江南逢李龜年 杜甫

江南逢李龜年      杜甫(712-770)

歧王宅裏尋常見，崔九堂前幾度聞。

正是江南好風景，落花時節又逢君。

Falling across Li Guinian in the south       Du Fu (712-770)

In the house of Prince Qi we often fell across,

The times I heard you perform in the hall of Cui Di were limited after all,

Right now the scenery south of the River just enthrals,
We meet again right at a time when our pneuma flowers and the reigning blossom of the era fall.

 

 

暮春即事 葉采

暮春即事      葉采(宋)

雙雙瓦雀行書案，點點楊花入硯池。

閒坐小窗讀周易，不知春去幾多時。

A snapshot in late spring       Ye Cai ( Song Poet )

Pairs of sparrows from the tiled roof come down walking on my desk,

Blown into my ink stone willow down is arrested,
Beside the little casement I sit reading the Book of Change in quiet recess,

Oblivious of how long spring has made herself scarce.

泊秦淮 杜牧

泊秦淮      杜牧(803-852)

煙籠寒水月籠沙，夜泊秦淮近酒家。

商女不知亡國恨，隔江猶唱《後庭花》。

Taking berth at Qin Huai           Du Mu (803-852)

The chilly river waters are enshrouded in the mists while the sands in clear moonlight,
My boat moors at Qin Huai near a wine house for the night,
The song girls, oblivious of the humiliation of a sovereign forfeiting his rights,
Over the river bank they still sing debauched songs of the old days reflecting on the debauchery nature of the fallen kingdom’s plights.

遣悲懷 元稹

遣悲懷      元稹(779-831)

昔日戲言身後事，今朝都到眼前來。

衣裳已施行看盡，針線猶存未忍開。

尚思舊情憐婢僕，也曾因夢送錢財。

誠知此恨人人有，貧賤夫妻百事哀。

Unpenning my griefs         Yuan Zhen (779-831)

We used to banter what would happen when we die,
Today they have actually happened before my eyes,
All given away are the clothes you left behind,
Your sewing box is left intact for memory of you and just put aside,
Your maids have been well taken care of with you in mind,
To allay the gnawing pain on seeing you in my dreams burning offerings to you I rely,
I reckon everyone has to go through these pangs of trials,
For couples scrapping a living what else do they have other than a lachrymose life.

 

採桑子 歐陽修

採桑子      歐陽修 (1007-1072)

群芳過後西湖好，狼藉殘紅。

飛絮濛濛。垂柳闌干盡日風。
笙歌散盡遊人去，始覺春空。
垂下簾櫳。雙燕歸來細雨中。

Cai Sang Zi         Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072)

The West Lake remains as picturesque as ever despite all blossoms have faded,

Fallen petals are messy all over the place,
Willow down drizzles like haze,
Weeping willows flutter in the breeze over the parapets throughout the day,
Travelers have gone with sounds of music and songs die away,
Here good-bye I hear spring say,
I see swallows coming home in pairs amidst the drizzles through the dropped portieres.

 .

 

茅簷 書湖陰先生壁 王安石

茅簷書湖陰先生壁       王安石 (1021-1086)

茅簷常掃淨無苔，花木成蹊手自栽。

一水護田將綠繞，兩山排闥送青來。

Thatched Eaves Written on Mr. Lake-shade’s wall   Wang Anshi (1021-1086)

Frequently swept, no trace of moss is seen under the thatched eaves of his home,

The path leading to it is strewn with flowers and trees he planted on his own,
A stream cuddles the fields and offers a delightful verdant spectacle,
Gates of the house open to two green hills bringing all the verdure one hankers most.

下江陵 李白

下江陵      李白(701-762)

朝辭白帝彩雲間，千里江陵一日還。

兩岸猿聲啼不住，輕舟已過萬重山。

Going Down to Jiangling       Li Bai (701-762)

I took leave of Baidi city amidst rainbow clouds in the morn,
And arrived at Jiangling a thousand miles away later the same day thereon,
Meanwhile apes on both banks of the river have never stopped to mourn,
My light boat has already easily passed thousands of mountains all along.

小重山 岳飛

小重山      岳飛 (1103-1141)

昨夜寒蛩不住鳴。
驚回千里夢，已三更。
起來獨自繞階行。
人悄悄，簾外月朧明。
白首為功名。
舊山松竹老，阻歸程。
欲將心事付瑤琴。
知音少，弦斷有誰聽？

Xiao Chong Shan            Yue Fei (1103-1141)

Last night autumn crickets chirred incessantly till break of day,
Startling me from my dream in which I was a thousand miles away,
The night was only midway.
Getting out of bed, alone around the courtyard I paced,
In quiet solitude, outside the portieres of the window case,
The moon glimmered amidst the haze;
I’ve striven for success and renown all my life till my hair turns grey,
So strong and thick are the old pines and bamboos by the old mountain trails that hamper my home way,
I wish through the zither my bosom secrets to convey,
But how many people know what the zither plays,
No matter how hard I play it, even breaking its strings in disarray,
Who would understand what I wish to say?

 

送別 王維

送別         王維(701-761)

下馬飲君酒，問君何所之。
君言不得意，歸臥南山陲。
但去莫復問，白雲無盡時。

Bidding a friend farewell     Wang Wei (701-761)

We dismount our horses to bid each other farewell with a drink,

I enquire where you are heading,
You say you are not faring as well as you’d think,
Back to the slopes of Mt Zhongnan you are retiring;
So please fare forth, don’t let me keep you with my asking,
Our friendship will, as the white clouds, be everlasting.

 

 

 

 

醉花陰 李清照

醉花陰     李清照(1084-1151)

薄霧濃雲愁永晝，瑞腦銷金獸。

佳節又重陽，玉枕紗櫥，半夜涼初透。
東籬把酒黃昏後，有暗香盈袖。
莫道不銷魂，簾捲西風，人比黃花瘦!

Zui Hua Yin          Li Qingzhao (1084-1151)

Shrouded in incense smoke, glum seizes my day,
The camphol incense burns out, leaving only the censer with animate gold-inlaid,
Double-Yang Festival is again on its way,
Through my pillow and the gauze curtain midnight chills invade,
Drinking by the east fence of my chrysanthemum garden in the evening haze,
From my sleeves whiffs of fragrance emanate,
Bruising! Wouldn’t you say?
The west wind curling up the portiere,
A human figure frailer than the yellow flower is betrayed.

歸園田居五首(其三) 陶淵明

歸園田居五首(其三)      陶淵明(365-427)

種豆南山下，草盛豆苗稀。
侵晨理荒穢，帶月荷鋤歸。
道狹草木長，夕露沾我衣。
衣沾不足惜，但使願無違。

Retreating to a rustic life (Poem No. 3)     
Tao Yuanming (365-427)

I grow beans on the South Mountain terrace,

Bean sprouts become scarce while ill weeds grow apace,
Every morning I rise to weed and till my fields amidst dawn haze,
Go home bearing on my shoulder the hoe and the moonrays,
Along the narrow path dense tall grasses rage,
Evening dews always wet my clothes through them I make way,
Wetting my clothes does not get me frustrated,
As long as I can adhere to the choice of simple life I’ve made.

無題(三) 李商隱

無題(三)      李商隱 (813-858)

來是空言去絶蹤，月斜樓上五更鐘。

夢為遠別啼難喚，書被催成墨未濃。

蠟照半籠金翡翠，麝熏微度繡芙蓉。

劉郎已恨蓬山遠，更隔蓬山一萬重！

Untitled (3)              Li Shangyin  (813-858)

She comes amidst a pack of empty pledges, and leaves with no traces to find,
A slant of moonlight sheds on the high tower when the bell peals out five,
In my dreams, she wouldn’t care to stay even if I whine,
Agog to write her a letter, my ink is always yet to grind,
The gold halcyon half-lit by the candle is now what abides,
With the musk fumigated lotus upholstery over my bedside,
Even the romantic Liu Chen of Han resented the remoteness of Pengshan,
She is now even countless Pengshans behind.

 

 

贈汪倫 李白

贈汪倫       李白(701- 762)

李白乘舟將欲行，忽聞岸上踏歌聲。   桃花潭水深千尺，不及汪倫送我情。   To Wang Lun              Li Bai (701- 762)   Li Bai is setting off in his boat, Presently he hears someone come singing on his approach, One thousand feet of water the Peach Blossom Pond holds, But none as deep as Wang Lun’s affection for me as he comes to see me go.

秋夜曲 王維

秋夜曲      王維 (701-761)

桂魄初生秋露微，輕羅己薄未更衣。
銀箏夜久殷勤弄，心怯空房不忍歸。

A song in an autumn night     Wang Wei (701-761)

Autumnal dew is scarce when the moon first appears,
Yet to change my clothes I find it a bit cold for my silk garment to bear,
Deep in the night, still keenly playing my silver zither,
I detest the solitude of an empty bower to which I dread to retire.

蝶戀花 柳永

蝶戀花      柳永 (宋)

佇倚危樓風細細，望極春愁，黯黯生天際。

草色煙光殘照裏，無言誰會憑欄意。
擬把疏狂圖一醉，對酒當歌，強樂還無味。
衣帶漸寬終不悔，為伊消得人憔悴。

Die Lian Hua                       Liu Yong (Song Poet)

The zephyry zephyr shrouds me as I stand alone on the high tower,
I look to the farmost sky, a spate of spring melancholy in me ruefully surges,
Amidst the flush of the setting sun, I hold my jaws and lean on the baluster,
Surrounded by twilight mists and vernal verdure,
Who could guess at my mind up here;
I tend to get myself drunk with abandon losing all bothers,
I chant aloud with wine in laughter,
But it’s tasteless to enjoy myself without boon partners;
Though I find my clothes grow looser and looser,
Languishing pining away for her I’ll never deplore.

 

湖上初雨 蘇軾

湖上初雨      蘇軾 (1037-1101)

水光瀲灩晴偏好，山色空濛雨亦奇。

欲把西湖比西子，濃妝淡抹總相宜。

First Rain on the West Lake      Su Shi (1037-1101)

The colours and glamour of her waters are particular on a fine day,
But the diaphanous looks of her mountains against a misty sky make her peculiarly unique in the mizzly haze,
Comparing the West Lake to the Beauty Xishi,
Whatever make-up makes her day.

出塞 王之渙

出塞      王之渙 (688-742)

黃河遠上白雲間，一片孤城萬仞山。
羌笛何須怨楊柳，春風不度玉門關。

Outside the Borders          Wang Zhihuan (688-742)

Up reaching amidst the white clouds the Yellow River has flown,
On the thousand-foot mountain a solitary city wall stands on its own,
Tunes from the Qiang flute keep vainly bemoaning out there no willows are grown,
A shame here beyond the Jade Gate Pass vernal breezes could never have blown.

 

赤壁 杜牧

赤壁      杜牧(803-852)

折戟沉沙鐵未銷，自將磨洗認前朝。

東風不與周郎便，銅雀春深鎖二喬。

The Red Cliff                     Du Mu (803-852)

Long sunken deep into the sand, the broken iron spear has not yet rotten away,
Having it dug out and restored reveals stories of the kingdoms of the old days,
Had the east wind not gone Zhou Yu’s way,
The devastating beauty of the Qiao sisters would have been dismally locked away in the Tower of the Bronze Sparrow Cage.

 

 

題屏 劉季孫

題屏      劉季孫(1033-1092)

呢喃燕子語梁間，底事來驚夢裡閒。

說與旁人渾不解，杖藜攜酒看芝山。

A poem written on the screen      Liu Jisun (1033-1092)

Swallows twitter amidst the beams,

For what are they trying to start me from my leisure dreams?
Man can never make of what bird talks mean,
Awakened, with my cane and wine I go contemplating the Mount Zhi scene.