野望 杜甫

野望     杜甫 (712-770)

西山白雪三城戍，南浦清江萬里橋。 
海內風塵諸弟隔，天涯涕淚一身遙。 
惟將遲暮供多病，未有涓埃答聖朝。 
跨馬出郊時極目，不堪人事日蕭條。 

Espying Around Over the Wilds        Du Fu (712-770)

On the west mountains the three City walls are heavily guarded by citadels,

Over the Qing River in the southern suburbs the Thousands Miles Bridge straddles,

Due to the tumultuous unrest my brothers are scattered all over the realm,

Forlornly at end of world I deploringly straggle,

I could only entrust my late years to this old and decrepit torso,

Up to now I still have not the least feat or merit to repay My Lord Imperial,

Riding my horse I have a prospect of the wilds afield,

Everyday situations in the country turn more drearily miserable and lamentable.

灩澦堆 杜甫

灩澦堆      杜甫  (712-770)

巨石水中央，江寒出水長。

沉牛答雲雨，如馬戒舟航。
天意存傾覆，神功接混茫。

干戈連解纜，行止憶垂堂。

The Yan Yu Rocky Shoal Pile       Du Fu (712-770)

Amidst the rapid currents stands a giant rock in the middle of the river shoal,

In wintry days when the water is chilly and shallow there will strut the rock colossal,

People dump cows into the river to propitiate the gods for rains heaven bestowed,

This gigantic rock serves as a warning horse for the sailing boats,

Heaven portends the hazard of overturning in every sail,

Providence’s prowess covers boundlessly far afield,

Forlornly drifting everywhere in these years of turmoil,

I really have to watch out for hazards no matter putting up wheresoever or wherever I go.

和裴迪登蜀州東亭送客逢早梅相憶見寄 杜甫

和裴迪登蜀州東亭送客逢早梅相憶見寄    杜甫 (712-770)

東閣官梅動詩興，還如何遜在掦州。
此時對雪遙相憶，送客逢春可自由 ?
幸不折來傷歲暮，若爲看去亂鄉愁。
江邊一樹垂垂發，朝夕催人自白頭。

Echoing Pei Di’s Poem “Running across early plum blossoms while mounting the East Pavilion of Shu to see off a friend”        Du Fu (712-770)

The plum blossoms you came across on the East Pavilion of Shu had your poetic muse enkindled,

Your poem is as graceful as that He Xun wrote in Yangzhou on this fascinating blow,

In face of flying snows old pals one will recall,

Running across plum blossoms on the East Pavilion while seeing a friend off would inevitably remind you of old pals like myself,

Fortunately you did not send a spray of the blow lest my nostalgia be roused,

The plum tree beside the Blossoms Pool of my hovel is gradually coming to blow,

Day in and day out it hustles my hair turn grizzle. 

空囊 杜甫

空囊   杜甫 (712-770)

翠柏苦猶食，明霞高可餐。

世人共鲁莽，吾道屬艱難。

不爨井晨凍，無衣床夜寒。

囊空恐羞涩，留得一錢看。

An Empty Pocket           Du Fu (712-770)

The verdant cypress is bitter yet it can fill empty bowels,

Starving the enchanting glow that hangs highly highly in the sky also seems edible,

Most people are reckless and covet a life easy and comfortable,

Sticking to my principle I’ve chosen a life antipodal and so very difficult,

I can’t cook in the morning as well water is gelid and freezing cold,

At night my thin clothes and bed sheet make sleeping simply impossible,

Ashamed of a pocket hollow,

I always keep a coin to avoid being scoffed.

南征 杜甫

南征    杜甫 (712-770)

春岸桃花水，雲帆楓樹林。
偷生長避地，適遠更沾襟。
老病南征日，君恩北望心。
百年歌自苦，未見有知音。

Going Far South Afield            Du Fu (712-770)

On the banks of the river peach blossoms bloom in the vernal spell,

Over the rolling water I rear my boat’s sail,

Making my way through the boundless maple weald,

Leading an ignominious life all over the places I’ve straggled,

Now going far south I can’t stop my tears pour,

Getting old and ailing I still have to go far south afield,

I should have gone back north to the capital and be on His Majesty’s behoof,

All my flair I’ve wrought in my poems’ concocting throes,

Up till now I still have not met with any applausive approval.

狂夫 杜甫

狂夫    杜甫 (712-770)

萬里橋西一草堂，百花潭水即滄浪。
風含翠篠娟娟淨，雨裛紅蕖冉冉香。

厚祿故人書斷絕，恆飢稚子色淒涼。
欲填溝壑唯疏放，自笑狂夫老更狂。

An abandoned Yokel          Du Fu (712-770)

To the west of the Ten Thousand Miles Bridge there is a hovel,

Waters of the Blossoms Pool are as spectacular and hyaline as any renowned fanciful waters of old,

Whiffling with the zephyr are the verdant bamboos,

Lotus glitter with scented whiffs amidst the mizzles,

The exalted official who had been helping us had severed his dole,

My starving children are plunged in pangful travail,

In view of them dropping dead any moment I could only carry myself with abandon to boost my own morale,

Quipping that I cut the figure of an abandoned yokel.  

蜀道難 李白

蜀道難      李白  (701- 762)
噫吁嚱 ，危呼高哉！
蜀道之難難于上青天。
蠶叢及魚鳧，開國何茫然。
爾來四萬八千歲，始與秦塞通人煙。
西當太白有鳥道，可以橫絕峨嵋巔。
地崩山摧壯士死，然後天梯石棧相鉤連。
上有六龍回日之高標，下有衝波逆折之回川。
黃鶴之飛尚不得，猿猱欲度愁攀緣。
青泥何盤盤，百步九折縈岩巒。
捫參歷井仰脅息，以手撫膺坐長嘆。
問君西遊何時還，畏途巉岩不可攀。
但見悲鳥號古木，雄飛雌從繞林間。
又聞子規啼夜月，愁空山。
蜀道之難難于上青天，使人聽此凋朱顏。
連峰去天不盈尺，枯松倒掛倚絕壁。
飛湍瀑流爭喧豗,砯崖轉石萬壑雷。
其險也若此，嗟爾遠道之人，胡為呼來哉。
劍閣崢嶸而崔嵬，一夫當關，萬夫莫開。
所守或匪親，化為狼與豺。
朝避猛虎，夕避長蛇。
磨牙吮血，殺人如麻。
錦城雖雲樂，不如早還家。
蜀道之難難于上青天，側身西望長咨嗟。

The Forbiddingly Arduous Passages of Shu (Sichuan)      

Li Bai (701- 762)

Alas! Alack! Ye! Woe!

How menacingly precipitous it forebodes!

Shu passages are even more arduous than up to the heavens one tries to scramble,

Can Cong and Yu Fu the founders of the kingdom of Shu in times of old,

When they first had their kingdom founded how intricately intricately confounded things were is unimaginable,

Forty eight thousand years elapsed meanwhile,

Communicating with the Qin borders were only then came to the initial,

To Mt. Taibai in the west it was liked by bird trails,

Through there the peak of Emei can be reached across as well,

After the mountain and earth were all turned in a tumble and the death of many a valorous hero,

The Heaven Ladder and the cliff side plank trail became coupled,

Higher up there is the tallest peak with six dragons round the sun whirl,

Beneath it is the river with uphurling roving recurrent billows,

There even yellow cranes can’t fly over,

Even the nimble ape finds the precipitousness unapproachable,

How anfractuous is the Peak of Green Soil,

It takes nine twists every hundred paces around the mountain ridges and pinnacles,

Up there one is so near to the stars one can caress them only if you can have your breath put on hold,

Putting my hands on my chest I sit and utter a long wail,

Keep gadding around in the west when back will I go?

The cragginess of these mountains and cliffs are forbiddingly insurmountable,

I just see mournful birds on ancient trees warble,

Male birds followed by their mates hover around the wealds,

To the bright moon cuckoos shrill,

To the empty mountains they cry in dismals,

Shu passages are even more arduous than up to the heavens one tries to scramble,

Hearing all this even a youthful countenance will turn pale,

No more than a foot away from the sky it is up there on the pinnacles,

From the vertical cliffs hang hooked pines shriveled,

Sparging rapids chime in clamorous billows,

Water pounding on rocks and roars in thundering bolts,

This simply menacingly appalls,

Alack! People from far off,

Why should you come here at all!

The Sword Chamber here is definitely precipitously formidable,

There one defending warrior can take on ten thousand invading foes,

If the defenders are not someone trust worthwhile,

Turning to the enemy as wolves and jackals,

So against the tigers in the morning you have to keep vigil,

Against the snakes you still have to do the same at nightfall,

Honing their teeth these beast are always ready to have your blood to swallow,

Killing people in uncountable multiples,

The Brocade City is certainly a place pleasurable,

But I’d rather make an early recoil,

Shu passages are even more arduous than up to the heavens one tries to scramble,

Turning my eyes to look westward I utter a long wail.

月 杜甫

月     杜甫 (712-770)

天上秋期近，人間月影清。
入河蟾不没，捣藥兔長生。
只益丹心苦，能添白髪明。
干戈知滿地，休照國西營。

The Moon         Du Fu (712-770)

From the heaven I can tell autumn has approached,

Effulgently and vividly the clear moon dangles,

On the river it bobs and floats,

The immortal heavenly hare keep pounding herbs with its pestle,

The moon could only aggregate my leal heart’s bales,

Its bright glow could only have my hoar hair outrivaled,

In these times of military turmoil,

Shed not on the expeditionary army’s citadel on the west of the capital lest the soldiers’ nostalgia would be enkindled.