Sunday, 15 November 2015

歲暮歸南山 孟浩然


歲暮歸南山       孟浩然 (689-740)
北闕休上書,南山歸敝廬。
不才明主棄,多病故人疏。
白髮催年老,青陽逼歲除。
永懷愁不寐,松月夜窗虛。

Back to Mt. Zhongnan at Year End       
Meng Haoran (689-740)

Present no more memorials in the Capital,
Back to my old bower at Mt. Zhongnan I recoil,
A man of no merits is renounced by His Sage Lord Imperial,
He who lays up in his ailing bed is alienated even by his old pals,
My hoar hair hurries me into years senile,
The approaching new vernal season is pressing to make its call,
Sleeplessly I lie plagued by unrelenting dismals,
Only the moon over the pines comes through the casement obligingly to have me consoled.

 

Friday, 13 November 2015

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.

 

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

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.

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

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.

Saturday, 7 November 2015

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.

 

 

Thursday, 5 November 2015

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.

 

 

 

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

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.