入直 周必大

入直      周必大 (1126-1204)

綠槐夾道集昏鴉，   敕使傳宣坐賜茶。  

歸到玉堂清不寐，   月鉤初上紫薇花。  

On Duty in the Forbidden Inner City       Zhou Bida (1126-1204)

Evening crows perch on the green pagoda trees flanking the road,

Summoned to be on duty in the Forbidden Inner Palace I am granted a cup of
tea for guests regal,
Back in my office in the Imperial Academy I feel highly mettled,
So I savour the sickle moon right over the myrtles.

山居夏日 高駢

山居夏日         高駢(唐)

綠樹陰濃夏日長， 樓臺倒影入池塘。  

水晶簾動微風起， 滿架薔薇一院香。  

A Summer Day in My Hill Lodging           Gao Pian (Tang Poet)

Summer days are long amidst shades of dense foliage,

In the pond reflections of the house and pavilion are portrayed,
With the zephyr the crystal portieres wave,
Roses on the trellis have infused the garden with whiffs of fragrance.

 

 

晚樓閒坐 王安石

晚樓閒坐      王安石(1021-1086)

四顧山光接水光，憑欄十里芰荷香。  

清風明月無人管，并作南來一味涼。  

Sitting in Insouciance on the Tower in the Vesper   

Wang Anshi (1021-1086)

Looking around, splendour of the mountains and waters come to me in holds,

Leaning on the balustrade whiffs of caltrop and water lily come through ten miles of pools,
Over the bright moon and the zephyr nobody rules,
They come graciously together in drafts of cool.

 

有約 司馬光

有約       司馬光 (1019-1086)

黃梅時節家家雨，   青草池塘處處蛙。  

有約不來過夜半，   閒敲棋子落燈花。  

A Date with a Friend       Sima Guang (1019-1086) 

When the plums are ripening it keeps raining all the days,

On the green green grasses and in the ponds frogs are everywhere all over the place,
It’s already midnight my friend seems to have missed our date,
Idling I delve into different chess game plots till the candle burns away.

 

初夏睡起 楊萬里

初夏睡起     楊萬里(1127-1206)

梅子流酸濺齒牙， 芭蕉分綠上窗紗。  

日長睡起無情思， 閑看兒童捉柳花。

Awaking from My Afternoon Nap in Early Summer      

Yang Wanli (1127-1206)

The plums I‘ve had still make my teeth sour,

A salient green shadow the plantains print on my casement portiere,
Awaking from my afternoon nap I find myself in ill humour,
Watching children chasing the willow down I idle away the hours.

 

村莊即事 范成大

村莊即事    范成大 (1126-1193)

綠遍山原白滿川，   子規聲裡雨如煙。  

鄉村四月閒人少，   纔了蠶桑又插田

A Snapshot of a Village       Fan Chengdai (1126-1193)

Verdure spreads all over the mountains and meadows while river waters glowing with sparkles,
Amidst mizzles cuckoos warble,
The village in the fourth month condones no one idle,
After hustle and bustle with the silkworms in sowing and planting women help in the toil and moil.

 

烏衣巷 劉禹錫

烏衣巷         劉禹錫(772-842)

朱雀橋邊野草花，烏衣巷口夕陽斜。  

舊時王謝堂前燕，飛入尋常百姓家。  

The Black Array Alley      Liu Yuxi (772-842)

By the Vermillion Birds Bridge there teems with wild grasses and blows,

On the Black Array Alley the setting sun glows,
The swallows that used to nestle in the halls of the high and powerful,
Have now moved their nests into the ordinary households

 

 

西湖 林洪

西湖    林洪 (宋)

山外青山樓外樓，西湖歌舞幾時休。  

暖風薰得遊人醉，直把杭州作汴州。  

The West Lake          Lin Hong (Song Poet)

Mountains beyond mountains, and chambers beyond chambers,

Singing and dancing on the West Lake never need hiatus,
Travellers are intoxicated amidst the soothing zephyr,
Everybody in the court revel in the gorgeosity of Hangzhou, the new capital of the invaders,
And forget the humiliation of Bianzhou, the original capital of the fallen empire.

 

 

江樓有感 趙嘏

江樓有感    趙嘏 (806-853)

獨上江樓思悄然，月光如水水如天。  

同來玩月人何在，風景依稀似去年。  

Feelings on the River Tower     Zhao Gu (806-853)

Mounting the river tower alone my sentiments rave,

Up here the moonlight and the water merge into a glamorous glaze,
Where is the one who came here with me together by this we were ravished,
The splendour is still the same, but my old company no longer stays.

 

夜送趙縱 楊炯

夜送趙縱       楊炯  (650- ?)

趙氏連城璧，由來天下傳。    

送君還舊府，明月滿前川。

Seeing Zhao Zong Off At Night       Yang Jiong (650- ?)

The Jade of Zhao was worth a fortune of cities,

This is well known throughout history,
Here I see you off back to your place of nativity,
The moon shines on the river with its full intensity.

 

 

題袁氏別業 賀知章

題袁氏別業         賀知章 (659-744)

主人不相識，偶坐為林泉。    

莫謾愁沽酒，囊中自有錢。    

The Yuan’s Villa       He Zhizhang (659-744)

I know not the master of this villa,

Occasionally I’ll visit this place for its woods and springs I particularly savour,
If the master is kind enough to regale me with liquor,
Money is the last thing he would have to bother.

 

蜀道後期 張說

蜀道後期    張說(667-730)

客心爭日月，來往預期程。    

秋風不相待，先至洛陽城。    

Returning from Shu (Sichuan) Behind Schedule      

Zhang Yue (667-730)

Homebound wayfarers always race with the calendar,

They always set a schedule for their journey to register,
But the autumnal gale can’t wait any longer,
Riding on it you’ve arrived Luoyang a day earlier.

 

 

買花 白居易

買花        白居易(772-846)

帝城春欲暮，喧喧車馬度。共道牡丹時，相隨買花去。

貴賤無常價，酬直看花數，灼灼百朵紅，戔戔五束素。
上張幄幕庇，旁織笆籬護。水灑復泥封，移來色如故。
家家習為俗，人人迷不悟。有一田舍翁，偶來買花處。
低頭獨長嘆，此嘆無人諭：一叢深色花，十戶中人賦！

Buying Flowers      Bai Juyi (772-846)

Spring is drawing to its end in the Capital,

Horses and carriages hustle and bustle,
People are busily snapping up peonies as the custom entails,
To the flower market they throng the road,
The peonies are not priced as goods usual,
The sell at the number of blossoms countable,
A pot with over one hundred crimson blows,
Costs over twenty-five cotton cloth rolls,
Then they are put into covered hovels,
Or put behind protective rails,
Spraying with water and sealing with soil,
To protect their colour from turning pale,
Being the custom of every household,
Nobody sees this custom verges on evil,
One day comes an old man from the rural,
Sighing long and ruefully over the flower stall,
None knows for what he rues at all,
A pot of eye-catching peonies entails
Government levy of ten average households.

 

 

 

三閭廟 戴叔倫

三閭廟       戴叔倫 (732-789)

沅湘流不盡，屈子怨何深。    

日暮秋風起，蕭蕭楓樹林。    

The Temple of the Chancellor of the Three Lus        

Dai Shulun (732-789)

Incessantly flow the Yuan and Xiang Rivers,

Abyssal is Qu Yuan’s rancor,
The autumnal gale comes with the flushing sun in the vesper,
Fallen leaves rattle amid the maple timber.

自吟拙什 因有所懷 白居易

自吟拙什 因有所懷    白居易(772-846)

懶病每多暇，暇來何所為？未能拋筆硯，時作一篇詩。

詩成淡無味，多被眾人嗤。上怪落聲韻，下嫌拙言詞。
時時自吟詠，吟罷有所思。蘇州及彭澤，與我不同時。
此外復誰愛，唯有元微之。謫向江陵府，三年作判司。
相去二千里，詩成遠不知。

Poems I’ve Concocted are Awkward for My Pent Up Angst    Bai Juyi (772-846)

Insouciant and ailing most of the time I am leisured,
Occupying myself in my leisure
I embrace my brush and paper as a pleasure,
Poems are often concocted at such junctures,
Hence my poems often lack refined savoury culture,
People cast them sneering gestures,
From their rhythm measure,
To their expressions’ content and poetic tincture,
Concocting from time to time without scissure,
Afterwards I’d dwell myself on a brooding aperture,
Wei Yingwu and TaoYuanming,
I admire their poems’ romantic allure,
Who else do I associate with my poetic verve,
Yuan Zhen is the one and only one who appreciates my poem’s nature,
For three years, demoted to the office of the Jiangling prefecture,
Amid two thousand miles of disjuncture,
My poems are far beyond his reaches.

 

 

 

 

思君怨 令狐楚

思君怨     令狐楚  (766-837)

小苑鶯歌歇， 長門蝶舞多。   

眼看春又去， 翠輦不曾過。   

Looking forward to His Majesty’s Grace          

Linghu Chu (766-837)

In the little garden, faded away are the oriole’s twitters,
In the Long Gate Palace more and more butterflies are cutting capers,
Spring is soon to respire,
Patronage of His Majesty’s royal carriage is to be hankered.