郡齋雨中與諸文士燕集 韋應物

郡齋雨中與諸文士燕集     韋應物(737-792)

兵衛森畫戟，燕寢凝清香。海上風雨至，逍遙池閣涼。

煩痾近消散，嘉賓复滿堂。自慚居處崇，未睹斯民康。

理會是非遣，性達形跡忘。鮮肥屬時禁，蔬果幸見嘗。

俯飲一杯酒，仰聆金玉章。神歡体自輕，意欲凌風翔。

吳中盛文史，群彥今汪洋。方知大藩地，豈曰財賦強。

A Gathering With Literati in the County Office Amidst the Rain                  Wei Yingwu (737-792)

Like spears the guards stand in solemn files,

In the rest chambers whiffs of fragrance veil,
From the sea rain comes with the gale,
Bringing drafts of pleasant cool over the chambers and pools,
Amidst insouciance fading away are my glums and dismals,
Laterati have now in this grand hall assembled,
I am ashamed to have become an exalted official,
Detached from people’s woe and weal,
As long as I understand the basic principle I’ll not fall foul of immoral and disgraceful,
I must remain as sanguine as usual in what way I care for the people is not unchangeable,
Fresh fish and succulent meat are all forbidden by court rule,
But we still have fruits and vegetables,
Taking the wine in a guzzle,
And relish their poems teeming with jades and pearls,
Feeling relaxed and convivial I take on a buoyant soul,
How much I’d like to soar high with the gale,
Literature has been prevailing in the land of Wu from of old,
Here all these literary gentlemen have assembled,
Evinces why this place is so highly exalted,
Apart from being only affluent and loaded.

放言 白居易

放言      白居易(772-846)
贈君一法決狐疑，不用鑽龜與祝蓍，
試玉要燒三日滿，辨材須待七年期，
周公恐懼留言日，玉莽謙恭未篡時，
向使當初身便死，一生真偽有誰知？

My Contemptuous Remarks        Bai Juyi (772-846)

To solve your doubts try my elixir,

With that you can dispose of both the turtle and the diviner,
To test a piece of jade you need to burn it for three days entire,
To tell the timber you have to wait at least seven full years,
When the Duke of Zhou was vexed by aspersions and slanders,
And Wang Mang of Han feigned humility when his ambitions to usurp the throne were still undiscovered,
If they died right then and there,
Who will ever know if they were genuinely men of integrity thereafter.

賊退示官吏 元結

賊退示官吏     元結(719-772)

昔歲逢太平，山林二十年。泉源在庭戶，洞壑當門前。

井稅有常期，日晏猶得眠。忽然遭世變，數歲親戎旃。

今來典斯郡，山夷又紛然。城小賊不屠，人貧傷可怜。

是以陷鄰境，此州獨見全。使臣將王命，豈不如賊焉。

令彼征斂者，迫之如火煎。誰能絕人命，以作時世賢。

思欲委符節，引竿自刺船。將家就魚麥，歸老江湖邊。

To the Officials after the Marauders Retreated      
Yuan Jie (719-772)

In the past years when life was safe and peaceful,

For twenty years in the woods I used to nestle,

The font of the spring came to my courtyard well,

To the fore of my door was the mountain vale,

There was a fixed time for duties to settle,

Plagued by no worries every night I slept till the sun highly rose,

Presently things turn evil,

These years serving in the army has been my role,

This county I am assigned to keep hold,

Marauders from the mountain keep making trouble,

Slaughters are spared for this place as it’s not sizeable,

It is destitute and poor are the people,

Neighbouring places are all plundered and despoiled,

Only this county stands safe and spared the troubles,

Officials guarding this place are on the court’s devoir,

Compared with the marauders they are even more detestable,

Keep pressing for duties like putting people on fire grill,

Is there any one to have them out bailed,

Tiding them over like a hero to be hailed,

How much I’d like to relinquish my court tally once and for all,

Poling my boat,

Go anywhere teeming with fish and malt,

End my life at wheresoever end of the world. 

子夜秋歌 李白

子夜秋歌     李白(701- 762)

長安一片月，萬戶搗衣聲。

秋風吹不盡，總是玉關情。

何日平胡虜，良人罷遠征。

An Autumnal Song by the Girl Singer Zi Ye       Li Bai (701- 762)

Over Chang’an the bright moon dangles,

From myriad households come laundry hustle and bustle,

They keep thumping amidst the incessant autumnal gale,

Their minds have been by the Jade Gate Pass taken toll,

When will the barbarian invasions be quelled,

And let their husbands return from the expeditionary battles.

春泛若耶溪 綦毋潛

春泛若耶溪             綦毋潛 (692-749)

幽意無斷絕，此去隨所偶。

晚風吹行舟，花路入溪口。

際夜轉西壑，隔山望南斗。

潭煙飛溶溶，林月低向後。

生事且彌漫，愿為持竿叟。

Cruising on the Ruo Ye Stream in Spring      
Qi Wuqian (692-749)

I know no end to my pursuit for peaceful insouciance tranquil,

I’ll be happy this cruise takes me to whatever pale,

On my boat the night wind blows,

Turning into the stream along the flowers enshrouded trail,

As night falls my boat turns into the west dell,

Behind the mountain I can see the stars of the South Pole,

In thick brume splash the drizzly spluttering splutters from the pool,

The moonlight sheds low behind the weald,

The vicissitudes of life is infinite and incalculable,

I’d rather be the man who poles the boat.

江樓晚眺 白居易

江楼晚眺         白居易 (772-846)

江樓晚眺，景物鮮奇，吟玩成篇，寄水部張員外 。

淡淡煙疏雨間斜陽，江色鮮明海氣涼。

蜃散云收破楼阁^⑷ 蜃散雲收破樓閣，虹殘水照斷橋粱。

风翻白浪花千片^⑹ ，雁点青天字一行^⑺風翻白浪花千片，雁點青天字一行。

好著丹青图画取^⑻ ，题诗寄与水曹郎^⑼ 。好著丹青圖畫取，題詩寄與水曹郎。 ^[1]

Espying from the River Tower at Dusk     Bai Juyi (772-846)

Espying from the river tower at dusk, the scenery is a ravishing peculiar novelty. Hence I’ve concocted a poem on this and presented to Councilor Zhang of the Water Works Department. 

The setting sun flushes through the misty haze and mizzles,

The river looks briskly clear and bathes in drafts of cool,
Mirage towers and pavilions collapse as cloudscape melts,
Leaving on the water surface the image of a broken bridge of rainbow,
Thousands of white billowy petals are hurled up by the gale,
A line of characters are dotted across the azure sky by the wild geese file,
Having this painted in a portrayal,
On Councilor Zhang of the Water Works this poem I bestow.

 

寒食雨二首 (其二) 蘇軾

寒食雨二首 (其二)         蘇軾(1037-1101)

春江欲入戶，雨勢來不已。小屋如漁止，濛濛水雲裏。

空庖煮寒菜，破灶燒濕葦。那知是寒食？但見烏銜紙。
君門深九重，墳墓在萬里。也擬哭途窮，死灰吹不起。　

Rain On the Cold Meals Festival (Poem No. 2)       

Su Shi (1037-1101)

The tides of the spring river highly swell,

Deluging my little hut it bodes ill,
It keeps pouring without the slightest lull,
My hut turns into a little fishing boat,
So I live amidst deluge and misty mizzles,
My empty kitchen has nothing left but only leftover dishes cold,
And only wet reeds stuck in my stove,
This is definitely not the usual Cold Meal Festival teeming with splendors vernal,
I can only see crows with paper scraps hovering over,
His Majesty lives behind doors ninefold,

My family’s graves are thousands and thousands miles to go,

How much I’d like to drive my carriage to the end of roads,
And cry all my heart out to free myself from my pent up sorrows,
But my heart is already dead embers and there is no way to rekindle.

 

寒食雨二首 (其一) 蘇軾

寒食雨二首 (其一)       蘇軾(1037-1101)

自我來黃州，已過三寒食。年年欲惜春，春去不容惜。

今年又苦雨，兩月秋蕭瑟。臥聞海棠花，泥汙燕脂雪。
暗中偷負去，夜半真有力。何殊病少年，病起須已白。

Rain On the Cold Meals Festival (Poem No. 1)       
Su Shi (1037-1101)

Since in Huang Zhou I settled,

I’ve seen three Cold Meals Festivals,
Every year I’d wish spring could stay longer at this while,
But spring sped past as usual,
This year a deluge of rain doubles the dole,
These two months everything rattles and shrivels in the untimely early autumnal gale,
In my dream I’ve heard the crab blossom blows
Battered and felled by the rain and their rouge petals muddled,
Is there really a giant as Master Zhuang says who’d whizz you away in the night when nobody knows,
Time flies just like an ailing juvenile
Rousing from his ailing bed to find his hair grizzle.

 

宿湖中 白居易

宿湖中     白居易(772-846)
水天向晚碧沉沉， 樹影霞光重疊深。
浸月冷波千頃練， 苞霜新橘萬株金。

幸無案牘何妨醉， 縱有笙歌吟不休。
十隻畫船何處宿？ 洞庭山腳太湖心。

Putting Up in the Midst of Lake Tai      Bai Juyi (772-846)

Gloomily gloomy dark green the heavens and waters are tinged towards the vesper,

Tree shadows overlaying on the sun’s afterglow ply the scene with much gloomier layers,
The glittering silver moonlight pave the combers with thousands and thousands acres of white silk fibre,
Frost wrought new tangerines dangle from trees glittering like myriad golden lavalieres,
Not bogged down by official devoirs, I may as well drink to my till whatsoever,
With incessant enchanting music around me, I’ve not stopped concocting new verses,
Where should these ten ornate punters put up for the vesper?
Where else but the midst of Lake Tai beneath Mt. Dong Ting the best moor.

 

 

宿業師山房待丁大不至 孟浩然

宿業師山房待丁大不至    孟浩然 (689-740)

夕陽度西嶺，群壑倏已暝。

松月生夜涼，風泉滿清聽。
樵人歸盡欲，煙鳥栖初定。
之子期宿來，孤琴候蘿徑。

At My Mentor’s Hillside Lodging Waiting For Ding Dai Who Has Not Turned Up                               Meng Haoran (689-740)
Over the west mountain range the sun goes,
Presently the hills and ravines turn gloomily dismal,
Moonlight over the pines brings drifts of night cool,
Spring splutters borne on the breeze have my ears pleasantly thrilled,
Woodcutters are all returning from the hills,
Coming back amidst the mists are the birds to their nestles,
My friend is supposed to join me here for the night to repose,
Solitarily I play my zither waiting for him on the creeper strewn trail.

初發揚子寄元大校書 韋應物

初發揚子寄元大校書          韋應物(737-792)

凄凄去親愛，泛泛入煙霧。

歸棹洛陽人，殘鐘廣陵樹。

今朝為此別，何處還相遇。

世事波上舟，沿洄安得住。

To Grand Editor Yuan While Setting Out From the

Great River                        Wei Yingwu (737-792)

Dolorously dolorously I bid my beloved friend farewell,

Lightly lightly into the brume my boat floats,

Back to my homeland Luoyang henceforth I go,

From the woods in Guangling come the fading bell tolls,

Today here we see each other off for the road,

Can we ever again come across at all,

World affairs are just like a boat drifting on the billows,

Who can ever stop the currents rove?

與高適薛據登慈恩寺浮圖 岑參

與高適薛據登慈恩寺浮圖      岑參(715-770)

塔勢如湧出，孤高聳天宮。登臨出世界，蹬道盤虛空。

突兀壓神州，崢嶸如鬼工。四角礙白日，七層摩蒼穹。

下窺指高鳥，俯聽聞驚風。連山若波濤，奔湊如朝東。

青槐夾馳道，宮館何玲瓏。秋色從西來，蒼然滿關中。

五陵北原上，萬古青濛濛。淨理了可悟，勝因夙所宗。

誓將挂冠去，覺道資無窮。

Mounting the Pagoda of Buddhistic Benevolence Temple
with Gao Shi and Xue Ju
Cen Shen (715-770)
As towering as a sparging fountain the Pagoda elevates,
High into the Heavens solitarily it jets its way,
On it out of this world one seems to stray,
Its steps wind into the void Space,
To its precipitiousness the whole of our motherland prostrates,
Its overwhelming height is the craftsmanship of the wraiths,
Eaves on its four corners keep out the sunrays,
On top of its seventh floor the welkin one can caress,
Looking down one can point to the birds soaring high and gay,
One can also listen to the wind rave,
Mountains undulating as billows wave,
To the east they all rove and rage,
Pagoda trees flank the boulevards all the way,
Exquisitely crafted are the pavilions and palaces,
From the west autumnal tints pervade,
On the environs around the Capital a gloomy dark green prevails,
On the northern plateau where the Five Imperial Tombs of Han are located,
A diaphanous viridity forever verdantly verdantly veils,
Up here the Buddhistic Tenet of cleanliness and ridding all cumbers into me more deeply and deeply penetrates,
On this my principle of life always bases,
From now on all official devoirs I’ll waive,
Up into seclusion I’ve decided to lay,
Freeing myself from all earthly cumbers from this time and day.

夏日南亭懷辛大 孟浩然

夏日南亭懷辛大     孟浩然(689-740)

山光忽西落，池月漸東上。散髮乘夕涼，開軒臥閒敞。

荷風送香氣，竹露滴清響。欲取鳴琴彈，恨無知音賞。

感此懷故人，中宵勞夢想。

Thinking of Xin Dai in the South Pavilion in Summer  
Meng Haoran (689-740)

Presently the glow amidst the mountains away to the west fades,

From the east moonlight in the pond slowly raises,

Letting down my hair I relish the cool towards fall of day,

By the open casements of my study insouciantly I laze,

Amidst the zephyr whiffs of lotus blossoms wave,

Dripping dews from bamboos coming in clear splutters all the way,

How much I’d like to get my zither and play,

But what a great shame no one knows what the zither conveys,

For this my old friend I desiderate,

So much so that seeing him in my midnight dreams I should crave.

 

渭川田家 王維

渭川田家     王維(701-761)

斜光照墟落，窮巷牛羊歸。

野老念牧童，倚杖候荊扉。
雉雊麥苗秀，蚕眠桑葉稀。
田夫荷鋤至，相見語依依。
即此羡閒逸，悵然吟式微。

Farming Households in River Wei         Wang Wei (701-761)

On the village the setting sun flushes its slanting rays,

Returning to the destitute alley are the cows and sheep from the field where they graze,
Idling old rustic gaffers are longing to see the shepherds and cowherds returning for the day,
On their canes by their wicker doors they wait,
Pheasants are crowing away amidst malts fully aged,
Silkworms lie dormant as mulberry leaves become scanty day by day,
Farmers come in with their hoes to meet here after all their travail,
Cozily cozily they coze till end of the day
Such leisurely pleasure has won my genuine praise,
I keep chanting the poem Shi Wei from the Book of Songs in dismay.

西施詠 王維

西施詠    王維(701-761)

艷色天下重，西施宁久微。朝為越溪女，暮作吳宮妃。

賤日豈殊眾，貴來方悟稀。邀人傅粉粉，不自著羅衣。

君寵益嬌態，君怜無是非。當時浣紗伴，莫得同車歸。

持謝鄰家子，效顰安可希。

The Beauty Xi Shi         Wang Wei (701-761)

Devastating ravishing looks is the adoration of the whole world,

A woman as beautiful as Xi Shi will never remain in obscurity all her life whole,
In the morning she is only a Yue laundry girl,
At dusk she is already King Wu’s concubine regal,
When she is still obscure she is just an ordinary girl
When she becomes a lady noble, people come to know she is singularly special,
Sprucing herself up by maids avail,
And clothing her with her apparel,
She becomes more and more conceited as she is being spoiled,
The king’s doting blinds him from good and evil,
Her former laundry maids are not to ride in the same carriage with her to recoil,
Different looks warrant different approvals,
She goes telling her neighbouring girls,
It’s no use mimicking my frowning at all.

 

秋登蘭山寄張五 孟浩然

秋登蘭山寄張五    孟浩然(689-740)

北山白云里，隱者自怡悅。相望始登高，心隨雁飛滅。

愁因薄暮起，興是清秋發。時見歸村人，沙行渡頭歇。

天邊樹若薺，江畔洲如月。何當載酒來，共醉重陽節。

To Zhang Wu While Mounting the Orchid Mountain in
Autumn                        Meng Haoran (689-740)

On the mountain rising into the white clouds the northern peak I behold,
This is exactly where a recluse like you in insouciant pleasure dwell,
Thinking of you I climb up here hopefully to find you within my eyeful,
My heart flies with the wild geese over and vanishes into where you lay up in recluse,
Melancholy surges in me as dusk grows,
But my gadding pleasure comes at early fall,
Up here I can see villagers recoil,
On the sand they stroll,
By the jetty they lull,
On the mountain the distant trees seem like wild vegetables,
And the ait by the river looks like a moon on a small scale,
Some day we must bring wine over as well,
Drink here to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival.