感遇四首(四) 張九齡

感遇四首(四)     張九齡 (678-740)

江南有丹橘，經冬猶綠林。
豈伊地氣暖，自有歲寒心。
可以薦嘉客，奈何阻重深。
運命惟所遇，循環不可尋。
徒言樹桃李，此木豈無陰。

On one’s fare (Poem No. 4)           Zhang Jiuling (678-740)

South of the Great River there is a tree called the red tangerine,

Even after the bitter winter it maintains its green,
Is it for the warmth of the land that it survives the scathing winds?
Or it has the ability to withstand the extreme;
It can be offered to the noblesse supreme,
If not for the wicked ones’ ulterior schemes,
Fortune is not what can be foreseen,
It comes and goes at its own whims,
People who just love planting plums and peaches,
Do not know what they have lost therein.