001

五言古詩

張九齡

感遇其一

　　孤鴻海上來， 池潢不敢顧；
　　側見雙翠鳥， 巢在三珠樹。
　　矯矯珍木巔， 得無金丸懼？
　　美服患人指， 高明逼神惡。
今我游冥冥， 弋者何所慕？

Five-character-ancient-verse

Zhang Jiuling

THOUGHTS I

A lonely swan from the sea flies,
To alight on puddles it does not deign.
Nesting in the poplar of pearls
It spies and questions green birds twain:
"Don't you fear the threat of slings,
Perched on top of branches so high?
Nice clothes invite pointing fingers,
High climbers god's good will defy.
Bird-hunters will crave me in vain,
For I roam the limitless sky."

002

五言古詩

張九齡

感遇其二

蘭葉春葳蕤， 桂華秋皎洁；
欣欣此生意， 自爾為佳節。
誰知林栖者？ 聞風坐相悅，
草木有本心， 何求美人折？

Five-character-ancient-verse

Zhang Jiuling

ORCHID AND ORANGE I

Tender orchid-leaves in spring
And cinnamon- blossoms bright in autumn
Are as self- contained as life is,
Which conforms them to the seasons.
Yet why will you think that a forest-hermit,
Allured by sweet winds and contented with beauty,
Would no more ask to-be transplanted
THan Would any other natural flower?

003

五言古詩

張九齡

感遇其三

　　幽人歸獨臥， 滯慮洗孤清，
持此謝高鳥， 因之傳遠情。
日夕怀空意， 人誰感至精？
飛沈理自隔， 何所慰吾誠？

Five-character-ancient-verse

Zhang Jiuling

THOUGHTS III

The hermit in his lone abode
Nurses his thoughts cleansed of care,
Them he projects to the wild goose
For it to his distant Sovereign to bear.
Who will be moved by the sincerity
Of my vain day-and-night prayer?
What comfort is for my loyalty
When fliers and sinkers can compare?

004

五言古詩

張九齡

感遇其四

江南有丹橘， 經冬猶綠林；
豈伊地气暖？ 自有歲寒心。
可以荐嘉客， 奈何阻重深？
運命惟所遇， 循環不可尋。
徒言樹桃李， 此木豈無陰？

Five-character-ancient-verse

Zhang Jiuling

ORCHID AND ORANGE II

Here, south of the Yangzi, grows a red orangetree.
All winter long its leaves are green,
Not because of a warmer soil,
But because its' nature is used to the cold.
Though it might serve your honourable guests,
You leave it here, far below mountain and river.
Circumstance governs destiny.
Cause and effect are an infinite cycle.
You plant your peach-trees and your plums,
You forget the shade from this other tree.

005

五言古詩

李白

下終南山過斛斯山人宿置酒

暮從碧山下， 山月隨人歸；
卻顧所來徑， 蒼蒼橫翠微。
相攜及田家， 童稚開荊扉；
綠竹入幽徑， 青蘿拂行衣。
歡言得所憩， 美酒聊共揮；
長歌吟松風， 曲盡河星稀。
我醉君复樂， 陶然共忘机。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Li Bai

DOWN ZHONGNAN MOUNTAIN
TO THE KIND PILLOW AND BOWL OF HUSI

Down the blue mountain in the evening,
Moonlight was my homeward escort.
Looking back, I saw my path
Lie in levels of deep shadow....
I was passing the farm-house of a friend,
When his children called from a gate of thorn
And led me twining through jade bamboos
Where green vines caught and held my clothes.
And I was glad of a chance to rest
And glad of a chance to drink with my friend....
We sang to the tune of the wind in the pines;
And we finished our songs as the stars went down,
When, I being drunk and my friend more than happy,
Between us we forgot the world.

006

五言古詩

李白

月下獨酌

花間一壺酒， 獨酌無相親；
舉杯邀明月， 對影成三人。
月既不解飲， 影徒隨我身；
暫伴月將影， 行樂須及春。
我歌月徘徊， 我舞影零亂；
醒時同交歡， 醉后各分散。
永結無情游， 相期邈云漢。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Li Bai

DRINKING ALONE WITH THE MOON

From a pot of wine among the flowers
I drank alone. There was no one with me --
Till, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon
To bring me my shadow and make us three.
Alas, the moon was unable to drink
And my shadow tagged me vacantly;
But still for a while I had these friends
To cheer me through the end of spring....
I sang. The moon encouraged me.
I danced. My shadow tumbled after.
As long as I knew, we were boon companions.
And then I was drunk, and we lost one another.
...Shall goodwill ever be secure?
I watch the long road of the River of Stars.

007

五言古詩

李白

春思

燕草如碧絲， 秦桑低綠枝；
當君怀歸日， 是妾斷腸時。
春風不相識， 何事入羅幃？

Five-character-ancient-verse

Li Bai

IN SPRING

Your grasses up north are as blue as jade,
Our mulberries here curve green-threaded branches;
And at last you think of returning home,
Now when my heart is almost broken....
O breeze of the spring, since I dare not know you,
Why part the silk curtains by my bed?

008

五言古詩

杜甫

望岳

岱宗夫如何？ 齊魯青未了。
造化鐘神秀， 陰陽割昏曉。
蕩胸生層云， 決眥入歸鳥。
會當凌絕頂， 一覽眾山小。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Du Fu

A VIEW OF TAISHAN

What shall I say of the Great Peak? --
The ancient dukedoms are everywhere green,
Inspired and stirred by the breath of creation,
With the Twin Forces balancing day and night.
...I bare my breast toward opening clouds,
I strain my sight after birds flying home.
When shall I reach the top and hold
All mountains in a single glance?

009

五言古詩

杜甫

贈衛八處士

人生不相見， 動如參与商，
今夕复何夕？ 共此燈燭光。
少壯能几時？ 鬢發各已蒼。
訪舊半為鬼， 惊呼熱中腸。
焉知二十載， 重上君子堂。
昔別君未婚， 儿女忽成行；
怡然敬父執， 問我來何方。
問答乃未已， 驅儿羅酒漿。
夜雨剪春韭， 新炊間黃粱。
主稱會面難， 一舉累十觴；
十觴亦不醉， 感子故意長。
明日隔山岳， 世事兩茫茫。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Du Fu

TO MY RETIRED FRIEND WEI

It is almost as hard for friends to meet
As for the morning and evening stars.
Tonight then is a rare event,
Joining, in the candlelight,
Two men who were young not long ago
But now are turning grey at the temples.
...To find that half our friends are dead
Shocks us, burns our hearts with grief.
We little guessed it would be twenty years
Before I could visit you again.
When I went away, you were still unmarried;
But now these boys and girls in a row
Are very kind to their father's old friend.
They ask me where I have been on my journey;
And then, when we have talked awhile,
They bring and show me wines and dishes,
Spring chives cut in the night-rain
And brown rice cooked freshly a special way.
...My host proclaims it a festival,
He urges me to drink ten cups --
But what ten cups could make me as drunk
As I always am with your love in my heart?
...Tomorrow the mountains will separate us;
After tomorrow-who can say?

010

五言古詩

杜甫

佳人

絕代有佳人， 幽居在空谷；
自云良家子， 零落依草木。
關中昔喪亂， 兄弟遭殺戮；
官高何足論？ 不得收骨肉。
世情惡衰歇， 万事隨轉燭。
夫婿輕薄儿， 新人美如玉。
合昏尚知時， 鴛鴦不獨宿；
但見新人笑， 那聞舊人哭？
在山泉水清， 出山泉水濁。
侍婢賣珠回， 牽蘿補茅屋。
摘花不插發， 采柏動盈掬。
天寒翠袖薄， 日暮倚修竹。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Du Fu

ALONE IN HER BEAUTY

Who is lovelier than she?
Yet she lives alone in an empty valley.
She tells me she came from a good family
Which is humbled now into the dust.
...When trouble arose in the Kuan district,
Her brothers and close kin were killed.
What use were their high offices,
Not even shielding their own lives? --
The world has but scorn for adversity;
Hope goes out, like the light of a candle.
Her husband, with a vagrant heart,
Seeks a new face like a new piece of jade;
And when morning-glories furl at night
And mandarin-ducks lie side by side,
All he can see is the smile of the new love,
While the old love weeps unheard.
The brook was pure in its mountain source,
But away from the mountain its waters darken.
...Waiting for her maid to come from selling pearls
For straw to cover the roof again,
She picks a few flowers, no longer for her hair,
And lets pine-needles fall through her fingers,
And, forgetting her thin silk sleeve and the cold,
She leans in the sunset by a tall bamboo.

011

五言古詩

杜甫

夢李白之一

死別已吞聲， 生別常惻惻。
江南瘴癘地， 逐客無消息。
故人入我夢， 明我長相憶；
君今在羅网， 何以有羽翼？
恐非平生魂， 路遠不可測。
魂來楓林青， 魂返關塞黑；
落月滿屋梁， 猶疑照顏色。
水深波浪闊， 無使蛟龍得。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Du Fu

SEEING Li Bai IN A DREAM I

There are sobs when death is the cause of parting;
But life has its partings again and again.
...From the poisonous damps of the southern river
You had sent me not one sign from your exile --
Till you came to me last night in a dream,
Because I am always thinking of you.
I wondered if it were really you,
Venturing so long a journey.
You came to me through the green of a forest,
You disappeared by a shadowy fortress....
Yet out of the midmost mesh of your snare,
How could you lift your wings and use them?
...I woke, and the low moon's glimmer on a rafter
Seemed to be your face, still floating in the air.
...There were waters to cross, they were wild and tossing;
If you fell, there were dragons and rivermonsters.

012

五言古詩

杜甫

夢李白之二

浮云終日行， 游子久不至；
三夜頻夢君， 情親見君意。
告歸常局促， 苦道來不易。
江湖多風波， 舟楫恐失墜。
出門搔白首， 若負平生志。
冠蓋滿京華， 斯人獨憔悴。
孰云网恢恢？ 將老身反累！
千秋万歲名， 寂寞身后事。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Du Fu

SEEING Li Bai IN A DREAM II

This cloud, that has drifted all day through the sky,
May, like a wanderer, never come back....
Three nights now I have dreamed of you --
As tender, intimate and real as though I were awake.
And then, abruptly rising to go,
You told me the perils of adventure
By river and lake-the storms, the wrecks,
The fears that are borne on a little boat;
And, here in my doorway, you rubbed your white head
As if there were something puzzling you.
...Our capital teems with officious people,
While you are alone and helpless and poor.
Who says that the heavenly net never fails?
It has brought you ill fortune, old as you are.
...A thousand years' fame, ten thousand years' fame-
What good, when you are dead and gone.

013

五言古詩

王維

送別

下馬飲君酒， 問君何所之？
君言不得意， 歸臥南山陲。
但去莫复聞， 白云無盡時。

Five-character-quatrain

Wang Wei

AT PARTING

I dismount from my horse and I offer you wine,
And I ask you where you are going and why.
And you answer: "I am discontent
And would rest at the foot of the southern mountain.
So give me leave and ask me no questions.
White clouds pass there without end."

014

五言古詩

王維

送綦毋潛落第還鄉

圣代無隱者， 英靈盡來歸，
遂令東山客， 不得顧采薇。
既至金門遠， 孰云吾道非？
江淮度寒食， 京洛縫春衣。
置酒長安道， 同心与我違；
行當浮桂棹， 未几拂荊扉。
遠樹帶行客， 孤城當落暉。
吾謀适不用， 勿謂知音稀？

Five-character-quatrain

Wang Wei

TO QIWU QIAN BOUND HOME
AFTER FAILING IN AN EXAMINATION

In a happy reign there should be no hermits;
The wise and able should consult together....
So you, a man of the eastern mountains,
Gave up your life of picking herbs
And came all the way to the Gate of Gold --
But you found your devotion unavailing.
...To spend the Day of No Fire on one of the southern rivers,
You have mended your spring clothes here in these northern cities.
I pour you the farewell wine as you set out from the capital --
Soon I shall be left behind here by my bosomfriend.
In your sail-boat of sweet cinnamon-wood
You will float again toward your own thatch door,
Led along by distant trees
To a sunset shining on a far-away town.
...What though your purpose happened to fail,
Doubt not that some of us can hear high music.

015

五言古詩

王維

青溪

言入黃花川， 每逐青溪水；
隨山將万轉， 趣途無百里。
聲喧亂石中， 色靜深松里；
漾漾泛菱荇， 澄澄映葭葦。
我心素已閒， 清川澹如此。
請留盤石上， 垂釣將已矣！

Five-character-quatrain

Wang Wei

A GREEN STREAM

I have sailed the River of Yellow Flowers,
Borne by the channel of a green stream,
Rounding ten thousand turns through the mountains
On a journey of less than thirty miles....
Rapids hum over heaped rocks;
But where light grows dim in the thick pines,
The surface of an inlet sways with nut-horns
And weeds are lush along the banks.
...Down in my heart I have always been as pure
As this limpid water is....
Oh, to remain on a broad flat rock
And to cast a fishing-line forever!

016

五言古詩

王維

渭川田家

斜光照墟落， 窮巷牛羊歸。
野老念牧童， 倚杖候荊扉。
雉雊麥苗秀， 蚕眠桑葉稀。
田夫荷鋤立， 相見語依依。
即此羡閒逸， 悵然吟式微。

Five-character-quatrain

Wang Wei

A FARM-HOUSE ON THE WEI RIVER

In the slant of the sun on the country-side,
Cattle and sheep trail home along the lane;
And a rugged old man in a thatch door
Leans on a staff and thinks of his son, the herdboy.
There are whirring pheasants? full wheat-ears,
Silk-worms asleep, pared mulberry-leaves.
And the farmers, returning with hoes on their shoulders,
Hail one another familiarly.
...No wonder I long for the simple life
And am sighing the old song, Oh, to go Back Again!

017

五言古詩

王維

西施詠

艷色天下重， 西施宁久微？
朝為越溪女， 暮作吳宮妃。
賤日豈殊眾？ 貴來方悟稀。
邀人傅脂粉， 不自著羅衣，
君寵益嬌態， 君怜無是非。
當時浣紗伴， 莫得同車歸。
持謝鄰家子， 效顰安可希？

Five-character-quatrain

Wang Wei

THE BEAUTIFUL XI SHI

Since beauty is honoured all over the Empire,
How could Xi Shi remain humbly at home? --
Washing clothes at dawn by a southern lake --
And that evening a great lady in a palace of the north:
Lowly one day, no different from the others,
The next day exalted, everyone praising her.
No more would her own hands powder her face
Or arrange on her shoulders a silken robe.
And the more the King loved her, the lovelier she looked,
Blinding him away from wisdom.
...Girls who had once washed silk beside her
Were kept at a distance from her chariot.
And none of the girls in her neighbours' houses
By pursing their brows could copy her beauty.

018

五言古詩

孟浩然

秋登蘭山寄張五

北山白云里， 隱者自怡悅；
相望始登高， 心隨雁飛滅。
愁因薄暮起， 興是清秋發。
時見歸村人， 沙行渡頭歇。
天邊樹若薺， 江畔洲如月。
何當載酒來， 共醉重陽節。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Meng Haoran

ON CLIMBING ORCHID MOUNTAIN
IN THE AUTUMN TO ZHANG

On a northern peak among white clouds
You have found your hermitage of peace;
And now, as I climb this mountain to see you,
High with the wildgeese flies my heart.
The quiet dusk might seem a little sad
If this autumn weather were not so brisk and clear;
I look down at the river bank, with homeward-bound villagers
Resting on the sand till the ferry returns;
There are trees at the horizon like a row of grasses
And against the river's rim an island like the moon
I hope that you will come and meet me, bringing a basket of wine --
And we'll celebrate together the Mountain Holiday.

019

五言古詩

孟浩然

夏日南亭怀辛大

山光忽西落， 池月漸東上。
散發乘夜涼， 開軒臥閒敞。
荷風送香气， 竹露滴清響。
欲取鳴琴彈， 恨無知音賞。
感此怀故人， 中宵勞夢想。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Meng Haoran

IN SUMMER AT THE SOUTH PAVILION
THINKING OF XING

The mountain-light suddenly fails in the west,
In the east from the lake the slow moon rises.
I loosen my hair to enjoy the evening coolness
And open my window and lie down in peace.
The wind brings me odours of lotuses,
And bamboo-leaves drip with a music of dew....
I would take up my lute and I would play,
But, alas, who here would understand?
And so I think of you, old friend,
O troubler of my midnight dreams !

020

五言古詩

孟浩然

宿業師山房待丁大不至

夕陽度西岭， 群壑倏已暝；
松月生夜涼， 風泉滿清听。
樵人歸欲盡， 煙鳥栖初定。
之子期宿來， 孤琴候蘿徑。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Meng Haoran

AT THE MOUNTAIN-LODGE OF THE BUDDHIST PRIEST YE
WAITING IN VAIN FOR MY FRIEND DING

Now that the sun has set beyond the western range,
Valley after valley is shadowy and dim....
And now through pine-trees come the moon and the chill of evening,
And my ears feel pure with the sound of wind and water
Nearly all the woodsmen have reached home,
Birds have settled on their perches in the quiet mist....
And still -- because you promised -- I am waiting for you, waiting,
Playing lute under a wayside vine.

021

五言古詩

王昌齡

同從弟南齋玩月憶山陰崔少府

高臥南齋時， 開帷月初吐；
清輝淡水木， 演漾在窗戶。
苒苒几盈虛？ 澄澄變今古。
美人清江畔， 是夜越吟苦。
千里其如何？ 微風吹蘭杜。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Wang Changling

WITH MY BROTHER AT THE SOUTH STUDY
THINKING IN THE MOONLIGHT OF VICE-PREFECT
CUI IN SHANYIN

Lying on a high seat in the south study,
We have lifted the curtain-and we see the rising moon
Brighten with pure light the water and the grove
And flow like a wave on our window and our door.
It will move through the cycle, full moon and then crescent again,
Calmly, beyond our wisdom, altering new to old.
...Our chosen one, our friend, is now by a limpid river --
Singing, perhaps, a plaintive eastern song.
He is far, far away from us, three hundred miles away.
And yet a breath of orchids comes along the wind.

022

五言古詩

邱為

尋西山隱者不遇

絕頂一茅茨， 直上三十里；
扣關無僮仆， 窺室惟案几。
若非巾柴車？ 應是釣秋水。
差池不相見， 黽勉空仰止。
草色新雨中， 松聲晚窗里；
及茲契幽絕， 自足蕩心耳。
雖無賓主意， 頗得清淨理。
興盡方下山， 何必待之子。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Qiu Wei

AFTER MISSING THE RECLUSE
ON THE WESTERN MOUNTAIN

To your hermitage here on the top of the mountain
I have climbed, without stopping, these ten miles.
I have knocked at your door, and no one answered;
I have peeped into your room, at your seat beside the table.
Perhaps you are out riding in your canopied chair,
Or fishing, more likely, in some autumn pool.
Sorry though I am to be missing you,
You have become my meditation --
The beauty of your grasses, fresh with rain,
And close beside your window the music of your pines.
I take into my being all that I see and hear,
Soothing my senses, quieting my heart;
And though there be neither host nor guest,
Have I not reasoned a visit complete?
...After enough, I have gone down the mountain.
Why should I wait for you any longer?

023

五言古詩

綦毋潛

春泛若耶溪

幽意無斷絕， 此去隨所偶；
晚風吹行舟， 花路入溪口。
際夜轉西壑， 隔山望南斗。
潭煙飛溶溶， 林月低向后。
生事且彌漫， 愿為持竿叟。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Qiwu Qian

A BOAT IN SPRING ON RUOYA LAKE

Thoughtful elation has no end:
Onward I bear it to whatever come.
And my boat and I, before the evening breeze
Passing flowers, entering the lake,
Turn at nightfall toward the western valley,
Where I watch the south star over the mountain
And a mist that rises, hovering soft,
And the low moon slanting through the trees;
And I choose to put away from me every worldly matter
And only to be an old man with a fishing-pole.

024

五言古詩

常建

宿王昌齡隱居

清溪深不測， 隱處唯孤云；
松際露微月， 清光猶為君。
茅亭宿花影， 藥院滋苔紋。
余亦謝時去， 西山鸞鶴群。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Chang Jian

AT WANG CHANGLIN' S RETREAT

Here, beside a clear deep lake,
You live accompanied by clouds;
Or soft through the pine the moon arrives
To be your own pure-hearted friend.
You rest under thatch in the shadow of your flowers,
Your dewy herbs flourish in their bed of moss.
Let me leave the world. Let me alight, like you,
On your western mountain with phoenixes and cranes.

025

五言古詩

岑參

与高适薛据登慈恩寺浮圖

塔勢如涌出， 孤高聳天宮；
登臨出世界， 磴道盤虛空。
突兀壓神州， 崢嶸如鬼工；
四角礙白日， 七層摩蒼穹。
下窺指高鳥， 俯听聞惊風。
連山若波濤， 奔湊如朝東。
青槐夾馳道， 宮館何玲瓏？
秋色從西來， 蒼然滿關中。
五陵北原上， 万古青蒙蒙。
淨理了可悟， 胜因夙所宗。
誓將挂冠去， 覺道資無窮。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Cen Can

ASCENDING THE PAGODA AT THE TEMPLE OF KIND
FAVOUR WITH GAO SHI AND XUE JU

The pagoda, rising abruptly from earth,
Reaches to the very Palace of Heaven....
Climbing, we seem to have left the world behind us,
With the steps we look down on hung from space.
It overtops a holy land
And can only have been built by toil of the spirit.
Its four sides darken the bright sun,
Its seven stories cut the grey clouds;
Birds fly down beyond our sight,
And the rapid wind below our hearing;
Mountain-ranges, toward the east,
Appear to be curving and flowing like rivers;
Far green locust-trees line broad roads
Toward clustered palaces and mansions;
Colours of autumn, out of the west,
Enter advancing through the city;
And northward there lie, in five graveyards,
Calm forever under dewy green grass,
Those who know life's final meaning
Which all humankind must learn.
...Henceforth I put my official hat aside.
To find the Eternal Way is the only happiness.

026

五言古詩

元結

賊退示官吏并序

昔歲逢太平， 山林二十年。
泉源在庭戶， 洞壑當門前。
井稅有常期， 日晏猶得眠。
忽然遭時變， 數歲親戎旃。
今來典斯郡， 山夷又紛然。
城小賊不屠， 人貧傷可怜。
是以陷鄰境， 此州獨見全。
使臣將王命， 豈不如賊焉？
令彼徵斂者， 迫之如火煎。
誰能絕人命？ 以作時世賢。
思欲委符節， 引竿自刺船，
將家就魚麥， 歸老江湖邊。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Yuan Jie

TO THE TAX-COLLECTORS
AFTER THE BANDITS RETREAT

I still remember those days of peace --
Twenty years among mountains and forests,
The pure stream running past my yard,
The caves and valleys at my door.
Taxes were light and regular then,
And I could sleep soundly and late in the morning-
Till suddenly came a sorry change.
...For years now I have been serving in the army.
When I began here as an official,
The mountain bandits were rising again;
But the town was so small it was spared by the thieves,
And the people so poor and so pitiable
That all other districts were looted
And this one this time let alone.
...Do you imperial commissioners
Mean to be less kind than bandits?
The people you force to pay the poll
Are like creatures frying over a fire.
And how can you sacrifice human lives,
Just to be known as able collectors? --
...Oh, let me fling down my official seal,
Let me be a lone fisherman in a small boat
And support my family on fish and wheat
And content my old age with rivers and lakes!

027

五言古詩

韋應物

郡齋雨中与諸文士燕集

兵衛森畫戟， 宴寢凝清香。
海上風雨至， 逍遙池閣涼。
煩痾近消散， 嘉賓复滿堂。
自慚居處崇， 未睹斯民康。
理會是非遣， 性達形跡忘。
鮮肥屬時禁， 蔬果幸見嘗。
俯飲一杯酒， 仰聆金玉章。
神歡体自輕， 意欲淩風翔。
吳中盛文史， 群彥今汪洋。
方知大蕃地， 豈曰財賦強？

Five-character-ancient-verse

Wei Yingwu

ENTERTAINING LITERARY MEN IN MY
OFFICIAL RESIDENCE ON A RAINY DAY

Outside are insignia, shown in state;
But here are sweet incense-clouds, quietly ours.
Wind and rain, coming in from sea,
Have cooled this pavilion above the lake
And driven the feverish heat away
From where my eminent guests are gathered.
...Ashamed though I am of my high position
While people lead unhappy lives,
Let us reasonably banish care
And just be friends, enjoying nature.
Though we have to go without fish and meat,
There are fruits and vegetables aplenty.
...We bow, we take our cups of wine,
We give our attention to beautiful poems.
When the mind is exalted, the body is lightened
And feels as if it could float in the wind.
...Suzhou is famed as a centre of letters;
And all you writers, coming here,
Prove that the name of a great land
Is made by better things than wealth.

028

五言古詩

韋應物

初發揚子寄元大校書

凄凄去親愛， 泛泛入煙霧；
歸棹洛陽人， 殘鐘廣陵樹。
今朝為此別， 何處還相遇？
世事波上舟， 沿洄安得住。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Wei Yingwu

SETTING SAIL ON THE YANGZI
TO SECRETARY YUAN

Wistful, away from my friends and kin,
Through mist and fog I float and float
With the sail that bears me toward Loyang.
In Yangzhou trees linger bell-notes of evening,
Marking the day and the place of our parting....
When shall we meet again and where?
...Destiny is a boat on the waves,
Borne to and fro, beyond our will.

029

五言古詩

韋應物

寄全椒山中道士

今朝郡齋冷， 忽念山中客；
澗底束荊薪， 歸來煮白石。
欲持一瓢酒， 遠慰風雨夕；
落葉滿空山， 何處尋行跡。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Wei Yingwu

A POEM TO A TAOIST HERMIT
CHUANJIAO MOUNTAIN

My office has grown cold today;
And I suddenly think of my mountain friend
Gathering firewood down in the valley
Or boiling white stones for potatoes in his hut....
I wish I might take him a cup of wine
To cheer him through the evening storm;
But in fallen leaves that have heaped the bare slopes,
How should I ever find his footprints!

030

五言古詩

韋應物

長安遇馮著

客從東方來， 衣上灞陵雨。
問客何為來？ 采山因買斧。
冥冥花正開， 揚揚燕新乳。
昨別今已春， 鬢絲生几縷。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Wei Yingwu

ON MEETING MY FRIEND FENG ZHU
IN THE CAPITAL

Out of the east you visit me,
With the rain of Baling still on your clothes,
I ask you what you have come here for;
You say: "To buy an ax for cutting wood in the mountains"
...Hidden deep in a haze of blossom,
Swallow fledglings chirp at ease
As they did when we parted, a year ago....
How grey our temples have grown since them!

031

五言古詩

韋應物

夕次盱眙縣

落帆逗淮鎮， 停舫臨孤驛。
浩浩風起波， 冥冥日沈夕。
人歸山郭暗， 雁下蘆洲白。
獨夜憶秦關， 听鐘未眠客。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Wei Yingwu

MOORING AT TWILIGHT IN YUYI DISTRICT

Furling my sail near the town of Huai,
I find for harbour a little cove
Where a sudden breeze whips up the waves.
The sun is growing dim now and sinks in the dusk.
People are coming home. The bright mountain-peak darkens.
Wildgeese fly down to an island of white weeds.
...At midnight I think of a northern city-gate,
And I hear a bell tolling between me and sleep.

032

五言古詩

韋應物

東郊

吏舍跼終年， 出郊曠清曙。
楊柳散和風， 青山澹吾慮。
依叢适自憩， 緣澗還复去。
微雨靄芳原， 春鳩鳴何處？
樂幽心屢止， 遵事跡猶遽；
終罷斯結廬， 慕陶真可庶。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Wei Yingwu

EAST OF THE TOWN

From office confinement all year long,
I have come out of town to be free this morning
Where willows harmonize the wind
And green hills lighten the cares of the world.
I lean by a tree and rest myself
Or wander up and down a stream.
...Mists have wet the fragrant meadows;
A spring dove calls from some hidden place.
...With quiet surroundings, the mind is at peace,
But beset with affairs, it grows restless again....
Here I shall finally build me a cabin,
As Tao Qian built one long ago.

033

五言古詩

韋應物

送楊氏女

永日方戚戚， 出行复悠悠。
女子今有行， 大江溯輕舟。
爾輩苦無恃， 撫念益慈柔；
幼為長所育， 兩別泣不休。
對此結中腸， 義往難复留。
自小闕內訓， 事姑貽我憂；
賴茲托令門， 仁恤庶無尤。
貧儉誠所尚， 資從豈待周！
孝恭遵婦道， 容止順其猷。
別离在今晨， 見爾當何秋？
居閒始自遣， 臨感忽難收。
歸來視幼女， 零淚緣纓流。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Wei Yingwu

TO MY DAUGHTER
ON HER MARRIAGE INTO THE YANG FAMILY

My heart has been heavy all day long
Because you have so far to go.
The marriage of a girl, away from her parents,
Is the launching of a little boat on a great river.
...You were very young when your mother died,
Which made me the more tender of you.
Your elder sister has looked out for you,
And now you are both crying and cannot part.
This makes my grief the harder to bear;
Yet it is right that you should go.
...Having had from childhood no mother to guide you,
How will you honour your mother-in-law?
It's an excellent family; they will be kind to you,
They will forgive you your mistakes --
Although ours has been so pure and poor
That you can take them no great dowry.
Be gentle and respectful, as a woman should be,
Careful of word and look, observant of good example.
...After this morning we separate,
There's no knowing for how long....
I always try to hide my feelings --
They are suddenly too much for me,
When I turn and see my younger daughter
With the tears running down her cheek.

034

五言古詩

柳宗元

晨詣超師院讀禪經

汲井漱寒齒， 清心拂塵服，
閒持貝葉書， 步出東齋讀。
真源了無取， 忘跡世所逐；
遺言冀可冥， 繕性何由熟？
道人庭宇靜， 苔色連深竹；
日出霧露余， 青松如膏沐。
澹然离言說， 悟悅心自足。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Liu Zongyuan

READING BUDDHIST CLASSICS WITH ZHAO
AT HIS TEMPLE IN THE EARLY MORNING

I clean my teeth in water drawn from a cold well;
And while I brush my clothes, I purify my mind;
Then, slowly turning pages in the Tree-Leaf Book,
I recite, along the path to the eastern shelter.
...The world has forgotten the true fountain of this teaching
And people enslave themselves to miracles and fables.
Under the given words I want the essential meaning,
I look for the simplest way to sow and reap my nature.
Here in the quiet of the priest's templecourtyard,
Mosses add their climbing colour to the thick bamboo;
And now comes the sun, out of mist and fog,
And pines that seem to be new-bathed;
And everything is gone from me, speech goes, and reading,
Leaving the single unison.

035

五言古詩

柳宗元

溪居

久為簪組累， 幸此南夷謫。
閒依農圃鄰， 偶似山林客。
曉耕翻露草， 夜榜響溪石，
來往不逢人， 長歌楚天碧。

Five-character-ancient-verse

Liu Zongyuan

DWELLING BY A STREAM

I had so long been troubled by official hat and robe
That I am glad to be an exile here in this wild southland.
I am a neighbour now of planters and reapers.
I am a guest of the mountains and woods.
I plough in the morning, turning dewy grasses,
And at evening tie my fisher-boat, breaking the quiet stream.
Back and forth I go, scarcely meeting anyone,
And sing a long poem and gaze at the blue sky.