090
五言律詩
唐玄宗
經鄒魯祭孔子而歎之
夫子何為者， 栖栖一代中。
地猶鄹氏邑， 宅即魯王宮。
歎鳳嗟身否， 傷麟怨道窮。
今看兩楹奠， 當与夢時同。
Five-character-regular-verse
Tang Xunzong
I PASS THROUGH THE LU DUKEDOM
WITH A SIGH AND A SACRIFICE FOR CONFUCIUS
O Master, how did the world repay
Your life of long solicitude? --
The Lords of Zou have misprized your land,
And your home has been used as the palace of Lu....
You foretold that when phoenixes vanished, your fortunes too would end,
You knew that the captured unicorn would be a sign of the dose of your teaching....
Can this sacrifice I watch, here between two temple pillars,
Be the selfsame omen of death you dreamed of long ago?
091
五言律詩
張九齡
望月怀遠
海上生明月， 天涯共此時。
情人怨遙夜， 竟夕起相思。
滅燭怜光滿， 披衣覺露滋。
不堪盈手贈， 還寢夢佳期。
Five-character-regular-verse
Zhang Jiuling
LOOKING AT THE MOON
AND THINKING OF ONE FAR AWAY
The moon, grown full now over the sea,
Brightening the whole of heaven,
Brings to separated hearts
The long thoughtfulness of night....
It is no darker though I blow out my candle.
It is no warmer though I put on my coat.
So I leave my message with the moon
And turn to my bed, hoping for dreams.
092
五言律詩
王勃
送杜少府之任蜀州
城闕輔三秦， 風煙望五津。
与君离別意， 同是宦游人。
海內存知己， 天涯若比鄰。
無為在歧路， 儿女共沾巾。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Bo
FAREWELL TO VICE-PREFECT DU
SETTING OUT FOR HIS OFFICIAL POST IN SHU
By this wall that surrounds the three Qin districts,
Through a mist that makes five rivers one,
We bid each other a sad farewell,
We two officials going opposite ways....
And yet, while China holds our friendship,
And heaven remains our neighbourhood,
Why should you linger at the fork of the road,
Wiping your eyes like a heart-broken child?
093
五言律詩
駱賓王
在獄詠蟬并序
西路蟬聲唱， 南冠客思侵。
那堪玄鬢影， 來對白頭吟。
露重飛難進， 風多響易沉。
無人信高洁， 誰為表予心。
Five-character-regular-verse
Lo Bingwang
A POLITICAL PRISONER LISTENING TO A CICADA
While the year sinks westward, I hear a cicada
Bid me to be resolute here in my cell,
Yet it needed the song of those black wings
To break a white-haired prisoner's heart....
His flight is heavy through the fog,
His pure voice drowns in the windy world.
Who knows if he be singing still? - -
Who listens any more to me?
094
五言律詩
杜審言
和晉陵路丞早春游望
獨有宦游人， 偏惊物候新。
云霞出海曙， 梅柳渡江春。
淑气催黃鳥， 晴光轉綠苹。
忽聞歌古調， 歸思欲沾巾。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Shenyan
ON A WALK IN THE EARLY SPRING
HARMONIZING A POEM BY MY FRIEND LU
STATIONED AT CHANGZHOU
Only to wanderers can come
Ever new the shock of beauty,
Of white cloud and red cloud dawning from the sea,
Of spring in the wild-plum and river-willow....
I watch a yellow oriole dart in the warm air,
And a green water- plant reflected by the sun.
Suddenly an old song fills
My heart with home, my eyes with tears.
095
五言律詩
沈佺期
雜詩
聞道黃龍戍， 頻年不解兵。
可怜閨里月， 長在漢家營。
少婦今春意， 良人昨夜情。
誰能將旗鼓， 一為取龍城？
Five-character-regular-verse
Shen Quanqi
LINES
Against the City of the Yellow Dragon
Our troops were sent long years ago,
And girls here watch the same melancholy moon
That lights our Chinese warriors --
And young wives dream a dream of spring,
That last night their heroic husbands,
In a great attack, with flags and drums,
Captured the City of the Yellow Dragon.
096
五言律詩
宋之問
題大庾岭北驛
陽月南飛雁， 傳聞至此回，
我行殊未已， 何日复歸來？
江靜潮初落， 林昏瘴不開。
明朝望鄉處， 應見隴頭梅。
Five-character-regular-verse
Song Zhiwen
INSCRIBED ON THE WALL OF AN INN
NORTH OF DAYU MOUNTAIN
They say that wildgeese, flying southward,
Here turn back, this very month....
Shall my own southward journey
Ever be retraced, I wonder?
...The river is pausing at ebb-tide,
And the woods are thick with clinging mist --
But tomorrow morning, over the mountain,
Dawn will be white with the plum-trees of home.
097
五言律詩
王灣
次北固山下
客路青山外， 行舟綠水前。
潮平兩岸闊， 風正一帆懸。
海日生殘夜， 江春入舊年。
鄉書何處達？ 歸雁洛陽邊。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wan
A MOORING UNDER NORTH FORT HILL
Under blue mountains we wound our way,
My boat and 1, along green water;
Until the banks at low tide widened,
With no wind stirring my lone sail.
...Night now yields to a sea of sun,
And the old year melts in freshets.
At last I can send my messengers --
Wildgeese, homing to Loyang.
098
五言律詩
常建
題破山寺后禪院
清晨入古寺， 初日照高林。
曲徑通幽處， 禪房花木深。
山光悅鳥性， 潭影空人心。
万籟此俱寂， 惟余鐘磬音。
Five-character-regular-verse
Chang Jian
A BUDDHIST RETREAT BEHIND BROKEN-MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
In the pure morning, near the old temple,
Where early sunlight points the tree-tops,
My path has wound, through a sheltered hollow
Of boughs and flowers, to a Buddhist retreat.
Here birds are alive with mountain-light,
And the mind of man touches peace in a pool,
And a thousand sounds are quieted
By the breathing of a temple-bell.
099
五言律詩
岑參
寄左省杜拾遺
聯步趨丹陛， 分曹限紫微。
曉隨天仗入， 暮惹御香歸。
白發悲花落， 青云羡鳥飛。
圣朝無闕事， 自覺諫書稀。
Five-character-regular-verse
Cen Can
A MESSAGE TO CENSOR Du Fu
AT HIS OFFICE IN THE LEFT COURT
Together we officials climbed vermilion steps,
To be parted by the purple walls....
Our procession, which entered the palace at dawn,
Leaves fragrant now at dusk with imperial incense.
...Grey heads may grieve for a fallen flower,
Or blue clouds envy a lilting bird;
But this reign is of heaven, nothing goes wrong,
There have been almost no petitions.
100
五言律詩
李白
贈孟浩然
吾愛孟夫子， 風流天下聞。
紅顏棄軒冕， 白首臥松云。
醉月頻中圣， 迷花不事君。
高山安可仰？ 徒此挹清芬。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Bai
A MESSAGE TO MENG HAORAN
Master, I hail you from my heart,
And your fame arisen to the skies....
Renouncing in ruddy youth the importance of hat and chariot,
You chose pine-trees and clouds; and now, whitehaired,
Drunk with the moon, a sage of dreams,
Flower- bewitched, you are deaf to the Emperor....
High mountain, how I long to reach you,
Breathing your sweetness even here!
101
五言律詩
李白
渡荊門送別
渡遠荊門外， 來從楚國游。
山隨平野盡， 江入大荒流。
月下飛天鏡， 云生結海樓。
仍怜故鄉水， 万里送行舟。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Bai
BIDDING A FRIEND FAREWELL AT JINGMEN FERRY
Sailing far off from Jingmen Ferry,
Soon you will be with people in the south,
Where the mountains end and the plains begin
And the river winds through wilderness....
The moon is lifted like a mirror,
Sea-clouds gleam like palaces,
And the water has brought you a touch of home
To draw your boat three hundred miles.
102
五言律詩
李白
送友人
青山橫北郭， 白水繞東城。
此地一為別， 孤蓬万里征。
浮云游子意， 落日故人情。
揮手自茲去， 蕭蕭班馬鳴。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Bai
A FAREWELL TO A FRIEND
With a blue line of mountains north of the wall,
And east of the city a white curve of water,
Here you must leave me and drift away
Like a loosened water-plant hundreds of miles....
I shall think of you in a floating cloud;
So in the sunset think of me.
...We wave our hands to say good-bye,
And my horse is neighing again and again.
103
五言律詩
李白
听蜀僧浚彈琴
蜀僧抱綠綺， 西下峨眉峰；
為我一揮手， 如听万壑松。
客心洗流水， 余響入霜鐘。
不覺碧山暮， 秋云暗几重？
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Bai
ON HEARING JUN THE BUDDHIST MONK
FROM SHU PLAY HIS LUTE
The monk from Shu with his green silk lute-case,
Walking west down Omei Mountain,
Has brought me by one touch of the strings
The breath of pines in a thousand valleys.
I hear him in the cleansing brook,
I hear him in the icy bells;
And I feel no change though the mountain darken
And cloudy autumn heaps the sky.
104
五言律詩
李白
夜泊牛渚怀古
牛渚西江夜， 青天無片云；
登舟望秋月， 空憶謝將軍。
余亦能高詠， 斯人不可聞。
明朝挂帆席， 楓葉落紛紛。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Bai
THOUGHTS OF OLD TIME FROM A NIGHT-MOORING
UNDER MOUNT NIU-ZHU
This night to the west of the river-brim
There is not one cloud in the whole blue sky,
As I watch from my deck the autumn moon,
Vainly remembering old General Xie....
I have poems; I can read;
He heard others, but not mine.
...Tomorrow I shall hoist my sail,
With fallen maple-leaves behind me.
105
五言律詩
杜甫
月夜
今夜鄜州月， 閨中只獨看。
遙怜小儿女， 未解憶長安。
香霧云鬟濕， 清輝玉臂寒。
何時倚虛幌， 雙照淚痕乾。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
ON A MOONLIGHT NIGHT
Far off in Fuzhou she is watching the moonlight,
Watching it alone from the window of her chamber-
For our boy and girl, poor little babes,
Are too young to know where the Capital is.
Her cloudy hair is sweet with mist,
Her jade-white shoulder is cold in the moon.
...When shall we lie again, with no more tears,
Watching this bright light on our screen?
106
五言律詩
杜甫
春望
國破山河在， 城春草木深。
感時花濺淚， 恨別鳥惊心。
烽火連三月， 家書抵万金。
白頭搔更短， 渾欲不胜簪。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
A SPRING VIEW
Though a country be sundered, hills and rivers endure;
And spring comes green again to trees and grasses
Where petals have been shed like tears
And lonely birds have sung their grief.
...After the war-fires of three months,
One message from home is worth a ton of gold.
...I stroke my white hair. It has grown too thin
To hold the hairpins any more.
107
五言律詩
杜甫
春宿左省
花隱掖垣暮， 啾啾栖鳥過。
星臨万戶動， 月傍九霄多。
不寢听金鑰， 因風想玉珂。
明朝有封事， 數問夜如何。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
A NIGHT-VIGIL IN THE LEFT COURT OF THE PALACE
Flowers are shadowed, the palace darkens,
Birds twitter by for a place to perch;
Heaven's ten thousand windows are twinkling,
And nine cloud-terraces are gleaming in the moonlight.
...While I wait for the golden lock to turn,
I hear jade pendants tinkling in the wind....
I have a petition to present in the morning,
All night I ask what time it is.
108
五言律詩
杜甫
至德二載甫自京金光門出，問道歸鳳翔。乾元初從左拾遺移華州掾。与親故別，因出此門。有悲往事。
此道昔歸順， 西郊胡正繁。
至今殘破膽， 應有未招魂。
近得歸京邑， 移官豈至尊。
無才日衰老， 駐馬望千門。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
TAKING LEAVE OF FRIENDS ON MY WAY TO HUAZHOU
In the second year of Zhide, I escaped from the
capital
through
the Gate of Golden Light and went to Fengxiang. In the
first
year of Qianyuan, I was appointed as official to Huazhou
from my
former post of Censor. Friends and relatives gathered and
saw me leave by the same gate. And I wrote this poem.
This is the road by which I fled,
When the rebels had reached the west end of the city;
And terror, ever since, has clutched at my vitals
Lest some of my soul should never return.
...The court has come back now, filling the capital;
But the Emperor sends me away again.
Useless and old, I rein in my horse
For one last look at the thousand gates.
109
五言律詩
杜甫
月夜憶舍弟
戍鼓斷人行， 秋邊一雁聲。
露從今夜白， 月是故鄉明。
有弟皆分散， 無家問死生。
寄書長不達， 況乃未休兵。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
REMEMBERING MY BROTHERS ON A MOONLIGHT NIGHT
A wanderer hears drums portending battle.
By the first call of autumn from a wildgoose at the border,
He knows that the dews tonight will be frost.
...How much brighter the moonlight is at home!
O my brothers, lost and scattered,
What is life to me without you?
Yet if missives in time of peace go wrong --
What can I hope for during war?
110
五言律詩
杜甫
天末怀李白
涼風起天末， 君子意如何。
鴻雁几時到， 江湖秋水多。
文章憎命達， 魑魅喜人過。
應共冤魂語， 投詩贈汨羅。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
TO LI BAI AT THE SKY SEND
A cold wind blows from the far sky....
What are you thinking of, old friend?
The wildgeese never answer me.
Rivers and lakes are flooded with rain.
...A poet should beware of prosperity,
Yet demons can haunt a wanderer.
Ask an unhappy ghost, throw poems to him
Where he drowned himself in the Milo River.
111
五言律詩
杜甫
奉濟驛重送嚴公四韻
遠送從此別， 青山空复情。
几時杯重把， 昨夜月同行。
列郡謳歌惜， 三朝出入榮。
將村獨歸處， 寂寞養殘生。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
A FAREWELL AT FENGJI STATION TO GENERAL YAN
This is where your comrade must leave you,
Turning at the foot of these purple mountains....
When shall we lift our cups again, I wonder,
As we did last night and walk in the moon?
The region is murmuring farewell
To one who was honoured through three reigns;
And back I go now to my river-village,
Into the final solitude.
112
五言律詩
杜甫
別房太尉墓
他鄉复行役， 駐馬別孤墳。
近淚無乾土， 低空有斷云。
對棋陪謝傅， 把劍覓徐君。
唯見林花落， 鶯啼送客聞。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
ON LEAVING THE TOMB OF PREMIER FANG
Having to travel back now from this far place,
I dismount beside your lonely tomb.
The ground where I stand is wet with my tears;
The sky is dark with broken clouds....
I who played chess with the great Premier
Am bringing to my lord the dagger he desired.
But I find only petals falling down,
I hear only linnets answering.
113
五言律詩
杜甫
旅夜書怀
細草微風岸， 危檣獨夜舟。
星垂平野闊， 月涌大江流。
名豈文章著， 官應老病休。
飄飄何所似， 天地一沙鷗。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
A NIGHT ABROAD
A light wind is rippling at the grassy shore....
Through the night, to my motionless tall mast,
The stars lean down from open space,
And the moon comes running up the river.
...If only my art might bring me fame
And free my sick old age from office! --
Flitting, flitting, what am I like
But a sand-snipe in the wide, wide world!
114
五言律詩
杜甫
登岳陽樓
昔聞洞庭水， 今上岳陽樓。
吳楚東南坼， 乾坤日夜浮。
親朋無一字， 老病有孤舟。
戎馬關山北， 憑軒涕泗流。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Fu
ON THE GATE-TOWER AT YOUZHOU
I had always heard of Lake Dongting --
And now at last I have climbed to this tower.
With Wu country to the east of me and Chu to the south,
I can see heaven and earth endlessly floating.
...But no word has reached me from kin or friends.
I am old and sick and alone with my boat.
North of this wall there are wars and mountains --
And here by the rail how can I help crying?
115
五言律詩
王維
輞川閒居贈裴秀才迪
寒山轉蒼翠， 秋水日潺湲。
倚杖柴門外， 臨風听暮蟬。
渡頭余落日， 墟里上孤煙。
复值接輿醉， 狂歌五柳前。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei
A MESSAGE FROM MY LODGE AT WANGCHUAN
TO PEI DI
The mountains are cold and blue now
And the autumn waters have run all day.
By my thatch door, leaning on my staff,
I listen to cicadas in the evening wind.
Sunset lingers at the ferry,
Supper-smoke floats up from the houses.
...Oh, when shall I pledge the great Hermit again
And sing a wild poem at Five Willows?
116
五言律詩
王維
山居秋暝
空山新雨后， 天气晚來秋。
明月松間照， 清泉石上流。
竹喧歸浣女， 蓮動下漁舟。
隨意春芳歇， 王孫自可留。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei
AN AUTUMN EVENING IN THE MOUNTAINS
After rain the empty mountain
Stands autumnal in the evening,
Moonlight in its groves of pine,
Stones of crystal in its brooks.
Bamboos whisper of washer-girls bound home,
Lotus-leaves yield before a fisher-boat --
And what does it matter that springtime has gone,
While you are here, O Prince of Friends?
117
五言律詩
王維
歸嵩山作
清川帶長薄， 車馬去閒閒。
流水如有意， 暮禽相与還。
荒城臨古渡， 落日滿秋山。
迢遞嵩高下， 歸來且閉關。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei
BOUND HOME TO MOUNT SONG
The limpid river, past its bushes
Running slowly as my chariot,
Becomes a fellow voyager
Returning home with the evening birds.
A ruined city-wall overtops an old ferry,
Autumn sunset floods the peaks.
...Far away, beside Mount Song,
I shall close my door and be at peace.
118
五言律詩
王維
終南山
太乙近天都， 連山接海隅。
白云回望合， 青靄入看無。
分野中峰變， 陰晴眾壑殊。
欲投人處宿， 隔水問樵夫。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei
MOUNT ZHONGNAN
Its massive height near the City of Heaven
Joins a thousand mountains to the corner of the sea.
Clouds, when I look back, close behind me,
Mists, when I enter them, are gone.
A central peak divides the wilds
And weather into many valleys.
...Needing a place to spend the night,
I call to a wood-cutter over the river.
119
五言律詩
王維
酬張少府
晚年惟好靜， 万事不關心。
自顧無長策， 空知返舊林。
松風吹解帶， 山月照彈琴。
君問窮通理， 漁歌入浦深。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei
ANSWERING VICE-PREFECT ZHANG
As the years go by, give me but peace,
Freedom from ten thousand matters.
I ask myself and always answer:
What can be better than coming home?
A wind from the pine-trees blows my sash,
And my lute is bright with the mountain moon.
You ask me about good and evil fortune?....
Hark, on the lake there's a fisherman singing!
120
五言律詩
王維
過香積寺
不知香積寺， 數里入云峰。
古木無人徑， 深山何處鐘。
泉聲咽危石， 日色冷青松。
薄暮空潭曲， 安禪制毒龍。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei
TOWARD THE TEMPLE OF HEAPED FRAGRANCE
Not knowing the way to the Temple of Heaped Fragrance,
Under miles of mountain-cloud I have wandered
Through ancient woods without a human track;
But now on the height I hear a bell.
A rillet sings over winding rocks,
The sun is tempered by green pines....
And at twilight, close to an emptying pool,
Thought can conquer the Passion-Dragon.
121
五言律詩
王維
送梓州李使君
万壑樹參天， 千山響杜鵑。
山中一夜雨， 樹杪百重泉。
漢女輸橦布， 巴人訟芋田。
文翁翻教授， 不敢倚先賢。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei
A MESSAGE TO COMMISSIONER LI AT ZIZHOU
From ten thousand valleys the trees touch heaven;
On a thousand peaks cuckoos are calling;
And, after a night of mountain rain,
From each summit come hundreds of silken cascades.
...If girls are asked in tribute the fibre they weave,
Or farmers quarrel over taro fields,
Preside as wisely as Wenweng did....
Is fame to be only for the ancients?
122
五言律詩
王維
漢江臨眺
楚塞三湘接， 荊門九派通。
江流天地外， 山色有無中。
郡邑浮前浦， 波瀾動遠空。
襄陽好風日， 留醉与山翁。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei
A VIEW OF THE HAN RIVER
With its three southern branches reaching the Chu border,
And its nine streams touching the gateway of Jing,
This river runs beyond heaven and earth,
Where the colour of mountains both is and is not.
The dwellings of men seem floating along
On ripples of the distant sky --
These beautiful days here in Xiangyang
Make drunken my old mountain heart!
123
五言律詩
王維
終南別業
中歲頗好道， 晚家南山陲。
興來美獨往， 胜事空自知。
行到水窮處， 坐看云起時。
偶然值林叟， 談笑無還期。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei
MY RETREAT AT MOUNT ZHONGNAN
My heart in middle age found the Way.
And I came to dwell at the foot of this mountain.
When the spirit moves, I wander alone
Amid beauty that is all for me....
I will walk till the water checks my path,
Then sit and watch the rising clouds --
And some day meet an old wood-cutter
And talk and laugh and never return.
124
五言律詩
孟浩然
望洞庭湖贈張丞相
八月湖水平， 涵虛混太清。
气蒸云夢澤， 波撼岳陽城。
欲濟無舟楫， 端居恥圣明。
坐觀垂釣者， 空有羡魚情。
Five-character-regular-verse
Meng Haoran
A MESSAGE FROM LAKE DONGTIN
TO PREMIER ZHANG
Here in the Eighth-month the waters of the lake
Are of a single air with heaven,
And a mist from the Yun and Meng valleys
Has beleaguered the city of Youzhou.
I should like to cross, but I can find no boat.
...How ashamed I am to be idler than you statesmen,
As I sit here and watch a fisherman casting
And emptily envy him his catch.
125
五言律詩
孟浩然
与諸子登峴山
人事有代謝， 往來成古今。
江山留胜跡， 我輩复登臨。
水落魚梁淺， 天寒夢澤深。
羊公碑字在， 讀罷淚沾襟。
Five-character-regular-verse
Meng Haoran
ON CLIMBING YAN MOUNTAIN WITH FRIENDS
While worldly matters take their turn,
Ancient, modern, to and fro,
Rivers and mountains are changeless in their glory
And still to be witnessed from this trail.
Where a fisher-boat dips by a waterfall,
Where the air grows colder, deep in the valley,
The monument of Yang remains;
And we have wept, reading the words.
126
五言律詩
孟浩然
清明日宴梅道士房
林臥愁春盡， 開軒覽物華。
忽逢青鳥使， 邀入赤松家。
丹灶初開火， 仙桃正發花。
童顏若可駐， 何惜醉流霞。
Five-character-regular-verse
Meng Haoran
AT A BANQUET IN THE HOUSE
OF THE TAOIST PRIEST MEI
In my bed among the woods, grieving that spring must end,
I lifted up the curtain on a pathway of flowers,
And a flashing bluebird bade me come
To the dwelling-place of the Red Pine Genie.
...What a flame for his golden crucible --
Peach-trees magical with buds ! --
And for holding boyhood in his face,
The rosy-flowing wine of clouds!
127
五言律詩
孟浩然
歲暮歸南山
北闕休上書， 南山歸敝廬。
不才明主棄， 多病故人疏。
白發催年老， 青陽逼歲除。
永怀愁不寐， 松月夜窗墟。
Five-character-regular-verse
Meng Haoran
ON RETURNING AT THE YEAR'S END TO
ZHONGNAN MOUNTAIN
I petition no more at the north palace-gate.
...To this tumble-down hut on Zhongnan Mountain
I was banished for my blunders, by a wise ruler.
I have been sick so long I see none of my friends.
My white hairs hasten my decline,
Like pale beams ending the old year.
Therefore I lie awake and ponder
On the pine-shadowed moonlight in my empty window.
128
五言律詩
孟浩然
過故人庄
故人具雞黍， 邀我至田家。
綠樹村邊合， 青山郭外斜。
開軒面場圃， 把酒話桑麻。
待到重陽日， 還來就菊花。
Five-character-regular-verse
Meng Haoran
STOPPING AT A FRIEND'S FARM-HOUSE
Preparing me chicken and rice, old friend,
You entertain me at your farm.
We watch the green trees that circle your village
And the pale blue of outlying mountains.
We open your window over garden and field,
To talk mulberry and hemp with our cups in our hands.
...Wait till the Mountain Holiday --
I am coming again in chrysanthemum time.
129
五言律詩
孟浩然
秦中感秋寄遠上人
一丘嘗欲臥， 三徑苦無資。
北土非吾愿， 東林怀我師。
黃金燃桂盡， 壯志逐年衰。
日夕涼風至， 聞蟬但益悲。
Five-character-regular-verse
Meng Haoran
FROM QIN COUNTRY TO THE BUDDHIST PRIEST YUAN
How gladly I would seek a mountain
If I had enough means to live as a recluse!
For I turn at last from serving the State
To the Eastern Woods Temple and to you, my master.
...Like ashes of gold in a cinnamon-flame,
My youthful desires have been burnt with the years-
And tonight in the chilling sunset-wind
A cicada, singing, weighs on my heart.
130
五言律詩
孟浩然
宿桐廬江寄廣陵舊游
山暝听猿愁， 滄江急夜流。
風鳴兩岸葉， 月照一孤舟。
建德非吾土， 維揚憶舊游。
還將兩行淚， 遙寄海西頭。
Five-character-regular-verse
Meng Haoran
FROM A MOORING ON THE TONGLU
TO A FRIEND IN YANGZHOU
With monkeys whimpering on the shadowy mountain,
And the river rushing through the night,
And a wind in the leaves along both banks,
And the moon athwart my solitary sail,
I, a stranger in this inland district,
Homesick for my Yangzhou friends,
Send eastward two long streams of tears
To find the nearest touch of the sea.
131
五言律詩
孟浩然
留別王侍御維
寂寂竟何待， 朝朝空自歸。
欲尋芳草去， 惜与故人違。
當路誰相假， 知音世所稀。
祗應守寂寞， 還掩故園扉。
Five-character-regular-verse
Meng Haoran
TAKING LEAVE OF WANG WEI
Slow and reluctant, I have waited
Day after day, till now I must go.
How sweet the road-side flowers might be
If they did not mean good-bye, old friend.
The Lords of the Realm are harsh to us
And men of affairs are not our kind.
I will turn back home, I will say no more,
I will close the gate of my old garden.
132
五言律詩
孟浩然
早寒江上有怀
木落雁南渡， 北風江上寒。
我家襄水曲， 遙隔楚云端。
鄉淚客中盡， 孤帆天際看。
迷津欲有問， 平海夕漫漫。
Five-character-regular-verse
Meng Haoran
MEMORIES IN EARLY WINTER
South go the wildgesse, for leaves are now falling,
And the water is cold with a wind from the north.
I remember my home; but the Xiang River's curves
Are walled by the clouds of this southern country.
I go forward. I weep till my tears are spent.
I see a sail in the far sky.
Where is the ferry? Will somebody tell me?
It's growing rough. It's growing dark.
133
五言律詩
劉長卿
秋日登吳公台上寺遠眺
古台搖落后， 秋日望鄉心。
野寺人來少， 云峰水隔深。
夕陽依舊壘， 寒磬滿空林。
惆悵南朝事， 長江獨至今。
Five-character-regular-verse
Liu Changqing
CLIMBING IN AUTUMN FOR A VIEW FROM THE TEMPLE
ON THE TERRACE OF GENERAL WU
So autumn breaks my homesick heart....
Few pilgrims venture climbing to a temple so wild,
Up from the lake, in the mountain clouds.
...Sunset clings in the old defences,
A stone gong shivers through the empty woods.
...Of the Southern Dynasty, what remains?
Nothing but the great River.
134
五言律詩
劉長卿
送李中丞歸漢陽別業
流落征南將， 曾驅十万師。
罷歸無舊業， 老去戀明時。
獨立三邊靜， 輕生一劍知。
茫茫江漢上， 日暮复何之。
Five-character-regular-verse
Liu Chanqing
A FAREWELL TO GOVERNOR LI
ON HIS WAY HOME TO HANYANG
Sad wanderer, once you conquered the South,
Commanding a hundred thousand men;
Today, dismissed and dispossessed,
In your old age you remember glory.
Once, when you stood, three borders were still;
Your dagger was the scale of life.
Now, watching the great rivers, the Jiang and the Han,
On their ways in the evening, where do you go?
135
五言律詩
劉長卿
餞別王十一南游
望君煙水闊， 揮手淚沾巾。
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， 相思愁白苹？
Five-character-regular-verse
Liu Changing
ON SEEING WANG LEAVE FOR THE SOUTH
Toward a mist upon the water
Still I wave my hand and sob,
For the flying bird is lost in space
Beyond a desolate green mountain....
But now the long river, the far lone sail,
five lakes, gleam like spring in the sunset;
And down an island white with duckweed
Comes the quiet of communion.
136
五言律詩
劉長卿
尋南溪常山道人隱居
一路經行處， 莓苔見履痕。
白云依靜渚， 春草閉閒門。
過雨看松色， 隨山到水源。
溪花与禪意， 相對亦忘言。
Five-character-regular-verse
Liu Changing
WHILE VISITING ON THE SOUTH STREAM
THE TAOIST PRIEST CHANG
Walking along a little path,
I find a footprint on the moss,
A while cloud low on the quiet lake,
Grasses that sweeten an idle door,
A pine grown greener with the rain,
A brook that comes from a mountain source --
And, mingling with Truth among the flowers,
I have forgotten what to say.
137
五言律詩
劉長卿
新年作
鄉心新歲切， 天畔獨潸然。
老至居人下， 春歸在客先。
岭猿同旦暮， 江柳共風煙。
已似長沙傅， 從今又几年。
Five-character-regular-verse
Liu Changqing
NEW YEAR'S AT CHANGSHA
New Year's only deepens my longing,
Adds to the lonely tears of an exile
Who, growing old and still in harness,
Is left here by the homing spring....
Monkeys come down from the mountains to haunt me.
I bend like a willow, when it rains on the river.
I think of Jia Yi, who taught here and died here-
And I wonder what my term shall be.
138
五言律詩
錢起
送僧歸日本
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， 魚龍听梵聲。
惟怜一燈影， 万里眼中明。
Five-character-regular-verse
Qian Qi
FAREWELL TO A JAPANESE BUDDHIST PRIEST
BOUND HOMEWARD
You were foreordained to find the source.
Now, tracing your way as in a dream
There where the sea floats up the sky,
You wane from the world in your fragile boat....
The water and the moon are as calm as your faith,
Fishes and dragons follow your chanting,
And the eye still watches beyond the horizon
The holy light of your single lantern.
139
五言律詩
錢起
谷口書齋寄楊補闕
泉壑帶茅茨， 云霞生薜帷。
竹怜新雨后， 山愛夕陽時。
閒鷺栖常早， 秋花落更遲。
家童掃蘿徑， 昨与故人期。
Five-character-regular-verse
Qian Qi
FROM MY STUDY AT THE MOUTH OF THE VALLEY.
A MESSAGE TO CENSOR YANG
At a little grass-hut in the valley of the river,
Where a cloud seems born from a viney wall,
You will love the bamboos new with rain,
And mountains tender in the sunset.
Cranes drift early here to rest
And autumn flowers are slow to fade....
I have bidden my pupil to sweep the grassy path
For the coming of my friend.
140
五言律詩
韋應物
淮上喜會梁川故人
江漢曾為客， 相逢每醉還。
浮云一別后， 流水十年間。
歡笑情如舊， 蕭疏鬢已斑。
何因北歸去？ 淮上對秋山。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wei Yingwu
A GREETING ON THE HUAI RIVER
TO MY OLD FRIENDS FROM LIANGCHUAN
We used to be companions on the Jiang and the Han,
And as often as we met, we were likely to be tipsy.
Since we left one another, floating apart like clouds,
Ten years have run like water-till at last we join again.
And we talk again and laugh again just as in earlier days,
Except that the hair on our heads is tinged now with grey.
Why not come along, then, all of us together,
And face the autumn mountains and sail along the Huai?
141
五言律詩
韋應物
賦得暮雨送李胄
楚江微雨里， 建業暮鐘時。
漠漠帆來重， 冥冥鳥去遲。
海門深不見， 浦樹遠含滋。
相送情無限， 沾襟比散絲。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wei Yingwu
A FAREWELL IN THE EVENING RAIN TO LI CAO
Is it raining on the river all the way to Chu? -- -
The evening bell comes to us from Nanjing.
Your wet sail drags and is loath to be going
And shadowy birds are flying slow.
We cannot see the deep ocean-gate --
Only the boughs at Pukou, newly dripping.
Likewise, because of our great love,
There are threads of water on our faces.
142
五言律詩
韓翃
酬程延秋夜即事見贈
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， 心期臥亦賒。
向來吟秀句， 不覺已鳴鴉。
Five-character-regular-verse
Han Hong
AN AUTUMN EVENING HARMONIZING
CHENG QIN'S POEM
While a cold wind is creeping under my mat,
And the city's naked wall grows pale with the autumn moon,
I see a lone wild-goose crossing the River of Stars,
And I hear, on stone in the night, thousands of washing mallets....
But, instead of wishing the season, as it goes,
To bear me also far away,
I have found your poem so beautiful
That I forget the homing birds.
143
五言律詩
劉脊虛
闕題
又作閒
道由白云盡， 春与青溪長。
時有落花至， 遠隋流水香。
閒門向山路， 深柳讀書堂。
幽映每白日， 清輝照衣裳。
Five-character-regular-verse
Liu Jixu
A POEM
On a road outreaching the white clouds,
By a spring outrunning the bluest river,
Petals come drifting on the wind
And the brook is sweet with them all the way.
My quiet gate is a mountain-trail,
And the willow-trees about my cottage
Sift on my sleeve, through the shadowy noon,
Distillations of the sun.
144
五言律詩
戴叔倫
江鄉故人偶集客舍
天秋月又滿， 城闕夜千重。
還作江南會， 翻疑夢里逢。
風枝惊暗鵲， 露草覆寒虫。
羈旅長堪醉， 相留畏曉鐘。
Five-character-regular-verse
Dai Shulun
CHANGING ON OLD FRIENDS IN A VILLAGE INN
While the autumn moon is pouring full
On a thousand night-levels among towns and villages,
There meet by chance, south of the river,
Dreaming doubters of a dream....
In the trees a wind has startled the birds,
And insects cower from cold in the grass;
But wayfarers at least have wine
And nothing to fear -- till the morning bell.
145
五言律詩
盧綸
李端公
故關衰草遍， 离別正堪悲。
路出寒云外， 人歸暮雪時。
少孤為客早， 多難識君遲。
掩淚空相向， 風塵何處期。
Five-character-regular-verse
Lu Lun
A FAREWELL TO LI DUAN
By my old gate, among yellow grasses,
Still we linger, sick at heart.
The way you must follow through cold clouds
Will lead you this evening into snow.
Your father died; you left home young;
Nobody knew of your misfortunes.
We cry, we say nothing. What can I wish you,
In this blowing wintry world?
146
五言律詩
李益
喜見外弟又言別
十年离亂后， 長大一相逢。
問姓惊初見， 稱名憶舊容。
別來滄海事， 語罷暮天鐘。
明日巴陵道， 秋山又几重。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Yi
A BRIEF BUT HAPPY MEETING WITH MY BROTHER-IN LAW
"MEETING BY ACCIDENT, ONLY TO PART"
After these ten torn wearisome years
We have met again. We were both so changed
That hearing first your surname, I thought you a stranger --
Then hearing your given name, I remembered your young face....
All that has happened with the tides
We have told and told till the evening bell....
Tomorrow you journey to Youzhou,
Leaving autumn between us, peak after peak.
147
五言律詩
司空曙
云陽館与韓紳宿別
故人江海別， 几度隔山川。
乍見翻疑夢， 相悲各問年。
孤燈寒照雨， 深竹暗浮煙。
更有明朝恨， 离杯惜共傳。
Five-character-regular-verse
Sikong Shu
A FAREWELL TO HAN SHEN AT THE YUNYANG INN
Long divided by river and sea,
For years we two have failed to meet --
And suddenly to find you seems like a dream....
With a catch in the throat, we ask how old we are.
...Our single lamp shines, through cold and wet,
On a bamboo- thicket sheathed in rain;
But forgetting the sadness that will come with tomorrow,
Let us share the comfort of this farewell wine.
148
五言律詩
司空曙
喜外弟盧綸見宿
靜夜四無鄰， 荒居舊業貧。
雨中黃葉樹， 燈下白頭人。
以我獨沉久， 愧君相訪頻。
平生自有分， 況是蔡家親。
Five-character-regular-verse
Sikong Shu
WHEN LU LUN MY COUSIN COMES FOR THE NIGHT
With no other neighbour but the quiet night,
Here I live in the same old cottage;
And as raindrops brighten yellow leaves,
The lamp illumines my white head....
Out of the world these many years,
I am ashamed to receive you here.
But you cannot come too often,
More than brother, lifelong friend.
149
五言律詩
司空曙
賊平后送人北歸
世亂同南去， 時清獨北還。
他鄉生白發， 舊國見青山。
曉月過殘壘， 繁星宿故關。
寒禽与衰草， 處處伴愁顏。
Five-character-regular-verse
Sikiong Shu
TO A FRIEND BOUND NORTH
AFTER THE REBELLION
In dangerous times we two came south;
Now you go north in safety, without me.
But remember my head growing white among strangers,
When you look on the blue of the mountains of home.
...The moon goes down behind a ruined fort,
Leaving star-clusters above an old gate....
There are shivering birds and withering grasses,
Whichever way I turn my face.
150
五言律詩
劉禹錫
蜀先主廟
天地英雄气， 千秋尚凜然。
勢分三足鼎， 業复五銖錢。
得相能開國， 生儿不象賢。
凄涼蜀故妓， 來舞魏宮前。
Five-character-regular-verse
Liu Yuxi
IN THE TEMPLE OF THE FIRST KING OF SHU
Even in this world the spirit of a hero
Lives and reigns for thousands of years.
You were the firmest of the pot's three legs;
It was you who maintained the honour of the currency;
You chose a great premier to magnify your kingdom....
And yet you had a son so little like his father
That girls of your country were taken captive
To dance in the palace of the King of Wei.
151
五言律詩
張籍
沒蕃故人
又作戎
前年伐月支， 城下沒全師。
蕃漢斷消息， 死生長別离。
無人收廢帳， 歸馬識殘旗。
欲祭疑君在， 天涯哭此時。
Five-character-regular-verse
Zhang Ji
THINKING OF A FRIEND LOST
IN THE TIBETAN WAR
Last year you went with your troops to Tibet;
And when your men had vanished beyond the citywall,
News was cut off between the two worlds
As between the living and the dead.
No one has come upon a faithful horse guarding
A crumpled tent or torn flag, or any trace of you.
If only I knew, I might serve you in the temple,
Instead of these tears toward the far sky.
152
五言律詩
白居易
賦得古原草送別
离离原上草， 一歲一枯榮。
野火燒不盡， 春風吹又生。
遠芳侵古道， 晴翠接荒城。
又送王孫去， 萋萋滿別情。
Five-character-regular-verse
Bai Juyi
GRASSES
Boundless grasses over the plain
Come and go with every season;
Wildfire never quite consumes them --
They are tall once more in the spring wind.
Sweet they press on the old high- road
And reach the crumbling city-gate....
O Prince of Friends, you are gone again....
I hear them sighing after you.
153
五言律詩
杜牧
旅宿
旅館無良伴， 凝情自悄然。
寒燈思舊事， 斷雁警愁眠。
遠夢歸侵曉， 家書到隔年。
滄江好煙月， 門系釣魚船。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Mu
A NIGHT AT A TAVERN
Solitary at the tavern,
I am shut in with loneliness and grief.
Under the cold lamp, I brood on the past;
I am kept awake by a lost wildgoose.
...Roused at dawn from a misty dream,
I read, a year late, news from home --
And I remember the moon like smoke on the river
And a fisher-boat moored there, under my door.
154
五言律詩
許渾
秋日赴闕題潼關驛樓
紅葉晚蕭蕭， 長亭酒一瓢。
殘云歸太華， 疏雨過中條。
樹色隨山迥， 河聲入海遙。
帝鄉明日到， 猶自夢漁樵。
Five-character-regular-verse
Xu Hun
INSCRIBED IN THE INN AT TONG GATE
ON AN AUTUMN TRIP TO THE CAPITAL
Red leaves are fluttering down the twilight
Past this arbour where I take my wine;
Cloud-rifts are blowing toward Great Flower Mountain,
And a shower is crossing the Middle Ridge.
I can see trees colouring a distant wall.
I can hear the river seeking the sea,
As I the Imperial City tomorrow --
But I dream of woodsmen and fishermen.
155
五言律詩
許渾
早秋
遙夜泛清瑟， 西風生翠蘿。
殘螢栖玉露， 早雁拂銀河。
高樹曉還密， 遠山晴更多。
淮南一葉下， 自覺老煙波。
Five-character-regular-verse
Xu Hun
EARLY AUTUMN
There's a harp in the midnight playing clear,
While the west wind rustles a green vine;
There's a low cloud touching the jade-white dew
And an early wildgoose in the River of Stars....
Night in the tall trees clings to dawn;
Light makes folds in the distant hills;
And here on the Huai, by one falling leaf,
I can feel a storm on Lake Dongting.
156
五言律詩
李商隱
蟬
本以高難飽， 徒勞恨費聲。
五更疏欲斷， 一樹碧無情。
薄宦梗猶泛， 故園蕪已平。
煩君最相警， 我亦舉家清。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin
A CICADA
Pure of heart and therefore hungry,
All night long you have sung in vain --
Oh, this final broken indrawn breath
Among the green indifferent trees!
Yes, I have gone like a piece of driftwood,
I have let my garden fill with weeds....
I bless you for your true advice
To live as pure a life as yours.
157
五言律詩
李商隱
風雨
凄涼寶劍篇， 羈泊欲窮年。
黃葉仍風雨， 青樓自管弦。
新知遭薄俗， 舊好隔良緣。
心斷新丰酒， 銷愁斗几千。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin
WIND AND RAIN
I ponder on the poem of The Precious Dagger.
My road has wound through many years.
...Now yellow leaves are shaken with a gale;
Yet piping and fiddling keep the Blue Houses merry.
On the surface, I seem to be glad of new people;
But doomed to leave old friends behind me,
I cry out from my heart for Xinfeng wine
To melt away my thousand woes.
158
五言律詩
李商隱
落花
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。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin
FALLING PETALS
Gone is the guest from the Chamber of Rank,
And petals, confused in my little garden,
Zigzagging down my crooked path,
Escort like dancers the setting sun.
Oh, how can I bear to sweep them away?
To a sad-eyed watcher they never return.
Heart's fragrance is spent with the ending of spring
And nothing left but a tear-stained robe.
159
五言律詩
李商隱
涼思
客去波平檻， 蟬休露滿枝。
永怀當此節， 倚立自移時。
北斗兼春遠， 南陵寓使遲。
天涯占夢數， 疑誤有新知。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin
THOUGHTS IN THE COLD
You are gone. The river is high at my door.
Cicadas are mute on dew-laden boughs.
This is a moment when thoughts enter deep.
I stand alone for a long while.
...The North Star is nearer to me now than spring,
And couriers from your southland never arrive --
Yet I doubt my dream on the far horizon
That you have found another friend.
160
五言律詩
李商隱
北青蘿
殘陽西入崦， 茅屋訪孤僧。
落葉人何在？ 寒云路几層。
獨敲初夜磬， 閒倚一枝藤。
世界微塵里， 吾宁愛与憎。
Five-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin
NORTH AMONG GREEN VINES
Where the sun has entered the western hills,
I look for a monk in his little straw hut;
But only the fallen leaves are at home,
And I turn through chilling levels of cloud
I hear a stone gong in the dusk,
I lean full-weight on my slender staff
How within this world, within this grain of dust,
Can there be any room for the passions of men?
161
五言律詩
溫庭筠
送人東游
荒戍落黃葉， 浩然离故關。
高風漢陽渡， 初日郢門山。
江上几人在？ 天涯孤棹還。
何當重相見？ 樽酒慰离顏。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wen Tingyun
TO A FRIEND BOUND EAST
The old fort brims with yellow leaves....
You insist upon forsaking this place where you have lived.
A high wind blows at Hanyang Ferry
And sunrise lights the summit of Yingmen....
Who will be left for me along the upper Yangzi
After your solitary skiff has entered the end of the sky?
I ask you over and over when we shall meet again,
While we soften with winecups this ache of farewell.
162
五言律詩
馬戴
灞上秋居
灞原風雨定， 晚見雁行頻。
落葉他鄉樹， 寒燈獨夜人。
空園白露滴， 孤壁野僧鄰。
寄臥郊扉久， 何年致此身？
Five-character-regular-verse
Ma Dai
AN AUTUMN COTTAGE AT BASHANG
After the shower at Bashang,
I see an evening line of wildgeese,
The limp-hanging leaves of a foreign tree,
A lantern's cold gleam, lonely in the night,
An empty garden, white with dew,
The ruined wall of a neighbouring monastery.
...I have taken my ease here long enough.
What am I waiting for, I wonder.
163
五言律詩
馬戴
楚江怀古
露气寒光集， 微陽下楚丘。
猿啼洞庭樹， 人在木蘭舟。
廣澤生明月， 蒼山夾亂流。
云中君不見， 竟夕自悲秋。
Five-character-regular-verse
Ma Dai
THOUGHTS OF OLD TIME
ON THE CHU RIVER
A cold light shines on the gathering dew,
As sunset fades beyond the southern mountains;
Trees echo with monkeys on the banks of Lake Dongting,
Where somebody is moving in an orchid-wood boat.
Marsh-lands are swollen wide with the moon,
While torrents are bent to the mountains' will;
And the vanished Queens of the Clouds leave me
Sad with autumn all night long.
164
五言律詩
張喬
書邊事
調角斷清秋， 征人倚戍樓。
春風對青冢， 白日落梁州。
大漠無兵阻， 窮邊有客游。
蕃情似此水， 長愿向南流。
Five-character-regular-verse
Zhang Qiao
ON THE BORDER
Though a bugle breaks the crystal air of autumn,
Soldiers, in the look-out, watch at ease today
The spring wind blowing across green graves
And the pale sun setting beyond Liangzhou.
For now, on grey plains done with war,
The border is open to travel again;
And Tartars can no more choose than rivers:
They are running, all of them, toward the south.
165
五言律詩
崔涂
巴山道中除夜有怀
又作人
迢遞三巴路， 羈危万里身。
亂山殘雪夜， 孤獨异鄉春。
漸与骨肉遠， 轉于僮仆親。
那堪正飄泊， 明日歲華新。
Five-character-regular-verse
Cui Tu
ON NEW YEAR'S EVE
Farther and farther from the three Ba Roads,
I have come three thousand miles, anxious and watchful,
Through pale snow-patches in the jagged nightmountains --
A stranger with a lonely lantern shaken in the wind.
...Separation from my kin
Binds me closer to my servants --
Yet how I dread, so far adrift,
New Year's Day, tomorrow morning!
166
五言律詩
崔涂
孤雁
几行歸塞盡， 片影獨何之？
暮雨相呼失， 寒塘欲下遲。
渚云低暗渡， 關月冷相隨。
未必逢矰繳， 孤飛自可疑。
Five-character-regular-verse
Cui Tu
A SOLITARY WILDGOOSE
Line after line has flown back over the border.
Where are you headed all by yourself?
In the evening rain you call to them --
And slowly you alight on an icy pond.
The low wet clouds move faster than you
Along the wall toward the cold moon.
...If they caught you in a net or with a shot,
Would it be worse than flying alone?
167
五言律詩
杜荀鶴
春宮怨
早被嬋娟誤， 欲妝臨鏡慵。
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。
Five-character-regular-verse
Du Xunhe
A SIGH IN THE SPRING PALACE
Knowing beauty my misfortune,
I face my mirror with a sigh.
To please a fastidious emperor,
How shall I array myself?....
Birds flock and sing when the wind is warm,
Flower-shadows climb when the sun is high --
And year after year girls in the south
Are picking hibiscus, dreaming of love!
168
五言律詩
韋庄
章台夜思
清瑟怨遙夜， 繞弦風雨哀。
孤燈聞楚角， 殘月下章台。
芳草已云暮， 故人殊未來。
鄉書不可寄， 秋雁又南回。
Five-character-regular-verse
Wei Zhuang
A NIGHT THOUGHT ON TERRACE TOWER
Far through the night a harp is sighing
With a sadness of wind and rain in the strings....
There's a solitary lantern, a bugle-call --
And beyond Terrace Tower down goes the moon.
...Fragrant grasses have changed and faded
While still I have been hoping that my old friend would come....
There are no more messengers I can send him,
Now that the wildgeese have turned south.
169
五言律詩
僧皎然
尋陸鴻漸不遇
移家雖帶郭， 野徑入桑麻。
近种篱邊菊， 秋來未著花。
扣門無犬吠， 欲去問西家。
報到山中去， 歸來每日斜。
Five-character-regular-verse
Seng Jiaoran
NOT FINDING LU HONGXIAN AT HOME
To find you, moved beyond the city,
A wide path led me, by mulberry and hemp,
To a new-set hedge of chrysanthemums --
Not yet blooming although autumn had come.
...I knocked; no answer, not even a dog.
I waited to ask your western neighbour;
But he told me that daily you climb the mountain,
Never returning until sunset.