090

五言律诗

唐玄宗

经邹鲁祭孔子而叹之

夫子何为者， 栖栖一代中。
地犹鄹氏邑， 宅即鲁王宫。
叹凤嗟身否， 伤麟怨道穷。
今看两楹奠， 当与梦时同。

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

五言律诗

张九龄

望月怀远

海上生明月， 天涯共此时。
情人怨遥夜， 竟夕起相思。
灭烛怜光满， 披衣觉露滋。
不堪盈手赠， 还寝梦佳期。

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

五言律诗

王勃

送杜少府之任蜀州

城阙辅三秦， 风烟望五津。
与君离别意， 同是宦游人。
海内存知己， 天涯若比邻。
无为在歧路， 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

五言律诗

骆宾王

在狱咏蝉并序

西路蝉声唱， 南冠客思侵。
那堪玄鬓影， 来对白头吟。
露重飞难进， 风多响易沉。
无人信高洁， 谁为表予心。

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

五言律诗

杜审言

和晋陵路丞早春游望

独有宦游人， 偏惊物候新。
云霞出海曙， 梅柳渡江春。
淑气催黄鸟， 晴光转绿苹。
忽闻歌古调， 归思欲沾巾。

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

五言律诗

沈佺期

杂诗

闻道黄龙戍， 频年不解兵。
可怜闺里月， 长在汉家营。
少妇今春意， 良人昨夜情。
谁能将旗鼓， 一为取龙城？

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

五言律诗

宋之问

题大庾岭北驿

阳月南飞雁， 传闻至此回，
我行殊未已， 何日复归来？
江静潮初落， 林昏瘴不开。
明朝望乡处， 应见陇头梅。

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

五言律诗

王湾

次北固山下

客路青山外， 行舟绿水前。
潮平两岸阔， 风正一帆悬。
海日生残夜， 江春入旧年。
乡书何处达？ 归雁洛阳边。

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

五言律诗

常建

题破山寺后禅院

清晨入古寺， 初日照高林。
曲径通幽处， 禅房花木深。
山光悦鸟性， 潭影空人心。
万籁此俱寂， 惟闻钟磬音。

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

五言律诗

岑参

寄左省杜拾遗

联步趋丹陛， 分曹限紫微。
晓随天仗入， 暮惹御香归。
白发悲花落， 青云羡鸟飞。
圣朝无阙事， 自觉谏书稀。

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

五言律诗

李白

赠孟浩然

吾爱孟夫子， 风流天下闻。
红颜弃轩冕， 白首卧松云。
醉月频中圣， 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

五言律诗

李白

渡荆门送别

渡远荆门外， 来从楚国游。
山随平野尽， 江入大荒流。
月下飞天镜， 云生结海楼。
仍怜故乡水， 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

五言律诗

李白

送友人

青山横北郭， 白水绕东城。
此地一为别， 孤蓬万里征。
浮云游子意， 落日故人情。
挥手自兹去， 萧萧班马鸣。

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

五言律诗

李白

听蜀僧浚弹琴

蜀僧抱绿绮， 西下峨眉峰；
为我一挥手， 如听万壑松。
客心洗流水， 余响入霜钟。
不觉碧山暮， 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

五言律诗

李白

夜泊牛渚怀古

牛渚西江夜， 青天无片云；
登舟望秋月， 空忆谢将军。
余亦能高咏， 斯人不可闻。
明朝挂帆席， 枫叶落纷纷。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

月夜

今夜鄜州月， 闺中只独看。
遥怜小儿女， 未解忆长安。
香雾云鬟湿， 清辉玉臂寒。
何时倚虚幌， 双照泪痕乾。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

春望

国破山河在， 城春草木深。
感时花溅泪， 恨别鸟惊心。
烽火连三月， 家书抵万金。
白头搔更短， 浑欲不胜簪。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

春宿左省

花隐掖垣暮， 啾啾栖鸟过。
星临万户动， 月傍九霄多。
不寝听金钥， 因风想玉珂。
明朝有封事， 数问夜如何。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

至德二载甫自京金光门出，问道归凤翔。乾元初从左拾遗移华州掾。与亲故别，因出此门。有悲往事。

此道昔归顺， 西郊胡正繁。
至今残破胆， 应有未招魂。
近得归京邑， 移官岂至尊。
无才日衰老， 驻马望千门。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

月夜忆舍弟

戍鼓断人行， 秋边一雁声。
露从今夜白， 月是故乡明。
有弟皆分散， 无家问死生。
寄书长不达， 况乃未休兵。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

天末怀李白

凉风起天末， 君子意如何。
鸿雁几时到， 江湖秋水多。
文章憎命达， 魑魅喜人过。
应共冤魂语， 投诗赠汨罗。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

奉济驿重送严公四韵

远送从此别， 青山空复情。
几时杯重把， 昨夜月同行。
列郡讴歌惜， 三朝出入荣。
将村独归处， 寂寞养残生。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

别房太尉墓

他乡复行役， 驻马别孤坟。
近泪无乾土， 低空有断云。
对棋陪谢傅， 把剑觅徐君。
唯见林花落， 莺啼送客闻。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

旅夜书怀

细草微风岸， 危樯独夜舟。
星垂平野阔， 月涌大江流。
名岂文章著， 官应老病休。
飘飘何所似， 天地一沙鸥。

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

五言律诗

杜甫

登岳阳楼

昔闻洞庭水， 今上岳阳楼。
吴楚东南坼， 乾坤日夜浮。
亲朋无一字， 老病有孤舟。
戎马关山北， 凭轩涕泗流。

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?