送李中丞歸漢陽別業 劉長卿

送李中丞歸漢陽別業       劉長卿  (726-786)
流落征南將，曾驅十萬師。
罷官無舊業，老去戀明時。
獨立三邊靜，輕生一劍知，
茫茫江漢上，日暮欲何之。

Seeing Li the General Secretary Back to His Hanyang Villa 

Liu Changqing (726-786)

A wretched fallen southern expeditionary general,

Over an army of a hundred thousand soldiers he had once wielded,
After being dismissed back in his homeland he could not live on any old worthy chattels,
His old sagacious Majesty he still holds in awe as he grows old,
He personally used to keep all three border peripherals quiet and peaceful,
How he slighted his own life for the country only his sword knows,
Over the raving waters of the Great River and the Han River that boundlessly roll,
Who knows wheresoever he is heading as night falls.

 

酬程近即事見贈 韓翃

酬程近即事見贈     韓翃(736-790)
長簟迎風早，空城澹月華。
星河秋一雁，砧杵夜千家。
節候看應晚，心期臥已賒。
向來吟秀句，不覺已鳴鴉。

Replying to Cheng Jin’s Recently Bestowed Poem   

Han Yi (736-790)

On my long bamboo mat whistles the early autumnal gale,

Over the desolate city spreads the moon’s mellow glow,
Across the heavens soars a solitary autumnal wild goose,
Night laundry hustle and bustle comes from thousands of households,
As daylight dims out dusk falls,
Anticipating your poem sleep I stall,
Intoning your lovely poem over and over,
Presently caw the morning crows.

谷口書齋寄楊補闕 錢起

谷口書齋寄楊補闕         錢起 (710-782)
泉壑帶茅茨，雲霞生薜帷。
竹憐新雨後，山愛夕陽時。
閑鷺棲常早，秋花落更遲。
家僮掃羅徑，昨與故人期。

To Yang the Memorial Patcher from My Study in Gukou     Qian Qi (710-782)

Springs and ravines lead to my hovel,

Mists and brumes shroud my creepers door and portieres,
After the new rain the bamboos look fresh and adorable,
The mountains look particularly lovely in the setting sun glow,
To roost early leisurely herons usually go,
Autumnal flowers make a belated fall,
Telling my servants to sweep the creepers strewn trail,
As I’d a date yesterday to coze with my old pal.

六月二十七日望湖樓醉書 蘇軾

六月二十七日望湖樓醉書    蘇軾(1037-1101)

黑雲翻墨未遮山， 白雨跳珠亂入船。
卷地風來忽吹散， 望湖樓下水如天。

Written in Drunkenness on the Lake Contemplating Pavilion on the Twenty-seventh of the Six Month            
Su Shi (1037-1101)

Wide spreading clouds as black as ink rove in the heavens leaving only the mountains unveiled,

White pearls of raindrops ragingly splash all over the boat,
Presently blasting away the clouds and all over the land comes a white squall,
The waters beneath the pavilion remain as azure as the heavens and as ravishing as the lake spells.

 

 

餞別王十一南遊 劉長卿

餞別王十一南遊     劉長卿 (726-786)
望君煙水闊，渾手淚沾巾。
飛鳥沒何處，青山空向人。
長江一帆遠，落日五湖春。
誰見汀洲上，相思愁白蘋。

Bidding Wang Shiyi Farewell with a Feast on His Southbound Tour                        Liu Changqing (726-786)

Beyond misty waters boundlessly sprawl,

Waving you goodbye my tears have my scarf soaked through,
Where will the soaring birds roost,
Now only the green mountain remains to keep me in fall,
Along with the Great River fading away is your sail,
The setting sun flushes on the Lake Tai’s sceneries vernal,
Who can see me standing in the shoals?
Pining for you over the white water weeds in glum dismals.

 

 

 

送僧歸日本 錢起

送僧歸日本      錢起 (710-782)
上國隨緣住，來途若夢行。
浮天滄海遠，去世法舟輕。
水月通禪寂，魚龍聽梵聲。
惟憐一燈影，萬里眼中明。

Seeing A Monk Off Back to Japan        Qian Qi (710-782)

On Buddhistic ordain to China you’ve traveled,

It’s been a dream voyage you’ve gone through
As far as to the heavens your boat has sailed.
Now on a light sutra boat back you float,
The waters and the moon will appreciate the Buddhistic peace and voidness you uphold,
Fishes and sea serpents can listen to the sutra you spiel,
The solitary Buddhistic lamp on your boat,
Will have you further enlightened through the thousands and thousands of miles.

 

行路難(其三) 李白

行路難(其三)       李白  (701- 762)

有耳莫洗潁川水，有口莫食首陽蕨。
含光混世貴無名，何用孤高比雲月。
吾觀自古賢達人，功成不退皆殞身。
子胥既棄吳江上，屈原終投湘水濱。
陸機雄才豈自保，李斯稅駕苦不早。
華亭鶴唳詎可聞，上蔡蒼鷹何足道。
君不見吳中張翰稱達生，秋風忽憶江東行。
且樂生前一杯酒，何須身後千載名。

Arduous Road (Poem No. 3)      Li Bai (701- 762)

Never wash your ears in the River Ying waters,

Never eat the brackens of Mt. Shouyang no matter how hungry you are,
Lie low be ordinary, and cut no conspicuous figures,
To the solitary lofty moon and drifting clouds in the heavens you need not compare,
From of old people of great feat who prospered,
Had perished if they had not soon retired,
Wu Zixu of Wu killed himself and found his body dumped in the Wu River,
Qu Yuan of Chu drowned himself in the Xiang River,
A man as well learnt and ingenious as Lu Zhan of Jin could not even have himself protected and spared,
The Prime Minister Li Si of the First Emperor of Qin should have regretted he had not earlily retired,
Couldn’t hear the herons squawk anymore Lu Zhan distressed over,
Can’t you not see the sanguine Zhang Han of Jin who was made by the Prince of Qi a major courtier,
When the autumnal gale brings in the delicacies of wild rice stew and perch stews he resolutely made up his mind to retire,
Enjoy your life with the cup of wine you are offered,
Just ignore what name you’ll leave after.