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?

 

 

 

村晚 雷震

村晚        雷震(宋)

草滿池塘水滿陂， 山銜落日浸寒漪。  

牧童歸去橫牛背， 短笛無腔信口吹。  

A Village Night Scene            Lei Zhen (Song Poet)

The pond is teeming with grasses while water overflows at the rim,

The setting sun flushes on the mountain with its image on the chilly ripples gleams,
Homecoming cowherds on cows’ backs askew lean,
Playing their pipes out of tune but just whatever they whim.

 

和晉陵陸承相 杜審言

和晉陵陸承相          杜審言 (648-708)

獨有宦遊人，偏驚物候新；     

雲霞出海曙，梅柳渡江春。      
淑氣催黃鳥，晴光轉綠蘋；      
忽聞歌古調，歸思欲沾巾。  

Echoing a Poem of Chancellor Lu of Jinling         

Du Shenyan (648-708)

Only touring officials dispatched to all country quarters,

Are particularly sensitive to changing weathers and vistas,
Twilight dawns with the morning glows and glazes the oceans with splendour,
Plums and willows bring spring up across the River,
Orioles sing cheerfully in the warm vernal zephyr,
Bright sunlight on duckweed glitters,
Presently comes a classical music aria,
That simmers my eyes with nostalgic tears.

 

 

 

 

秋月 程顥

秋月         程顥 (1032 - 1085)

清溪流過碧山頭，   空水澄鮮一色秋。

隔斷紅塵三十里，   白雲紅葉兩悠悠。  

The Autumnal Moon        Cheng Hao (1032 - 1085)

Across the green hills the limpid spring water flows,

The hyaline autumnal tint the pouring water against the clear sky paints a perfect autumnal portrayal,
Thirty miles far away is this place from the madding world,
Here the white clouds and the red leaves I can insouciantly savour both.

 

 

立秋 劉武子

立秋     劉武子(宋)

乳鴉啼散玉屏空，   一枕新涼一扇風。  

睡起秋聲無覓處，   滿階梧葉月明中。  

The Beginning of Autumn        Liu Wuzi (Song Poet) 

After a few caws the young crows scattered leaving an empty jade panel,

At night drafts of chills come through my pillow,
Getting out of bed, the whereabouts of the autumnal whiffles there is not a clue,
Leaving paulownia leaves all over the courtyard basking in moonlight glow.

 

冬景 杜甫

冬景           杜甫 (712-770)

天時人事日相催，冬至陽生春又來。  

刺繡五紋添弱線，吹葭六管動飛灰。   
岸容待臘將舒柳，山意衝寒欲放梅。   
雲物不殊鄉國異，教兒且覆掌中杯。   

A Winter Scene         Du Fu (712-770)

Under heavenly and earthly hustle and bustle,

Ushered in is the winter solstice over the threshold,
Crashing in are the emerging yang forces with the reigning vernal forces in holds,
Imperial embroiderers have already an extra fine thread added onto the five colour silk dapple,
Reed ash from the flute in the air floats,
Waiting to bust out along the shores are the new willows,
Plum blossoms are patiently lurking in the hills to burst out amidst the scathing chills,
Seasonal changes of the scenery are more or less the same all over the world,
Being on a barrel, I could only guzzle the wine my son offers me to quell my dismals.

 

 

宮詞(其二) 林洪

宮詞(其二)     林洪 (宋)

殿上袞衣明日月， 硯中旗影動龍蛇。  

縱橫禮樂三千字， 獨對丹墀日未斜。  

A Palatial Verse (No. 2)       Lin Hong (Song Poet)

In the palace the heavenly bodies of the sun and the moon on the Emperor’s robe glitter,

On the ink stone images of the imperial banners flutter,
Consolidated in three thousand words candidates have to cover all codes of rites and musical metres,
All to be finished beneath the vermillion steps of the palace before the sun retires.

 

宮詞(其一) 林洪

宮詞(其一)     林洪(宋)

金殿當頭紫閣重， 仙人掌上玉芙蓉。  

太平天子朝元日， 五色雲車駕六龍。

A Palatial Verse (No. 1)       Lin Hong (Song Poet)

The Golden Palace is flanked by a multitude of regal purple pavilions,

The jade lotus leaf on the cactus stem rises up to the heavens,
On the first day of the new year the Emperor of the Peaceful Era holds his majesty’s audience,
The five-coloured cloud shrouded carriage arrives riding on six dragons.

 

 

冬景 劉克莊

冬景     劉克莊  (1187-1269)

晴窗早覺愛朝曦，竹外秋聲漸作威。  

命僕安排新暖閣，呼童熨貼舊寒衣。   
葉浮嫩綠酒初熟，橙切香黃蟹正肥。   
蓉菊滿園皆可羨，賞心從此莫相違。   

A Winter Scene      Liu Kezhuang (1187-1269) 

I rise at once when the first ray of sunlight comes through my casement at dawn,

The northwest autumnal gale beyond the bamboos rustling to haunt,
I ask my servants to have my new warm chamber adorned,
And the boys to have my old winter clothes ironed to be worn,
My newly brewed wine is greening naturally in time to be guzzled down,
Oranges are yellowy ripe and crabs fat and round,
A garden teeming with scented fresh chrysanthemums is everybody’s demand,
For such seasonal delights nobody would blow the chance.

三月晦日送春 賈島

三月晦日送春       賈島 (779-843)

三月正當三十日，春風別我苦吟身。  

共君今夜不須睡，未到曉鐘猶是春。 

Seeing Spring Off on the Last Day of the Third Month   

Jia Dao (779-843)

The third month has come to its day caudal,

Vernal splendour is abandoning me with my concoction throes,
Embracing the goddess of spring tonight I need not repose,
She is still with me as long as the morning bell does not toll.

 

 

三衢道中 曾紆

三衢道中        曾紆 (1073-1135)

梅子黃時日日晴，小溪泛盡卻山行。  

綠陰不減來時路，添得黃鸝四五聲。  

 

On My Way to San Qu       Zeng Yu (1073-1135)

When the plums are ripening the weather remains fine and thrills,

Coming to the end of my trip in a boat along the rill I take to the land up the hills,
The path, teeming with dense foliage, is laid open to shade awill,
What’s more enthralling is that orioles twittering on my heels.

題壁 無名氏

題壁   無名氏

一團茅草亂蓬蓬，驀地燒天驀地空。  

爭似滿爐煨榾柮，漫騰騰地煖烘烘。  

A Poem Written on the Wall        Anonymous

What a messy reed bundle,

Presently it burns ablaze and soon into ash it turns as the fire quells,
If old tree roots are used the warm will be sustainable,
Hence a long day of warm will be within one’s hold.