                    Sun Ti (696-761)

Orioles and blossoms are scarce in the borders,

There is no swing to vernal glamour even with the turn of the year,
Descends a devastating belle from the heavens high over
The borders are now teeming with vernal splendour.

 

獨坐敬亭山 李白

獨坐敬亭山   李白(701- 762)

眾鳥高飛盡，孤雲獨去閒。

相看兩不厭，只有敬亭山。

Sitting Solitarily at Mt. Jing Ting       Li Bai (701- 762)

Birds all highly soar,

Insouciantly the forlorn piece of cloud glides over,
Leaving me with Mt. Jing Ting solitarily to savour,
We take great pleasure in being naturally paired off as boon partners.

 

洛陽道 儲光羲

洛陽道        儲光羲(唐)

大道直如髮，春來佳氣多。

五陵貴公子，雙雙嗚玉珂。

The Luoyang Road       Chu Quangxi ( Tang Poet)

As straight as hair the boulevard sprawls,
Teeming with felicitous aura its spring enthralls,
Ride in pairs the noblesse of the Capital,
Bridle bells on their coursers resound in dingles.

 

送郭司倉 王禹偁

送郭司倉         王禹偁(954-1001)

映門淮水綠，留騎主人心。

明月隨良掾，春潮夜夜深。

Seeing Off Guo the Barn Officer           Wang Yucheng (954-1001)

The azure waters of River Huai gleam on our door,

Stalling his horse as his host and admirer,
Gone will be the bright moon with this great officer,
Leaving the spring floods of the river running deeper and deeper every vesper.

 

 

 

訪袁拾遺不遇 孟浩然

訪袁拾遺不遇        孟浩然(689-740)

洛陽訪才子，江嶺作流人。

聞說梅花早，何如此地春。

Visiting Remembrancer Yuan In Vain     
Meng Haoran (689-740)  

Hoping to visit the bard in Luoyang but to no avail,

To the Daiyu Range in Jiangxi my versatile friend has been exiled,
There spring comes early so plum blossoms blow ahead of usual,
But how can the vernal scenes there be compared to the spring of our homeland in its enchanting appeals.

 

 

望秦川 李頎

望秦川       李頎(690-751)

秦川朝望迥，日出正東峰，

遠近山河淨，逶迤城闕重。
秋聲萬戶竹，寒色五陵松，
有客歸歟歎，淒其霜露濃。

Espying Qin Chuan       Li Qi (690-751)

Qin Chuan looks very very remote amidst the morning glow,

The rising sun is right over the east pinnacle,
Landscape far and near lies brisk and tranquil,
Tortuously one after another fall in line are numerous city walls,
From the bamboos in thousands and thousands of households comes rustling autumnal gale,
Autumnal tints dye deep on the pines over the Five Tombs Imperial,
Amidst such aura farers are anguished and anxious to hit their home trail,
Their angst aggravated by the heavy dews amidst autumnal chills.

 

 

 

送鄭侍郎謫閩中 高適

送鄭侍郎謫閩中     高適(700-765)

謫去君無恨，閩中我舊過，

大都秋雁少，只是夜猿多。
東路雲山合，南天瘴癘和，
自當逢雨露，行矣順風波。

Seeing Deputy Chancellor Zheng Off on His Relegation to Central Fujian                               Gao Shi (700-765)

For your relegation harbour no rancor,

Once I was also stranded thither,
In autumn wild geese there are rare,
Only ape wails rage in the vesper,
To the east of it brumes and mountains become boon partners,
To the south it’s plagued by miasma,
With the Emperor’s grace you’ll soon be restored,
All your troubles will be gone forever.

 

宿雲門寺閣 孫逖

宿雲門寺閣      孫逖(696-761)

香閣東山下， 煙花象外幽，

懸燈千嶂夕， 卷幔五湖秋。
畫壁餘鴻雁， 紗窗宿斗牛，
更疑天路近， 夢與白雲遊。

Putting Up at the Cloud Gate Temple Chamber for the Night

Sun Ti (696-761)

Beneath the East Mountain the Chamber is nestled,

Graciously and serenely shrouded in brumes and dense foliage it’s particularly tranquil,
Under the lamplights at dusk it is thrown into relief against the countless mountain ranges and pinnacles,
Beyond rolled up curtains in the day come the Five Lakes autumnal chills,
Only wild geese are left on the faded fresco,
Through the casement stars pave a heavenly trail,
How tantalizing is such a ready path empyreal,
So in my dreams amidst the clouds I can air my heels.

 

題淮南寺 程顥

題淮南寺        程顥(1032 - 1085)

南去北來休便休， 白蘋吹盡楚江秋。  

道人不是悲秋客， 一任晚山相對愁。   

A Poem on the Huainan Temple   Cheng Hao (1032 - 1085)

Wayfarers shuttling north and south should be able here to respire,

White water-weed on the river has been by the autumnal gale swept clear,
Far from being a chronic autumnal melancholy moaner,
I sit idling in glum facing the mountain in the vesper.

 

 

 

題北謝碑 李白

題北謝碑          李白  (701- 762)

一為遷客去長沙， 西望長安不見家。  

黃鶴樓中吹玉笛， 江城五月落梅花。

 

A Poem Written on the North Plateau Stone Plate of the Yellow Crane Tower
Li Bai (701- 762)

To far-off Changsha I am relegated,

Espying from the Yellow Crane Tower trying to find the whereabouts of my home in Chang’an but to no avail,
Up here I could only play my fife in dismay,
The Falling Plum Blossoms in May is the right tune this instant of the day.

 

 

七夕 楊朴

七夕    楊朴 (宋)

未會牽牛意若何，   須邀織女弄金梭。  

年年乞與人間巧，   不道人間巧幾多。  

The Seventh Night of the Seventh Month (The Chinese Valentine’s Day)

Yang Pu (Song Poet)

What’ll be the Cowherd’s intent before their rendezvous?

Supposedly engaging the Girl Weaver to ply on her trade with her loom in use,
Every year on this day dexterity for the mankind they adjure,
How dexterous is the mankind can now be construed?

 

再遊玄都觀 劉禹錫

再遊玄都觀     劉禹錫  (772-842)

百畝庭中半是苔， 桃花淨盡菜花開。  

種桃道士歸何處， 前度劉郎今又來。  

Xuan Dou Temple Revisited        Liu Yuxi (772-842)    

Half of the hundred acre courtyard is covered with only mosses,

Peach blossoms are all gone leaving only wild flowers making the most,
What has become of the Taoist monk who first planted the peach blows,
Here returns the Liu Chen who has been exiled and demoted.

玄都觀桃花 劉禹錫

玄都觀桃花    劉禹錫  (772-842)

紫陌紅塵拂面來， 無人不道看花回。  

玄都觀裡桃千樹， 盡是劉郎去後栽。  

The Peach Blossoms of the Xuan Dou Temple    

Liu Yuxi (772-842)    

The red dust along the purple lane puff into my face,

Everybody on the way returns after having the peach blossoms to savour,
The thousand trees of peach blossoms flourishing in the temple today,
Are all planted after this Liu Chen has been alienated.

 

婕妤怨 皇甫冉

婕妤怨      皇甫冉(714-767)

花枝出建章，鳳管發昭陽。    

借問承恩者，雙蛾幾許長。    

An Imperial Concubine’s Grievance     Huangfu Ran (714-767)

Glamorous belles from the Jian Zhang Palace retire,

While tunes of the phoenix pipes from the Palace of the Glowing Sun blare,
All those who have the Emperor’s favour I wonder
Do they have a pair of eye brows longer?