集靈台(其二) 張祜

集靈台(其二)       張祜 (785-849)

虢國夫人承主恩，
平明騎馬入宮門。
卻嫌脂粉污顏色，
淡掃峨眉朝至尊。

The Hall for Worshipping the God Mass (Poem No. 2)

Zhang Hu (785-849)

Graced by the Lord Imperial,
At daybreak the Lady of Guo rides on horseback into the palace portal,
Detesting the rouge blemishing her beauties congenital,
Before she greets His Lord Imperial she just neatly trims herself sleek and well.

.

集靈台(其一) 張祜

集靈台(其一)       張祜 (785-849)

日光斜照集靈台，

紅樹花迎曉露開。
昨夜上皇新授籙，

太真含笑入簾來。

The Hall for Worshipping the God Mass(Poem No. 1)       
Zhang Hu (785-849)

On the Hall for Worshipping the God Mass the slanting sunlight glows,

Amidst the early dews the red flowers blow,
Last night the Supreme Lord had just conferred on Lady Yang the title of Consort Imperial,
Yang the Consort Imperial comes into the portiere with a broad smile.

 

贈內人 張祜

贈內人     張祜 (785-849)
禁門宮樹月痕過，

媚眼惟看宿鷺巢。
斜拔玉釵燈影畔，

剔開紅焰救飛蛾。

To an Imperial Academy Courtesan        
Zhang Hu (785-849)

A chink of moonlight from the break of dense foliage shines through,

The roosting herons in their nests are the only scene her ravishing dainty eyes behold,
When she reclines by the lamp her jade hairpin off she pulls,
Picking at the candle flame she tries to save the fire swooping moth.

 

宮詞 白居易

宮詞     白居易 (772-846)

淚濕羅巾夢不成，

夜深前殿按歌聲。
紅顏未老恩先斷，

斜倚熏籠坐到明。

A Palatial Verse      Bai Juyi (772-846)

Even tears have her scarf soaked through sound asleep she nevertheless unable to fall,

Deep in the night from the front palace come songs harmoniously sung captivatingly rhymatical,
Before her looks fades out the Supreme Lord’s grace abruptly dwindles,
Reclining on the musk clothes drying rack till dawn she idles.

 

 

宮詞 顧況

宮詞    顧況 (727-815)
玉樓天半起笙歌，

風送宮嬪笑語和。
月殿影開聞夜漏，

水晶簾卷近秋河。

A Palatial Verse       Gu Kuang (727-815)

Enchanting music comes from the jade pavilions rising half to the heavens tall,

Amidst the breeze comes intoxicating laughters of the selected imperial court girls,
The bright moonlight floats through the dripping clock’s jingles,
Rolling up the crystal portieres one sees the approaching grace of the Lord Imperial.

 

春詞 劉禹錫

春詞   劉禹錫 (772-842)
新妝宜面下朱樓，

深鎖春光一院愁。
行到中庭數花朵，

蜻蜓飛上玉搔頭。

A Spring Verse          Liu Yuxi (772-842)

Having exquisitely made up her face she comes down from the vermilion boudoir,

Spring delights and yearnings are all locked by melancholy deep in the patio.
As she comes to the midst of the patio she starts counting the blows,
Presently a dragonfly lights on her jade hair jewel.

 

月夜 劉方平

月夜      劉方平(唐)
更深月色半人家，

北斗闌干南斗斜。
今夜偏知春氣暖，

蟲聲新透綠窗紗。

A Moonlit Night          Liu Fangping (Tang Poet)

Deep in the night the moon shines on half of the household,

The South Pole Star is drooping askew while the North Pole Star is leaning low on the rail,
Tonight the vernal zephyr turns warm and genial,
Insect chirps come seeping through the green portieres.

逢入京使 岑參

逢入京使    岑參 (715-770)

故園東望路漫漫，

雙袖龍鐘淚不乾。
馬上相逢無紙筆，

憑君傳語報平安。

Sending A Message Home in the Capital
Through Someone          Cen Shen (715-770)

Looking east my homeland is far far remote

My sleeves keep growing looser and looser and I can’t stop my tear flow,
Coming across you on horseback with no writing utensils at my disposal,
Please bring a message home that I am sound and peaceful.

 

隋宮 李商隱

隋宮     李商隱 (813-858)
紫泉宮殿鎖煙霞，欲取蕪城作帝家。
玉璽不緣歸日角，錦帆應是到天涯。
于今腐草無螢火，終古垂楊有暮鴉。
地下若逢陳後主，豈宜重問後庭花。

Sui Palaces              Li Shangyin (813-858)

The purple spring waters have the old Sui palaces occluded and encircled,

The emperor of Sui once tried to take Wu City to be his imperial abode,
Had the chosen emperor Tai Zong not been bestowed the imperial seal of rule,
The emperor of Sui would have been travelling in his grand ship of brocade sail to end of world,
Now these palaces of Sui are dilapidated strewing with rotten grasses devoid even of worm glows,
These weeping ancient willows sans crows in yore days are now teeming with evening crows,
If the emperor of Sui ever comes across the second ruler of Chen in the netherworld,
Would he care to broach on the subject of the debauched song of the times The Backyard Blows.

 

遣悲懷(其一) 元稹

遣悲懷(其一)    元稹 (779-831)
謝公最小偏憐女，自嫁黔婁百事乖。
顧我無衣搜藎篋，泥他沽酒拔金釵。
野蔬充膳甘長藿，落葉添薪仰古槐。
今日俸錢過十萬，與君營奠復營齋。

Airing My Pent Up Grief (Poem No. 1)        

Yuan Zhen (779-831)

The youngest daughter of her father my wife is his eye’s apple,

After marrying to me a man as poor as Qian Lou everything became direful,
Seeing me not adequately clad she would scour her ragged luggage to find something for me to put on,
When I needed money to buy wine I would cozen her into selling her hair jewels,
When we had nothing to eat she would collect wild vegetable and bean husks for a tasteful meal,
She always looked up to old pagoda tree for its fallen leaves as fuel,
Today my emolument is over a hundred thousand coin pieces in all,
I could only make generous offerings in libating you while paying my homage of awe,
And enlist monks to perform decent ceremony of memorials with decent vegetarian dishes to have them regaled.

 

征人怨 柳中庸

征人怨     柳中庸 (唐)
歲歲金河復玉關，

朝朝馬策與刀環。
三春白雪歸青冢，

萬里黃河繞黑山。

An Expeditionary Soldier’s Resentments        

Liu Zhongyong (Tang Poet)

Year in year out between the Gold River and the Jade Gate Pass we shuttle,

Day in day out horse whips we flail and sword roundlets we jangle,
Out in the borders spring already covers the green graves with snow,
The thousands mile long Yellow River has the Black Mountain encircled.

 

春怨 劉方平

春怨      劉方平 (唐)
紗窗日落漸黃昏，

金屋無人見淚痕。
寂寞空庭春欲晚，

梨花滿地不開門。

Spring Chagrins          Liu Fangping (Tang Poet)

The sun on the portiere fades away as night falls,

In her golden boudoir nobody has ever seen any clue of her tear trail,
In a desolate empty courtyard spring is drawing  to its close,
Her doors are still closely shut despite the courtyard is strewn with fallen pear petals.

 

插秧詩 布袋和尚

插秧詩    布袋和尚(唐)

手把青秧插滿田，
低頭便見水中天，
六根清淨方為道，

退步原來是向前。

Planting Rice Seedlings         Monk Cloth Sack (Tang)

Planting rice seedlings all over the field,
Bending yourself you see the boundless sky right in the water clear and real,
You'll appreciate the true meaning of Buddhism when you rid all scruples of your senses and feels,
By stepping backward eventually go forward you will.

 

無題(其二) 李商隱

無題(其二)     李商隱 (813-858)
颯颯東風細雨來，芙蓉塘外有輕雷。
金蟾嚙鎖燒香入，玉虎牽絲汲井回。
賈氏窺簾韓掾少，宓妃留枕魏王才。
春心莫共花爭發，一寸相思一寸灰。

Untitled (Poem No.2)            Li Shangyin (813-858)

Amidst rustling rustles of the east wind come mizzles,

Beyond the lotus pond crackles a light thunder bolt,
Through the locks wisps of smoke from the gold toads animated burner whirl round the water pails,
You’ve probably returned from drawing water from the silk hooped jade tiger trolley attached well,
The daughter of Jia Yun had a crush on his handsome young vassal,
Admiring his literary ingenuity the Naiad of River Luo gifted Prince Zhi of Wai a lover token pillow,
Don’t burn out your spring yearnings with the vernal blows,
Every inch of lovesick turns out into an inch of ash coal.

 

自河南經亂,關內阻饑,兄弟離散,各在一處.因望月有感,聊書所懷,寄上浮梁大兄,于潛七兄,烏江十五兄,兼示符離及下邽弟妹

自河南經亂,關內阻饑,兄弟離散,各在一處.因望月有感,聊書所懷,寄上浮梁大兄,于潛七兄,烏江十五兄,兼示符離及下邽弟妹

白居易 (772-846)
時難年荒世業空，弟兄羈旅各西東。
田園寥落幹戈後，骨肉流離道路中。
吊影分為千裏雁，辭根散作九秋蓬。
共看明月應垂淚，一夜鄉心五處同。

Being Caught in Turmoils and Famines South of the River and Post My feelings Under the Moon to My Siblings Scattered in Five Places            Bai Juyi (772-846)

In these tumultuous times we have lost all our family estates and chattels,

Our siblings are scattered and straggling all over different social milieus,
Gardens and manors crumpled and shriveled after the turmoils,
Kindreds are left wretched and forlornly struggling amidst paths of doles,
A lone goose grieving over its desolate shadow away from its companions in thousands of miles,
Blown away from my roots I am a forlorn piece of dead weed in the fall,
Together we contemplate the full moon I am sure our tears will fall,
Scattered in five places our nostalgia should be the same saddening for us all.