Introduction

1. 古別離

轔轔雙車輪，一日千萬轉。

同心不同車，別離時屢變。

車輪尚有跡，相思獨不見。

Ancient Parting

Rattling along, the wheels of a pair of carts,
Each day they turn a million times.
Same heart, not the same cart,
Since we parted, so much has changed.
Yet the cartwheels still leave tracks,
Thinking of you, alone, you don’t appear.

2. 感遇（三首之一）

盈盈窗下蘭，枝葉何芬芳。

風一夕起，零落悲秋霜。 　

色總消歇，清香終不死。 　

物傷我心，流涕沾衣袂。

Sentimental Encounters (One of Three)

In abundance, orchids beneath the window;
How fragrant their stems and leaves.
Once the west wind grazes past,
They wither and mourn in the autumn frost.
Though delicate appearance become withered and haggard,
The pure fragrance will never fade.
Feeling these things pains my heart,
Shed tears, soak my sleeves.

3. 感遇（三首之二）

古屋晝無人，桑樹鳴鵂鶹，

曏來車馬地，今成狐兔丘。

信哉達人言，戚戚復何求。

Sentimental Encounters (Two of Three)

Old house deserted during the day,
In the mulberry tree, the owl hoots.
Cold moss covers the jade stone steps,
Sparrows nest in the empty tower.
In the past, the land of carts and horses,
Has now become a slope for fox and rabbits.
Now I understand the wise person’s words,
Riches and honor are not what I seek.

4. 感遇（三首之三）

梧桐生嶧陽，鳳凰翔其傍。

文章爛五色，喈喈千仞岡。

稻梁非所慕，竹實乃其飧。

奈何桐樹枝，棲彼鴟與鳶。

Sentimental Encounters (Three of Three)

Wutong tree grows on the bright side of Mount Yi,
Phoenix circles at its side.
The five colors of this embroidery bleed into each other,
While ten thousand foot ridge is harmonious.
I am not envious of fine grains,
I can make a meal of bamboo.
What can be done about the branch of the Wutong tree,
On which nest the sparrow hawk and eagle?

5. 寄伯氏封

晴窗銀燭低，流螢度高閣。

悄悄深夜寒，蕭蕭秋葉落。

關河音信稀，沉憂不可釋。

遙想青蓮宮，山空蘿月白。

To My Brother Hagok

By the dark window, the candlelight grows dim,
Fireflies flutter across high rooftops.
Soundlessly, the deep night chills,
Sough, sough, the autumn leaves fall.
There is little news from the pass,
My deep sorrow cannot be dispelled.
From afar I think of you at Blue Lotus Temple
The mountain is empty, white moon through the vines.

6. 鳳台曲

秦女侶蕭史，日夕吹參差。

崇台騎彩鳳，渺渺不可追。

天地以永久，那識人間悲。

妾淚不可忍，此生長別離。

Phoenix Terrace Song

Qinnu was paired with Xiaoshi,
Day and night, he warbled notes long and short.
From that towering terrace, they rode the dappled phoenix,
Far into the distance—they cannot be pursued.
Heaven and earth are everlasting,
What can they know of human sorrow?
I shed tears; I cannot hold them back,
This life is but prolonged separation.

7. 望仙謠

瑤花風細飛青鳥，
王母麟車曏蓬島。
蘭旌蕊帔白雉裘，
笑倚紅欄拾瑤草。
天風吹擘翠霞裳，
玉環金佩聲琅琅。
素娥兩兩鼓瑤瑟，
玉花珠樹春雲香。
平明宴罷芙蓉閣，
碧海青童來白鶴。
紫簫聲裡彩雲飛，
露濕銀河曉星落。

Gazing at Immortals

Jade flowers in the supple breeze, the blue bird takes flight;
The Queen Mother of the West, in unicorn cart, rides to Pengdao,
Orchid banners, flowered robes, white phoenix chariot;
Smiling, she rests on the red railing and plucks at the lush grass.
Heavenly wind blows apart turquoise rainbow skirts;
Jade rings and gold ornaments clink against each other.
Nymphs in pairs pluck away on their beautiful zithers;
Thrice-flowering pearl tree, the fragrance of the spring clouds.
Dawning sky, the banquet at Lotus Pavilion comes to a close;
O’er the turquoise sea, Qing Tong comes on a white crane.
The purple flute’s sound scatters the luminescent glows of the sky;
Into the dew-soaked Milky Way trickle the early stars.

8. 湘弦曲

薰花泣露湘江曲，
點點秋烟天外綠。
水府涼波龍夜吟，
蠻娘輕戛玲瓏玉。
離鸞別鳳隔蒼梧，
雨氣浸江迷曉珠。
神弦聲徹石苔冷，
雲鬟霧鬢啼江姝。
遙空星漢高超忽，
羽蓋金支五雲沒。
門外漁郎唱竹枝，
銀潭半掛相思月。

The Song of the Zither (kŏmungo) by Xiang River

Plantain blossoms well up with dewy tears at the tune of Xiangjiang;
In nine directions, autumn smoke, beyond heaven is yellow green.
Cold waves run high in the Shui Fu*, the dragon sings through the night;
The savage maiden nimbly carves the lucid jade.
The parting pair, phoenix and her mate, separate at the Cangwu Mountain;
Rain and mist descend upon the river, muddling the pearly morning dews.
Leisurely plucked, the heavenly strings atop the stone cliff;
Wreathed-in blossoms, moon coiffeur, the beautiful girl cries by the river.
The Milky Way leaps suddenly into the marble sky;
The five clouds sink the feather blossoms and golden stems.
Outside the gate, the fisherman sings the “bamboo branch” melody;
In the silvery pond, half-suspended, the moon of mutual longing hangs.

9. 四時歌·春歌

院落深深杏花雨，
鶯聲啼遍辛夷塢。
流蘇羅幕春尚寒，
博山輕飄香一縷。
鸞鏡曉梳春雲長，
玉釵寶髻蟠鴛鴦。
斜卷重簾帖翡翠，
金勒雕鞍嘆何處。
誰家池館咽笙歌，
月照清尊金叵羅。
愁人獨夜不成寐，
絞綃曉起看紅淚。

Song of the Four Seasons: Spring

Deep in the beautiful garden apricot flowers fall like rain,
Orioles cry on hills filled with magnolia blossoms.
Tassels and silk cloth are soaked with spring chill,
On Mount Bo drifts up a single thread of incense.
The fair maiden just awoken from sleep decorates her face,
Putting on fragrant silk and a precious belt of coiled mandarin ducks.
She rolls up the layered jade veil,
Golden bit and carved saddle, where has my Beloved gone?
From whose wooden water resting place does the reed flute choke?
Moonlight reflects on fine wine in a golden jar.
This woman of many worries on a lonely night cannot entice sleep,
With dawn her silk cloth drips many red tears.

10. 四時歌·夏歌

槐陰滿地花陰薄，
玉簟銀床敞朱閣。
白苧新裁染汗香，
輕風灑灑搖羅幕。
瑤階飛盡石榴花，
日輾晶簾影欲斜。
雕梁晝永午眠重，
錦茵扣落釵頭鳳。
額上鵝黃膩曉妝，
鶯聲啼起江南夢。
南塘女兒木蘭舟，
採蓮何處歸渡頭。
輕橈漫唱橫塘曲，
波外夕陽山更綠。

Song of the Four Seasons: Summer

Inside the full shade of the Zelkova, the shade of the flowers is thin
A jade bamboo mat, a silver bed in an open pearl pavilion
Thin white raimie clothes reveal beads of sweat
A silk fan stirs the silk curtains with its breeze
On the beautiful steps red pomegranate blossoms ripen
The sun returns home; shadow of bamboo curtain slants under the eaves
On a carved pillar the day is long; a swallow beckons another
An herb balustrade, no one around, a bee buzzes
On her forehead, goose-yellow smooths the mark of sleep
The oriole has finally awakened from its dream of the south
On the water in a peony boat, the maiden rides with her female companion
Picking lotus flowers they return to the ferry
As they lightly row, singing together, they play the caltrop tune
With a surprise, rising up from the waves, a pair of white seagulls

11. 四時歌·秋歌

紗廚爽氣殘霄迥，
露滴虛庭玉屏冷。
池蓮粉落夜有聲，
井悟葉下秋無影。
金壺漏徹生西風，
珠簾唧唧鳴寒蟲。
金刀剪取機上素，
玉關夢斷羅帷空。
縫作衣裳寄遠客，
蘭燈熒熒明暗壁。
含啼自草別離難，
驛使明朝發南陌。

Song of the Four Seasons: Autumn

Silk covered pantry; the cold presses in, leaving unending night
In a dew-covered empty courtyard the jade screen cools
The pond lotus withers, its night scent scatters
Leaves of the paulownia fall beside the well; autumn has no shadow
Only the drip-drop of a water clock echoes in the west wind
Beyond the bamboo blinds on much frost the crickets mourn
With golden knife I cut off the white cloth on the loom
The Jade Pass dream ends and the silk curtains are empty
If I make clothes to send to my Beloved
Will the single glimmer of my oil lamp brighten this dark wall?
Holding back tears I wrote a letter
Because tomorrow the courier will depart on the Southern Pass*

12. 四時歌·冬歌

銅壺一夜聞寒枕，
紗窗月落鴛鴦錦。
烏鴉驚飛轆轤長，
樓前倏忽生曙光。
侍婢金瓶瀉鳴玉，
曉簾水澀胭脂香。
春山欲描描不得，
欄桿佇立寒霜白。
去年照鏡看花柳，
琥珀光深傾夜酒。
羅帳重重圍鳳笙，
玉容今為相思瘦。
青驄一別春復春，
金戈鐵馬瀚海濱。
驚沙吹雪冷黑貂，
香閨良夜何迢迢。

Song of the Four Seasons: Winter

Copper kettle, dripping water clock, a cold unending night;
Moonlight reflects on my silk blanket, becoming chilly.
A flock of palace crows scatters, startled by the creaking of the well pulley;
Morning’s hue enters my tower, a shadow haunts my window.
In front of the beaded screen the maids empty the golden vase;
From the jade basin, she scrapes up the rouge with her hands.
When longing for spring mountains she blows on her hands;
Look how the parakeet in the golden cage dislikes the frost.
With my female companion to the South I laughed and chatted;
But my jade countenance has gone haggard missing my Beloved.
On the golden censer, the charcoal animal warms a phoenix flute;
My jade countenance, now thin with longing.
Spring is ever the same: Spring and Spring again.
Mounted on an iron horse and holding a golden halberd at the Blue Sea,
The sandy winds of a snowstorm tear his black sable clothes
When he thinks of the fragrant chambers, tears fill his handkerchief

13. 寄女伴

結廬臨古道，日見大江流。

鏡匣鸞將老，園花蝶已秋。

寒山新過雁，暮雨獨歸舟。

寂寞窗紗掩，那堪憶舊游。

For My Woman Friend

I have built a house on an ancient roadside where
Each day all I see is the flowing of the great river.
On the mirror-box this phoenix is about to be old,
Like the butterfly flying among flower beds signals autumn.
The first wild goose descends on the cold sandy bank;
In the evening rain the lonely boat returns.
As night falls I idly close the gauze screen,
How can I remember my travels of old?

14. 送兄筬謫甲山

遠謫甲山去，江陵別路長。

臣同賈太傅，主豈楚懷王。

河水平秋岸，關門但夕陽。

霜風吹雁翼，中斷不成行。

15. 次伯兄高原望高台韻

層台一柱壓嵯峨，
西北浮雲接塞多。
鐵峽霸圖龍已去，
穆陵秋色雁初過。
山回大陸吞三郡，
水割平原納九河。
萬裡登臨日將暮，
醉憑青嶂獨悲歌。

For My Second Brother on the Plains Gazing at the High Terrace

Storied terrace, a single post pressing into the steep mountainside,
To the northwest, a multitude of hovering clouds join the fortresses.
In the iron gorge, there are tyrannical plots, the dragon has already left,
At Muling Pass, autumn colors, the first wild goose passes by.
Mountains encircle the great land, swallowing up three prefectures,
Waters cut through the flat plains, drawing in the nine rivers.
Ten thousand miles away, you climb and gaze down, the sun about to set,
Drunk, you lean on the flat green peak and sing a sad song alone.

16. 塞上次伯氏

侵雲石磴馬啼穿，
陟盡重崗若上天。
秋晚魚龍眠巨壑，
雨晴虹霓落飛泉。
將軍鼓角行邊急，
公主琵琶說怨偏。
日暮為君歌出塞，
劍花騰躍匣中蓮。

To My Second Brother at the Fortress

Encroaching clouds, steps of stone, the horse’s whinies carry,
At the highest point, the next sentry post, it’s like climbing to heaven.
In late autumn, the fish and dragon slumber in the great valley,
Rain in the clear sky, a rainbow descends on soaring streams.
The general blows the horn—to the border, quick!
The princess’s lute tells her grievance to one side.
As the sun sets, she plays “Leaving the Fortress” for you,
Swords glimmer as you trample along, scabbards collide with lotuses.

17. 效崔國輔

春雨暗西池，輕寒襲羅幕。

愁倚小屏風，墻頭杏花落。

In Imitation of the Virtuous Cui Guofu

Spring rain darkens the western pond,
A chilling breeze finds cover in the silk curtain.
I lean against the small screen in the wind,
Ah, apricot flowers sink above the wall.

18. 塞下曲

寒塞無春不見梅，
邊人吹入笛聲來。
夜深驚起思鄉夢，
月滿陰山百尺台。

Beneath the Fortress

At Han Pass, there is no spring; no strawberries to be seen,
The frontiersmen play; flute’s sound enters.
In the deep of night, I am startled awake by a dream of my hometown,
The full moon shines on the mountain’s hundred foot terrace.

19. 西陵行

錢塘江上是儂家，
五月初開菡萏花。
半嚲烏雲新睡覺，
倚欄閑唱浪淘沙。

Traveling in Xiling

On the Qiantang river is your home,
Early in the fifth month, the lotus blossoms bloom.
Half-hidden by cloudy locks, newly awakened from sleep,
Leaning on the rail, I leisurely sing, “Wave-dredged Sand.”