清明 黃庭堅

清明       黃庭堅(1045-1105)

佳節清明桃李笑，野田荒塚只生愁。  

雷驚天地龍蛇蟄，雨足郊原草木柔。  
人乞祭餘驕妾婦，士甘焚死不公侯。  
賢愚千載知誰是，滿眼蓬蒿共一坵。  

The Ching Ming Festival          Huang Tingjian(1045-1105)

In Ching Ming peach and apricot blossoms beam with glamour,

Only the deserted graves in the wilds sulk in despair,
Hibernating creatures awake on the vernal thunders,
Drenching rains keep the country flush with floral verdure,
There are people as the dolt of Chi who flaunts his satiety in front of his wife and concubines after begging for food and wine from the well-off grave sweepers,
There are also people as sagacious as Jie Zhitui who would rather let himself be burnt to ashes than serving the contemptible rulers,
Who can tell the sage from the dolt a thousand years after,
They are just the same the sod under.