無家別 杜甫

三別(其三)     杜甫(712-770)

無家別
寂寞天寶後，園廬但蒿藜。我里百餘家，世亂各東西。
存者無消息，死者委塵泥。賤子因陣敗，歸來尋舊蹊。
行久見空巷，日瘦氣慘淒。但對狐與貍，豎毛怒我啼。
四鄰何所有，一二老寡妻。宿鳥戀本枝，安辭且窮棲。
方春獨荷鋤，日暮還灌畦。縣吏知我至，召令習鼓鼙。
雖從本州役，內顧無所攜。近行止一身，遠去終轉迷。
家鄉既蕩盡，遠近理亦齊。永痛長病母，五年委溝谿。
生我不得力，終身兩酸嘶。人生無家別，何以為蒸藜。

A Triplet of Parting Elegies (No. 3)    Du Fu (712-770)
Parting of the Dislodged     
In the wake of the straitened Tianbao epoch,
Villages are rendered desolately destitute and spoiled,
Everywhere swarming with briers and brambles,
My village used to have a hundred or so households,
Now they are scattered everywhere amid the upheavals,
Those still alive I’ve no way to know,
Those dead are consigned to the dust in the wild,
After the defeat of the Ye City battle,
I come back to my homeland to ferret my old household,
Only empty alleys are what I behold,
The sun seems turning pale,
Foxes and jackals howl at me with raised bristles,
Only one or two old widows are left in my previous neighbouring households,
Birds stick around hankering for their original roosting bough,
I linger in my homeland and refuse elsewhere to go,
I’ve decided to stay at my original home of abode,
It’s spring, to the fields I bring my hoe,
Dusks falls, in the fields I still toil,
Knowing I’ve returned, the prefecture official
Draft me again into the battle drills,
This time serving near my own place I am haled,
There is nothing left at my home I could bring and avail,
I can only make myself available if it is somewhere vicinal,
If it is somewhere far away I can still get lost on the road,
Since there is nothing left at my house of old,
Far or near it is the same for me to go,
My greatest pang of all,
All the pains my ailing mother these years had swallowed,
Died for five years but I still haven’t given her a proper burial,
All her life she had not got any care from me as a son filial,
Both of us have had lives grievously painful,
Departing from an already dislodged home,
What sort of a life this could people call.

垂老別 杜甫

三別(其二)     杜甫(712-770)

垂老別

四郊未寧靜，垂老不得安。子孫陣亡盡，焉用身獨完！

投杖出門去，同行為辛酸。幸有牙齒存，所悲骨髓乾。
男兒既介冑，長揖別上官。老妻臥路啼，歲暮衣裳單。
孰知是死別，且復傷其寒。此去必不歸，還聞勸加餐。
土門壁甚堅，杏園度亦難。勢異鄴城下，縱死時猶寬。
人生有離合，豈擇衰盛端！憶昔少壯日，遲回竟長嘆。
萬國盡征戍，烽火被岡巒。積屍草木腥，流血川原丹。
何鄉為樂土，安敢尚盤桓！棄絕蓬室居，塌然摧肺肝。

A Triplet of Parting Elegies (No. 2)        Du Fu  (712-770)
Parting of the Old Couple     

The environs are treacherous and unpeaceful amid the upheavals,

We still cannot live in peace even getting old and senile,
Our scions have all perished in the battles,
Such being the case what is the use of my own survival,
Throwing away my cane to the battlefield I go,
Seeing this people on the way bewail for my doles,
Luckily my teeth are still useful,
But my bones are already fragile,
Donning my helmet and army apparel,
I bid my officer farewell,
My senile wife lies weeping by the road,
Being nearly the end of the year she is still in her thin ragged clothes,
This parting is forever we both know,
I still fear she could be scathed by the chills,
She knows this parting is eternal,
Repeatedly reminding me not to let my stomach get empty and growl,
The walls of the Mud Gate Pass are rugged and stout,
The Apricot Garden County is too precipitous into to smuggle,
It’s a great difference to the battle under the Ye City Wall,
In face of death there you still had the leeway to struggle,
Sundering bales, reunion hails, life is agitatingly volatile,
They all come regardless of you being young or old, fare bad or well,
Recalling the days when I was young and youthful,
I used to waste my time sighing to no avail,
Now the country is full of draftees going to battles,
Beacon fires are all over the mountains and knolls,
Corpses are heaping up on grasses and woodlands emitting stench of extreme foul,
Draining bloods are dyeing red plains and river flows,
In these tumultuous times everyone here lost their safehold,
How dare I shirk my duties for my country and still linger idle,
Giving up my rugged hovel,
Just let myself be ripped apart amid a world all in a tumble.

新婚別 杜甫

三別(其一)        杜甫(712-770)

新婚別　

兔絲附蓬麻，引蔓故不長。嫁女與征夫，不如棄路旁。

結髮為君妻，席不曖君床。暮婚晨告別，無乃太匆忙！
君行雖不遠，守邊赴河陽。妾身未分明，何以拜姑嫜？
父母養我時，日夜令我藏。生女有所歸，雞狗亦得將。
君今往死地，沈痛迫中腸。誓欲隨君去，形勢反蒼黃。
勿為新婚念，努力事戎行。婦人在軍中，兵氣恐不揚。
自嗟貧家女，久致羅襦裳。羅襦不復施，對君洗紅妝。
仰視百鳥飛，大小必雙翔。人事多錯遷，與君永相望！

A Triplet of Parting Elegies (No. 1)    Du Fu  (712-770)

Parting of the Newly Weds

To flaxes climbing figs adhere,

Their coherence can’t go very far,
To a draftee you marry your daughter,
Just let her die by the road you’d rather,
Tying the knot in a wedding,
We don’t even have had the time to warm our lair,
Saying good-bye in the morning but just married in the last vesper,
There wouldn’t be anything sooner,
Though you won’t go very far,
To Heyang you are to guard the frontier,
My status as your wife is still not ceremonially declared,
In what capacity should I meet my in-law parents and sisters,
While I was still an unmarried daughter,
My parents hid me deep in the bowers,
A girl is born to a spouse to adhere,
Even to a cock or a dog she must follow kismet’s order,
To the battlefield now you fare,
My heart rankles with grave sores,
How much I’d like to follow you into the encounter,
But things are pressingly severe,
You must do your best for the warfare,
Just forget the newly wedded bride in her boudoir,
In the army if a woman hinders,
Morale will be greatly battered,
Coming from a poor family I deplore,
To put on this wedding gown a lot of difficulties I’d endured,
This gown to me will be useful no more,
Now in front of you I’ll have my wedding makeup scoured,
Looking at the birds in the sky that soar,
Big or small they all fly in pairs,
How intriguingly volatile are human affairs,
But come what may I’ll love you forever.

江鄉故人偶集客舍 戴叔倫

江鄉故人偶集客舍       戴叔倫 (732-789)

天秋月又滿，城闕夜千重。
還作江南會，翻疑夢裏逢。
風枝驚暗鵲，露草覆寒蟲。
羈旅長堪醉，相留畏曉鐘。

A Chance Gathering of Old Friends of My River South Homeland at the Hostel          Dai Shulun (732-789)

The moon grows full and round again as autumn falls,

At night there seems to be thousands of multiple city walls,
Now here in the River South we assemble,
I fancy this is only a dream rendezvous,
Birds are ruffled by the rattling branches in the autumnal gale,
Amidst the dewy grasses autumnal crickets crouch,
Here in the hostel we should drink to our fill,
Till apart we are torn by the morning tolls.

章臺夜思 韋莊

章臺夜思     韋莊 (836-910)

清瑟怨遙夜，繞弦風雨哀。
孤燈聞楚角，殘月下章臺。
芳草已云暮，故人殊未來。
鄉書不可寄，秋雁又南回。

Brooding On the Zhang Tai Palace at Night   

Wei Zhuang (836-910)

Throughout the long chilly night ruffle the clear tunes of the mournful zither,

Amidst the rain and winds every string of it ululantly whimpers,
Under the solitary lamp Chu bugles repine in my ears,
Over the palace the fading moon retires,
The rank grasses are soon to expire,
My old pal is yet to appear,
There is no way to send him a letter in his homeland quarters,
The southbound autumnal wild geese are already heading over there.

 

春宮怨 杜荀鶴

春宮怨     杜荀鶴 (846-904)
早被嬋娟誤，欲歸臨鏡慵。
承恩不在貌，教妾若為容。
風暖鳥聲碎，日高花影重。
年年越溪女，相憶采芙蓉。

The Rancor of a Seraglio Lady      Du Xunhe (846-904)

I knew my beautiful looks would have my life foiled,

Every time when I am to spruce myself up before the mirror I feel slothful,
If looks can’t win the grace of His Imperial,
In what way should I present my appeal,
Amidst the warm vernal zephyr bird twitters turn tattling trifles,
When the sun is high flowers shed overlapping shadows,
Year in year out the Yue river laundry girls keep talking how their predecessor Xishi became King Wu’s regal lover belle,  
Picking lotus flowers is not a bad way to start with after all.

落花 李商隱

落花     李商隱 (813-858)
高閣客竟去，小園花亂飛。
參差連曲陌，迢遞送斜暉。
腸斷未忍掃，眼穿仍欲歸。
芳心向春盡，所得是沾衣。

Fallen Flowers       Li Shangyin (813-858)

Eventually gone are the ones in the high chamber,

In the little garden fallen flowers flitter,
Across the field moles they scatter,
Seeing the setting sun off from afar,
With a bruised soul I bear not to sweep them over,
Away spring finally goes despite how desperately for it to stay I hanker,
With spring gone my fervent ambitions also expire,
Leaving on my clothes only my own tears.