採桑子 陸游

採桑子   陸游 (1125-1210)

寶釵樓上妝梳晚，懶上鞦韆。

閒撥沈煙。金縷衣寬睡髻偏。
鱗鴻不寄遼東信，又是經年。

彈淚花前。愁入春見十四弦。

Cai Sang Zi          Lu You (1125-1210)

Indolent to sprucing up herself till late in her burdoir.

On the swing she lazily plays and dawdles,

Insouciantly over the light incense she fondles,

Leaving her filigreed clothes loose and hair bun askew,

Receiving no billet doux for years from her lover far afield,

For all these years, she could only shed her tears before the blows,

She could only hope all her spring griefs the zither knows.

朝中措 梅 陸游

朝中措     梅    陸游 (1125-1210)

幽姿不入少年場。無語只淒涼。

一個飄零身世，十分冷淡心腸。
江頭月底，新詩舊夢，孤恨清香。

任是春風不管，也曾先識東皇。

Zhao Zhong Cuo   The Plum Blossoms       Lu You (1125-1210)

Her graceful chic elegance captures little admiration amidst young people,

Gloomily in her forlorn desolation she stays speechless just keeping her disconsolateness to herself,

Her forlornness breeds an apathetic soul,

In front of the river ford, amidst the moon glow,

In new poems and old dream cameos,

How much is about her refreshing whiffs shrouding her miserable woes,

Even the vernal zephyr snubs her unmidful,

To come across it before anything else makes everything to her all the worthwhile.

遊山西村 陸游

遊山西村      陸游  (1125-1210)

莫笑農家臘酒渾，豐年留客足雞豚。

山重水復疑無路，柳暗花明又一村。

簫鼓追隨春社近，衣冠簡樸古風存。

從今若許閒乘月，拄杖無時夜叩門。

Gallivanting Amid the Shanxi Villages         Lu You (1125-1210)

Scoff not at the year end brew of the rural household muddled,

In a bumper year they have lots of fine chickens and pigs their visitors to regale,

Turning round and round I seem to come back to the same mountains and waters I suspect I have gone into a dead trail,

Presently another village emerges behind densely shrouding willows and fascinating blows,

Villagers follow their music band to the temple for celebrating the Harvest Festival,

Everybody dress modestly taking after the customs of old,

Henceforth if His Majesty permits insouciantly the bright moon I’d avail,

Bringing my cane and knock on their doors again at any time of the night without scruple.

秋思 陸游

秋思      陸游 (1125-1210)

利欲驅人萬火牛，江湖浪跡一沙鷗。  

日長似歲閒方覺，事大如天醉亦休。   
砧杵敲殘深巷月，梧桐搖落故園秋。   
欲舒老眼無高處，安得元龍百尺樓。  

Autumnal Muse       Lu You (1125-1210)

Ambitions and desires are driving people like a thousand oxen with burning tails,

I’d rather gad on the tramp like a seagull,
The summer days are as long as year for anyone idle,
Get yourself drunk and leave the world in a tumble,
Laundry clamour deep in the alleys fade away as the night dwindles,
The divesting wutong leaves flutter in the autumnal gale,
I’d like to ease my aging eyes on some place high aloft,
But where can I find the hundred foot tower of Chen Yuanlong of the Three Kingdoms ages ago.

 

 

秋懷 陸游

秋懷         陸游(1125-1210)

園丁傍架摘黃瓜，村女沿籬采碧花。
城市尚餘三伏熱，秋光先到野人家。

Autumnal Sensibilities      Lu You (1125-1210)

Gardeners plucking cucumbers under the trellis,
Picking colourful flowers along the fences are the village lassies,
The residual heat of summer is still harassing people living in the cities,
Autumn first comes to people living in the wilderness.

示兒 陸游

示兒     陸游 (1125 - 1210)

死去原知萬事空，但悲不見九州同。
王師北定中原日，家祭無忘告乃翁。

To My Sons            Lu You (1125 - 1210)

When one dies one knows everything is void,
I only lament that the motherland’s reunion is yet to be rejoiced,
When the Imperial northern campaigns have the invaders occupying the central destroyed,
Don’t forget in the family memorial ceremony to tell your old man to end his pent up chagrin in the soil.

臨安春雨初霽 陸游

 

臨安春雨初霽             陸游 (1125 - 1210)

世味年來薄似紗, 誰令騎馬客京華.

小樓一夜聽春雨, 深巷明朝賣杏花.
矮紙斜行閒作草, 晴窗細乳戲分茶.
素衣莫起風塵嘆, 猶及清明可到家.

In Lin’an on a day when spring rain just clears          
Lu You (1125 - 1210)

In recent years I find world business dry and thin as gauze,

Who makes me a visitor on horseback in the Capital once more?
I listen to the spring rain till morn in a chamber small,
From deep alleys come apricot blossoms touting calls,
Leisurely on a scrap of paper I practise cursive hand in crawls,
Playing at tea brewing and sampling under the bright window I relish a bit of time stall,
About the tumultuous situation, in plain clothes I am in no position to deplore,
Hopefully by Ching Ming I shall be home after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

卜算子 陸游

卜算子  詠梅         陸游(1125 - 1210)

 驛外斷橋邊，寂寞開無主。

已是黃昏獨自愁，更著風和雨。
無意苦爭春，一任群芳妒。
零落成泥碾作塵，只有香如故。

Bu Suan Zi     The Plum Blossom           Lu You (1125 - 1210)

By the broken bridge beyond the coach station,

Belonging to none, blossoming in desolate silence,
Dusk has fallen,
Braving the winds and rains,
To herself alone all her disconsolation she maintains,
She does not contend bitterly with rival flowers for vernal reign,
Just leaves them to envy in vain.
Eventually when she falls, into dust to be ground,
Only her scent ever-lingers around.

鷓鴣天 陸游

鷓鴣天     陸游 (1125 - 1210)
家住蒼煙落照間，絲毫塵事不相關。

斟殘玉瀣行穿竹，卷罷黃庭臥看山。
貪嘯傲，任衰殘，不妨隨處一開顏。
元知造物心腸別，老卻英雄似等閑！

 

Zhe Gu Tian                      Lu You (1125 - 1210)

 I live where the sun sets and mists gather,
Concerning myself not in the least with earthly matters;
Draining my wine to the lees, through the bamboos I saunter;
Finished reading the classics of Huang Ting, down I lie to contemplate the scenic vista;
I indulge in singing with abandon as I desire,
Leaving myself to wither,
I may as well smile at whatever situation I encounter,
Know for a fact that the Creator is not fair and square,
No wonder heroes are left failing and smothered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

釵頭鳳 陸游

釵頭鳳          陸游 (1125 - 1210)

紅酥手，黃縢酒，滿城春色宮墻柳。
東風惡，歡情薄，一懷愁緒，幾年離索。

錯、錯、錯。
春如舊，人空瘦，淚痕紅浥鮫綃透。
桃花落，閒池閣，山盟雖在，錦書難托。
莫、莫、莫。

Chai Tou Feng                     Lu You (1125 - 1210)

Your pink, delicate hands tender me the wine;

The city is full of vernal freshness with weeping willows tracing the city wall line,
How fierce is the east wind, snapping our blissful whiles;
Disconsolation in our bosoms rides,
These years of separation have virtually ripped off our lives,
Ay! Ay! Ay!
Now spring again arrives,
Only to find us pined,
Your silk handkerchief is soaked with tears from your eyes,
Peach blossoms fall on the pond and pavilion that are left aside,
Our vows still alive,
But we can’t even drop each other a line,
Why? Why? Why?

 

 

釵頭鳳    唐婉 

世情惡，人情薄，雨送黃昏花易落。

曉風乾，淚痕殘。欲箋心事，獨倚斜欄。
難！難！難！
人成各，今非昨，病魂常似秋千索。
角聲寒，夜闌珊。怕人詢問，咽淚裝歡。
瞞！瞞！瞞！

 

Chai Tou Feng                                                 
    (In response to the one written by Lu You)                    
Tang Wan

    (Lu’s ex-wife whom he cast off on order of his mother)

How acrid is the world

Apathetic the people,
When rains see dusk off flowers fall,
The breeze at dawn dries my tears, leaving no traces at all;
I wish I could write you my feelings,
Leaning alone on the railing,
Vexed! Vexed! Vexed!
Now we are axed,
No longer linked,
My ailing soul always seems hanging on a swing,
The sound of the bugle in the depth of the night is most unsettling,
Fearing people may ask me what and why,
I swallow my tears, and feint a smile,
Hide! Hide! Hide!