170

七言律诗

崔颢

黄鹤楼

昔人已乘黄鹤去， 此地空余黄鹤楼。

黄鹤一去不复返， 白云千载空悠悠。

晴川历历汉阳树， 芳草萋萋鹦鹉洲。

日暮乡关何处是？ 烟波江上使人愁。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Cui Hao

THE YELLOW CRANE TERRACE

Where long ago a yellow crane bore a sage to heaven,

Nothing is left now but the Yellow Crane Terrace.

The yellow crane never revisited earth,

And white clouds are flying without him for ever.

...Every tree in Hanyang becomes clear in the water,

And Parrot Island is a nest of sweet grasses;

But I look toward home, and twilight grows dark

With a mist of grief on the river waves.

171

七言律诗

崔颢

行经华阴

岧峣太华俯咸京， 天外三峰削不成。

武帝祠前云欲散， 仙人掌上雨初晴。

河山北枕秦关险， 驿树西连汉畤平。

借问路傍名利客， 无如此处学长生。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Cui Hao

PASSING THROUGH HUAYIN

Lords of the capital, sharp, unearthly,

The Great Flowers three points pierce through heaven.

Clouds are parting above the Temple of the Warring Emperor,

Rain dries on the mountain, on the Giants Palm.

Ranges and rivers are the strength of this western gate,

Whence roads and trails lead downward into China.

...O pilgrim of fame, O seeker of profit,

Why not remain here and lengthen your days?

172

七言律诗

祖咏

望蓟门

燕台一去客心惊， 箫鼓喧喧汉将营。

万里寒光生积雪， 三边曙色动危旌。

沙场烽火侵胡月， 海畔云山拥蓟城。

少小虽非投笔吏， 论功还欲请长缨。

Five-character-regular-verse

Zu Yong

LOOKING TOWARD AN INNER GATE

OF THE GREAT WALL

My heart sank when I headed north from Yan Country

To the camps of China echoing ith bugle and drum.

...In an endless cold light of massive snow,

Tall flags on three borders rise up like a dawn.

War-torches invade the barbarian moonlight,

Mountain-clouds like chairmen bear the Great Wall from the sea.

...Though no youthful clerk meant to be a great general,

I throw aside my writing-brush --

Like the student who tossed off cap for a lariat,

I challenge what may come.

173

七言律诗

李颀

送魏万之京

朝闻游子唱骊歌， 昨夜微霜初度河。

鸿雁不堪愁里听， 云山况是客中过。

关城树色催寒近， 御苑砧声向晚多。

莫见长安行乐处， 空令岁月易蹉跎。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Qi

A FAREWELL TO WEI WAN

The travellers parting-song sounds in the dawn.

Last night a first frost came over the river;

And the crying of the wildgeese grieves my sad heart

Bounded by a gloom of cloudy mountains....

Here in the Gate City, day will flush cold

And washing-flails quicken by the gardens at twilight --

How long shall the capital content you,

Where the months and the years so vainly go by?

174

七言律诗

崔曙

九日登望仙台呈刘明府

汉文皇帝有高台， 此日登临曙色开。

三晋云山皆北向， 二陵风雨自东来。

关门令尹谁能识？ 河上仙翁去不回，

且欲竟寻彭泽宰， 陶然共醉菊花杯。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Cui Shu

A CLIMB ON THE MOUNTAIN HOLIDAY

TO THE TERRACE WHENCE ONE SEES THE MAGICIAN

A POEM SENT TO VICE-PREFECT LU

The Han Emperor Wen bequeathed us this terrace

Which I climb to watch the coming dawn.

Cloudy peaks run northward in the three Jin districts,

And rains are blowing westward through the two Ling valleys.

...Who knows but me about the Guard at the Gate,

Or where the Magician of the River Bank is,

Or how to find that magistrate, that poet,

Who was as fond as I am of chrysanthemums and winecups?

175

七言律诗

李白

登金陵凤凰台

凤凰台上凤凰游， 凤去台空江自流。

吴宫花草埋幽径，晋代衣冠成古邱。

三台半落青山外，二水中分白鹭洲。

总为浮云能蔽日， 长安不见使人愁。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Bai

ON CLIMBING IN NANJING TO THE TERRACE

OF PHOENIXES

Phoenixes that played here once, so that the place was named for them,

Have abandoned it now to this desolate river;

The paths of Wu Palace are crooked with weeds;

The garments of Qin are ancient dust.

...Like this green horizon halving the Three Peaks,

Like this Island of White Egrets dividing the river,

A cloud has arisen between the Light of Heaven and me,

To hide his city from my melancholy heart.

176

七言律诗

高适

送李少府贬峡中王少府贬长沙

嗟君此别意何如？ 驻马衔杯问谪居。

巫峡啼猿数行泪， 衡阳归雁几封书。

青枫江上秋帆远， 白帝城边古木疏。

圣代即今多雨露， 暂时分手莫踌躇。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Gao Shi

TO VICE-PREFECTS LI AND WANG DEGRADED AND

TRANSFERRED TO XIAZHONG AND CHANGSHA

What are you thinking as we part from one another,

Pulling in our horses for the stirrup-cups?

Do these tear-streaks mean Wu Valley monkeys all weeping,

Or wildgeese returning with news from Heng Mountain?....

On the river between green maples an autumn sail grows dim,

There are only a few old trees by the wall of the White God City....

But the year is bound to freshen us with a dew of heavenly favour --

Take heart, we shall soon be together again!

177

七言律诗

岑参

奉和中书舍人贾至早朝大明宫

鸡鸣紫陌曙光寒， 莺啭皇州春色阑。

金阙晓钟开万户， 玉阶仙仗拥千官。

花迎剑佩星初落， 柳拂旌旗露未乾。

独有凤凰池上客， 阳春一曲和皆难。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Cen Can

AN EARLY AUDIENCE AT THE PALACE OF LIGHT

HARMONIZING SECRETARY JIA ZHIS POEM

Cock-crow, the Purple Road cold in the dawn;

Linnet songs, court roofs tinted with April;

At the Golden Gate morning bell, countless doors open,

And up the jade steps float a thousand officials

With flowery scabbards.... Stars have gone down;

Willows are brushing the dew from the flags --

And, alone on the Lake of the Phoenix, a guest

Is chanting too well The Song of Bright Spring.

178

七言律诗

王维

和贾舍人早朝大明宫之作

绛帻鸡人送晓筹， 尚衣方进翠云裘。

九天阊阖开宫殿， 万国衣冠拜冕旒。

日色才临仙掌动， 香烟欲傍衮龙浮。

朝罢须裁五色诏， 佩声归向凤池头。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Wang Wei

AN EARLY AUDIENCE AT THE PALACE OF LIGHT

HARMONIZING SECRETARY JIA ZHI POEM

The red-capped Cock-Man has just announced morning;

The Keeper of the Robes brings Jade-Cloud Furs;

Heavens nine doors reveal the palace and its courtyards;

And the coats of many countries bow to the Pearl Crown.

Sunshine has entered the giants carven palms;

Incense wreathes the Dragon Robe:

The audience adjourns-and the five-coloured edict

Sets girdle-beads clinking toward the Lake of the Phoenix.

179

七言律诗

王维

奉和圣制从蓬莱向兴庆阁道中留春雨中春望之作应制

渭水自萦秦塞曲， 黄山旧绕汉宫斜。

銮舆迥出千门柳， 阁道回看上苑花。

云里帝城双凤阙， 雨中春树万人家。

为乘阳气行时令， 不是宸游玩物华。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Wang Wei

LOOKING DOWN IN A SPRING-RAIN ON THE COURSE

FROM FAIRY-MOUNTAIN PALACE TO THE PAVILION OF

INCREASE HARMONIZING THE EMPERORS POEM

Round a turn of the Qin Fortress winds the Wei River,

And Yellow Mountain foot-hills enclose the Court of China;

Past the South Gate willows comes the Car of Many Bells

On the upper Palace-Garden Road-a solid length of blossom;

A Forbidden City roof holds two phoenixes in cloud;

The foliage of spring shelters multitudes from rain;

And now, when the heavens are propitious for action,

Here is our Emperor ready-no wasteful wanderer.

180

七言律诗

王维

积雨辋川庄作

积雨空林烟火迟， 蒸藜炊黍饷东灾。

漠漠水田飞白鹭， 阴阴夏木啭黄鹂。

山中习静观朝槿， 松下清斋折露葵。

野老与人争席罢， 海鸥何事更相疑？

Seven-character-regular-verse

Wang Wei

IN MY LODGE AT WANG CHUAN

AFTER A LONG RAIN

The woods have stored the rain, and slow comes the smoke

As rice is cooked on faggots and carried to the fields;

Over the quiet marsh-land flies a white egret,

And mango-birds are singing in the full summer trees....

I have learned to watch in peace the mountain morningglories,

To eat split dewy sunflower-seeds under a bough of pine,

To yield the post of honour to any boor at all....

Why should I frighten sea gulls, even with a thought?

181

七言律诗

王维

酬郭给事

洞门高阁霭余辉， 桃李阴阴柳絮飞。

禁里疏钟官舍晚， 省中啼鸟吏人稀。

晨摇玉佩趋金殿， 夕奉天书拜琐闱。

强欲从君无那老， 将因卧病解朝衣。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Wang Wei

HARMONIZING A POEM BY PALACE-ATTENDANT GUO

High beyond the thick wall a tower shines with sunset

Where peach and plum are blooming and the willowcotton flies.

You have heard in your office the court-bell of twilight;

Birds find perches, officials head for home.

Your morning-jade will tinkle as you thread the golden palace;

You will bring the word of Heaven from the closing gates at night.

And I should serve there with you; but being full of years,

I have taken off official robes and am resting from my troubles.

182

七言律诗

杜甫

蜀相

丞相祠堂何处寻？ 锦官城外柏森森，

映阶碧草自春色， 隔叶黄鹂空好音。

三顾频烦天下计， 两朝开济老臣心。

出师未捷身先死， 长使英雄泪满襟。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

THE TEMPLE OF THE PREMIER OF SHU

Where is the temple of the famous Premier? --

In a deep pine grove near the City of Silk,

With the green grass of spring colouring the steps,

And birds chirping happily under the leaves.

...The third summons weighted him with affairs of state

And to two generations he gave his true heart,

But before he could conquer, he was dead;

And heroes have wept on their coats ever since.

183

七言律诗

杜甫

客至

舍南舍北皆春水， 但见群鸥日日来。

花径不曾缘客扫， 蓬门今始为君开。

盘飧市远无兼味， 樽酒家贫只旧醅。

肯与邻翁相对饮， 隔篱呼取尽余杯。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

A HEARTY WELCOME TO VICE-PREFECT CUI

North of me, south of me, spring is in flood,

Day after day I have seen only gulls....

My path is full of petals -- I have swept it for no others.

My thatch gate has been closed -- but opens now for you.

Its a long way to the market, I can offer you little --

Yet here in my cottage there is old wine for our cups.

Shall we summon my elderly neighbour to join us,

Call him through the fence, and pour the jar dry?

184

七言律诗

杜甫

野望

西山白雪三城戍， 南浦清江万里桥。

海内风尘诸弟隔， 天涯涕泪一身遥。

唯将迟暮供多病， 未有涓埃答圣朝。

跨马出郊时极目， 不堪人事日萧条。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

A VIEW OF THE WILDERNESS

Snow is white on the westward mountains and on three fortified towns,

And waters in this southern lake flash on a long bridge.

But wind and dust from sea to sea bar me from my brothers;

And I cannot help crying, I am so far away.

I have nothing to expect now but the ills of old age.

I am of less use to my country than a grain of dust.

I ride out to the edge of town. I watch on the horizon,

Day after day, the chaos of the world.

185

七言律诗

杜甫

闻官军收河南河北

剑外忽传收蓟北， 初闻涕泪满衣裳。

却看妻子愁何在？ 漫卷诗书喜欲狂。

白日放歌须纵酒， 青春作伴好还乡。

即从巴峡穿巫峡， 便下襄阳向洛阳。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

BOTH SIDES OF THE YELLOW RIVER

RECAPTURED BY THE IMPERIAL ARMY

News at this far western station! The north has been recaptured!

At first I cannot check the tears from pouring on my coat --

Where is my wife? Where are my sons?

Yet crazily sure of finding them, I pack my books and poems- -

And loud my song and deep my drink

On the green spring-day that starts me home,

Back from this mountain, past another mountain,

Up from the south, north again-to my own town!

186

七言律诗

杜甫

登高

风急天高猿啸哀， 渚清沙白鸟飞回。

无边落木萧萧下， 不尽长江滚滚来。

万里悲秋常作客， 百年多病独登台。

艰难苦恨繁霜鬓， 潦倒新停浊酒杯。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

A LONG CLIMB

In a sharp gale from the wide sky apes are whimpering,

Birds are flying homeward over the clear lake and white sand,

Leaves are dropping down like the spray of a waterfall,

While I watch the long river always rolling on.

I have come three thousand miles away. Sad now with autumn

And with my hundred years of woe, I climb this height alone.

Ill fortune has laid a bitter frost on my temples,

Heart-ache and weariness are a thick dust in my wine.

187

七言律诗

杜甫

登楼

花近高楼伤客心， 万方多难此登临。

锦江春色来天地， 玉垒浮云变古今。

北极朝庭终不改， 西山寇盗莫相侵。

可怜后主还祠庙， 日暮聊为梁父吟。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

FROM AN UPPER STORY

Flowers, as high as my window, hurt the heart of a wanderer

For I see, from this high vantage, sadness everywhere.

The Silken River, bright with spring, floats between earth and heaven

Like a line of cloud by the Jade Peak, between ancient days and now.

...Though the State is established for a while as firm as the North Star

And bandits dare not venture from the western hills,

Yet sorry in the twilight for the woes of a longvanished Emperor,

I am singing the song his Premier sang when still unestranged from the mountain.

188

七言律诗

杜甫

宿府

清秋幕府井梧寒， 独宿江城蜡炬残。

永夜角声悲自语， 中天月色好谁看？

风尘荏苒音书绝， 关塞萧条行陆难。

已忍伶俜十年事， 强移栖息一枝安。

又作路

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

STAYING AT THE GENERALS HEADQUARTERS

The autumn night is clear and cold in the lakka-trees of this courtyard.

I am lying forlorn in the river-town. I watch my guttering candle.

I hear the lonely notes of a bugle sounding through the dark.

The moon is in mid-heaven, but theres no one to share it with me.

My messengers are scattered by whirls of rain and sand.

City-gates are closed to a traveller; mountains are walls in my way --

Yet, I who have borne ten years of pitiable existence,

Find here a perch, a little branch, and am safe for this one night.

189

七言律诗

杜甫

阁夜

岁暮阴阳催短景， 天涯霜雪霁寒霄。

五更鼓角声悲壮， 三峡星河影动摇。

野哭千家闻战伐， 夷歌数处起渔樵。

卧龙跃马终黄土， 人事音书漫寂寥。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

NIGHT IN THE WATCH-TOWER

While winter daylight shortens in the elemental scale

And snow and frost whiten the cold-circling night,

Stark sounds the fifth-watch with a challenge of drum and bugle.

...The stars and the River of Heaven pulse over the three mountains;

I hear women in the distance, wailing after the battle;

I see barbarian fishermen and woodcutters in the dawn.

...Sleeping-Dragon, Plunging-Horse, are no generals now, they are dust --

Hush for a moment, O tumult of the world.

190

七言律诗

杜甫

咏怀古迹五首之一

支离东北风尘际， 漂泊西南天地间。

三峡楼台淹日月， 五溪衣服共云山。

羯胡事主终无赖， 词客哀时且未还。

庾信平生最萧瑟， 暮年诗赋动江关。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

POETIC THOUGHTS ON ANCIENT SITES I

Forlorn in the northeast among wind and dust,

Drifting in the southwest between heaven and earth,

Lingering for days and months in towers and terraces at the Three Gorges,

Sharing clouds and mountains with the costumes of the Five Streams.

The barbarian serving the ruler in the end was unreliable.

The wandering poet lamenting the times had no chance to return.

Yu Xin throughout his life was most miserable,

In his waning years his poetry stirred the land of rivers and passes.

191

七言律诗

杜甫

咏怀古迹五首之二

摇落深知宋玉悲， 风流儒雅亦吾师。

怅望千秋一洒泪， 萧条异代不同时。

江山故宅空文藻， 云雨荒台岂梦思。

最是楚宫俱泯灭， 舟人指点到今疑。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

POETIC THOUGHTS ON ANCIENT SITES II

"Decay and decline": deep knowledge have I of Sung Yus grief.

Romantic and refined, he too is my teacher.

Sadly looking across a thousand autumns, one shower of tears,

Melancholy in different epochs, not at the same time.

Among rivers and mountains his old abode -- empty his writings;

Deserted terrace of cloud and rain -- surely not just imagined in a dream?

Utterly the palaces of Chu are all destroyed and ruined,

The fishermen pointing them out today are unsure.

192

七言律诗

杜甫

咏怀古迹五首之三

群山万壑赴荆门， 生长明妃尚有村。

一去紫台连朔漠， 独留青冢向黄昏。

画图省识春风面， 环佩空归月下魂。

千载琵琶作胡语， 分明怨恨曲中论。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

THOUGHTS OF OLD TIME III

Ten thousand ranges and valleys approach the Jing Gate

And the village in which the Lady of Light was born and bred.

She went out from the purple palace into the desertland;

She has now become a green grave in the yellow dusk.

Her face ! Can you picture a wind of the spring?

Her spirit by moonlight returns with a tinkling

Song of the Tartars on her jade guitar,

Telling her eternal sorrow.

193

七言律诗

杜甫

咏怀古迹五首之四

蜀主征吴幸三峡， 崩年亦在永安宫。

翠华想像空山里， 玉殿虚无野寺中。

古庙杉松巢水鹤， 岁时伏腊走村翁。

武侯祠屋常邻近， 一体君臣祭祀同。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

POETIC THOUGHTS ON ANCIENT SITES IV

The ruler of Shu had his eyes on Wu and progressed as far as the Three Gorges.

In the year of his demise, too, he was in the Palace of Eternal Peace.

The blue-green banners can be imagined on the empty mountain,

The jade palace is a void in the deserted temple.

In the pines of the ancient shrine aquatic cranes nest;

At summer and winter festivals the comers are village elders.

The Martial Marquiss memorial shrine is ever nearby;

In union, sovereign and minister share the sacrifices together.

194

七言律诗

杜甫

咏怀古迹五首之五

诸葛大名垂宇宙， 宗臣遗像肃清高。

三分割据纡筹策， 万古云霄一羽毛。

伯仲之间见伊吕， 指挥若定失萧曹。

运移汉祚终难复， 志决身歼军务劳。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Du Fu

THOUGHTS OF OLD TIME V

Zhuges prestige transcends the earth;

There is only reverence for his face;

Yet his will, among the Three Kingdoms at war,

Was only as one feather against a flaming sky.

He was brother of men like Yi and Lu

And in time would have surpassed the greatest of all statesmen.

Though he knew there was no hope for the House of Han,

Yet he wielded his mind for it, yielded his life.

195

七言律诗

刘长卿

江州重别薛六柳八二员外

生涯岂料承优诏？ 世事空知学醉歌。

江上月明胡雁过， 淮南木落楚山多。

寄身且喜沧洲近， 顾影无如白发何！

今日龙钟人共老， 愧君犹遣慎风波。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Liu Changquing

ON LEAVING GUIJIANG AGAIN TO XUE AND LIU

Dare I, at my age, accept my summons,

Knowing of the worlds ways only wine and song?....

Over the moon-edged river come wildgeese from the Tartars;

And the thinner the leaves along the Huai, the wider the southern mountains....

I ought to be glad to take my old bones back to the capital,

But what am I good for in that world, with my few white hairs?....

As bent and decrepit as you are, I am ashamed to thank you,

When you caution me that I may encounter thunderbolts.

196

七言律诗

刘长卿

长沙过贾谊宅

三年谪宦此栖迟， 万古惟留楚客悲。

秋草独寻人去后， 寒林空见日斜时。

汉文有道恩犹薄， 湘水无情吊岂知？

寂寂江山摇落处， 怜君何事到天涯？

Seven-character-regular-verse

Liu Changqing

ON PASSING JIA YIS HOUSE IN CHANGSHA

Here, where you spent your three years exile,

To be mourned in Chu ten thousand years,

Can I trace your footprint in the autumn grass --

Or only slanting sunlight through the bleak woods?

If even good Emperor Wen was cold-hearted,

Could you hope that the dull river Xiang would understand you,

These desolate waters, these taciturn mountains,

When you came, like me, so far away?

197

七言律诗

刘长卿

自夏口至鹦洲夕望岳阳寄源中丞

汀洲无浪复无烟， 楚客相思益渺然。

汉口夕阳斜渡鸟， 洞庭秋水远连天。

孤城背岭寒吹角， 独戍临江夜泊船。

贾谊上书忧汉室， 长沙谪去古今怜。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Liu Changqing

AN EVENING VIEW OF THE CITY OF YOUZHOU AFTER

COMING FROM HANKOU TO PARROT ISLAND A POEM SENT

TO MY FRIEND GOVERNOR YUAN

No ripples in the river, no mist on the islands,

Yet the landscape is blurred toward my friend in Chu....

Birds in the slanting sun cross Hankou,

And the autumn sky mingles with Lake Dongting.

...From a bleak mountain wall the cold tone of a bugle

Reminds me, moored by a ruined fort,

That Jia Yis loyal plea to the House of Han

Banned him to Changsha, to be an exile.

198

七言律诗

钱起

赠阙下裴舍人

二月黄鹂飞上林， 春城紫禁晓阴阴。

长乐钟声花外尽， 龙池柳色雨中深。

阳和不散穷途恨， 霄汉长怀捧日心。

献赋十年犹未遇， 羞将白发对华簪。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Qian Qi

TO MY FRIEND AT THE CAPITAL SECRETARY PEI

Finches flash yellow through the Imperial Grove

Of the Forbidden City, pale with spring dawn;

Flowers muffle a bell in the Palace of Bliss

And rain has deepened the Dragon Lake willows;

But spring is no help to a man bewildered,

Who would be like a cloud upholding the Light of Heaven,

Yet whose poems, ten years refused, are shaming

These white hairs held by the petalled pin.

199

七言律诗

韦应物

寄李儋元锡

去年花里逢君别， 今日花开又一年。

世事茫茫难自料， 春愁黯黯独成眠。

身多疾病思田里， 邑有流亡愧俸钱。

闻道欲来相问讯， 西楼望月几回圆。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Wei Yingwu

TO MY FRIENDS LI DAN AND YUANXI

We met last among flowers, among flowers we parted,

And here, a year later, there are flowers again;

But, with ways of the world too strange to foretell,

Spring only brings me grief and fatigue.

I am sick, and I think of my home in the country-

Ashamed to take pay while so many are idle.

...In my western tower, because of your promise,

I have watched the full moons come and go.

200

七言律诗

韩翃

同题仙游观

仙台初见五城楼， 风物凄凄宿雨收。

山色遥连秦树晚， 砧声近报汉宫秋。

疏松影落空坛静， 细草香闲小洞幽。

何用别寻方外去？ 人间亦自有丹丘。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Han Hong

INSCRIBED IN THE TEMPLE OF THE WANDERING GENIE

I face, high over this enchanted lodge, the Court of the Five Cities of Heaven,

And I see a countryside blue and still, after the long rain.

The distant peaks and trees of Qin merge into twilight,

And Had Palace washing-stones make their autumnal echoes.

Thin pine-shadows brush the outdoor pulpit,

And grasses blow their fragrance into my little cave.

...Who need be craving a world beyond this one?

Here, among men, are the Purple Hills

201

七言律诗

皇甫冉

春思

莺啼燕语报新年， 马邑龙堆路几千。

家住层城邻汉苑， 心随明月到胡天。

机中锦字论长恨， 楼上花枝笑独眠。

为问天戎窦车骑， 何时返旆勒燕然。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Huangfu Ran

SPRING THOUGHTS

Finch-notes and swallow-notes tell the new year....

But so far are the Town of the Horse and the Dragon Mound

From this our house, from these walls and Han Gardens,

That the moon takes my heart to the Tartar sky.

I have woven in the frame endless words of my grieving....

Yet this petal-bough is smiling now on my lonely sleep.

Oh, ask General Dou when his flags will come home

And his triumph be carved on the rock of Yanran mountain!

202

七言律诗

卢纶

晚次鄂州

云开远见汉阳城， 犹是孤帆一日程。

估客昼眠知浪静， 舟人夜语觉潮生。

三湘愁鬓逢秋色， 万里归心对月明。

旧业已随征战尽， 更堪江上鼓鼙声。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Lu Lun

A NIGHT-MOORING AT WUCHANG

Far off in the clouds stand the walls of Hanyang,

Another days journey for my lone sail....

Though a river-merchant ought to sleep in this calm weather,

I listen to the tide at night and voices of the boatmen.

...My thin hair grows wintry, like the triple Xiang streams,

Three thousand miles my heart goes, homesick with the moon;

But the war has left me nothing of my heritage --

And oh, the pang of hearing these drums along the river!

203

七言律诗

柳宗元

登柳州城楼寄漳汀封连四州刺史

城上高楼接大荒， 海天愁思正茫茫。

惊风乱飐芙蓉水， 密雨斜侵薜荔墙。

岭树重遮千里目， 江流曲似九回肠。

共来百越文身地， 犹自音书滞一乡。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Liu Zongyuan

FROM THE CITY-TOWER OF LIUZHOU

TO MY FOUR FELLOW-OFFICIALS AT ZHANG,

DING, FENG, AND LIAN DISTRICTS

At this lofty tower where the town ends, wilderness begins;

And our longing has as far to go as the ocean or the sky....

Hibiscus-flowers by the moat heave in a sudden wind,

And vines along the wall are whipped with slanting rain.

Nothing to see for three hundred miles but a blur of woods and mountain --

And the rivers nine loops, twisting in our bowels....

This is where they have sent us, this land of tattooed people --

And not even letters, to keep us in touch with home.

204

七言律诗

刘禹锡

西塞山怀古

王浚楼船下益州， 金陵王气黯然收。

千寻铁锁沈江底， 一片降旛出石头。

人世几回伤往事， 山形依旧枕寒流。

从今四海为家日， 故垒萧萧芦荻秋。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Liu Yuxi

THOUGHTS OF OLD TIME AT WEST FORT MOUNTAIN

Since Wang Jun brought his towering ships down from Yizhou,

The royal ghost has pined in the city of Nanjing.

Ten thousand feet of iron chain were sunk here to the bottom --

And then came the flag of surrender on the Wall of Stone....

Cycles of change have moved into the past,

While still this mountain dignity has commanded the cold river;

And now comes the day of the Chinese world united,

And the old forts fill with ruin and with autumn reeds.

205

七言律诗

元稹

遣悲怀之一

谢公最小偏怜女， 自嫁黔娄百事乖。

顾我无衣搜荩箧， 泥他沽酒拔金钗。

野蔬充膳甘长藿， 落叶添薪仰古槐。

今日俸钱过十万， 与君营奠复营斋。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Yuan Zhen

AN ELEGY I

O youngest, best-loved daughter of Xie,

Who unluckily married this penniless scholar,

You patched my clothes from your own wicker basket,

And I coaxed off your hairpins of gold, to buy wine with;

For dinner we had to pick wild herbs --

And to use dry locust-leaves for our kindling.

...Today they are paying me a hundred thousand --

And all that I can bring to you is a temple sacrifice.

206

七言律诗

元稹

遣悲怀之二

昔日戏言身后事， 今朝都到眼前来。

衣裳已施行看尽， 针线犹存未忍开。

尚想旧情怜婢仆， 也曾因梦送钱财。

诚知此恨人人有， 贫贱夫妻百事哀。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Yuan Zhen

AN ElEGY II

We joked, long ago, about one of us dying,

But suddenly, before my eyes, you are gone.

Almost all your clothes have been given away;

Your needlework is sealed, I dare not look at it....

I continue your bounty to our men and our maids --

Sometimes, in a dream, I bring you gifts.

...This is a sorrow that all mankind must know --

But not as those know it who have been poor together.

207

七言律诗

元稹

遣悲怀之三

闲坐悲君亦自悲， 百年都是几多时？

邓攸无子寻知命， 潘岳悼亡犹费词。

同穴窅冥何所望？ 他生缘会更难期。

惟将终夜长开眼， 报答平生未展眉。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Yuan Zhen

AN ELEGY III

I sit here alone, mourning for us both.

How many years do I lack now of my threescore and ten?

There have been better men than I to whom heaven denied a son,

There was a poet better than I whose dead wife could not hear him.

What have I to hope for in the darkness of our tomb?

You and I had little faith in a meeting after death-

Yet my open eyes can see all night

That lifelong trouble of your brow.

208

七言律诗

白居易

自河南经乱，关内阻饥，兄弟离散，各在一处。因望月有感，聊书所怀，寄上浮梁大兄，于潜七兄，乌江十五兄，兼示符离及下邽弟妹。

时难年荒世业空， 弟兄羁旅各西东。

田园寥落干戈后， 骨肉流离道路中。

吊影分为千里雁， 辞根散作九秋蓬。

共看明月应垂泪， 一夜乡心五处同。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Bai Juyi

TO MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS ADRIFT

IN TROUBLED TIMES THIS POEM OF THE MOON

Since the disorders in Henan and the famine in Guannei, my brothers and sisters have been scattered. Looking at the moon, I express my thoughts in this poem, which I send to my eldest brother at Fuliang, my seventh brother at Yuqian, My fifteen brother at Wujiang and my younger brothers and sisters at Fuli and Xiagui.

My heritage lost through disorder and famine,

My brothers and sisters flung eastward and westward,

My fields and gardens wrecked by the war,

My own flesh and blood become scum of the street,

I moan to my shadow like a lone-wandering wildgoose,

I am torn from my root like a water-plant in autumn:

I gaze at the moon, and my tears run down

For hearts, in five places, all sick with one wish.

209

七言律诗

李商隐

锦瑟

锦瑟无端五十弦， 一弦一柱思华年。

庄生晓梦迷蝴蝶， 望帝春心托杜鹃。

沧海月明珠有泪， 蓝田日暖玉生烟。

此情可待成追忆， 只是当时已惘然。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

THE INLAID HARP

I wonder why my inlaid harp has fifty strings,

Each with its flower-like fret an interval of youth.

...The sage Chuangzi is day-dreaming, bewitched by butterflies,

The spring-heart of Emperor Wang is crying in a cuckoo,

Mermen weep their pearly tears down a moon-green sea,

Blue fields are breathing their jade to the sun....

And a moment that ought to have lasted for ever

Has come and gone before I knew.

210

七言律诗

李商隐

无题

昨夜星辰昨夜风， 画楼西畔桂堂东。

身无彩凤双飞翼， 心有灵犀一点通。

隔座送钩春酒暖， 分曹射覆蜡灯红。

嗟余听鼓应官去， 走马兰台类转蓬。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

TO ONE UNNAMED

The stars of last night and the wind of last night

Are west of the Painted Chamber and east of Cinnamon Hall.

...Though I have for my body no wings like those of the bright- coloured phoenix,

Yet I feel the harmonious heart-beat of the Sacred Unicorn.

Across the spring-wine, while it warms me, I prompt you how to bet

Where, group by group, we are throwing dice in the light of a crimson lamp;

Till the rolling of a drum, alas, calls me to my duties

And I mount my horse and ride away, like a water-plant cut adrift.

211

七言律诗

李商隐

隋宫

紫泉宫殿锁烟霞， 欲取芜城作帝家。

玉玺不缘归日角， 锦帆应是到天涯。

于今腐草无萤火， 终古垂杨有暮鸦。

地下若逢陈后主， 岂宜重问后庭花？

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

THE PALACE OF THE SUI EMPEROR

His Palace of Purple Spring has been taken by mist and cloud,

As he would have taken all Yangzhou to be his private domain

But for the seal of imperial jade being seized by the first Tang Emperor,

He would have bounded with his silken sails the limits of the world.

Fire-flies are gone now, have left the weathered grasses,

But still among the weeping-willows crows perch at twilight.

...If he meets, there underground, the Later Chen Emperor,

Do you think that they will mention a Song of Courtyard Flowers?

212

七言律诗

李商隐

无题之一

来是空言去绝踪， 月斜楼上五更钟。

梦为远别啼难唤， 书被催成墨未浓。

蜡照半笼金翡翠， 麝熏微度绣芙蓉。

刘郎已恨蓬山远， 更隔蓬山一万重。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

TO ONE UNNAMED I

You said you would come, but you did not, and you left me with no other trace

Than the moonlight on your tower at the fifth-watch bell.

I cry for you forever gone, I cannot waken yet,

I try to read your hurried note, I find the ink too pale.

...Blue burns your candle in its kingfisher-feather lantern

And a sweet breath steals from your hibiscus-broidered curtain.

But far beyond my reach is the Enchanted Mountain,

And you are on the other side, ten thousand peaks away.

213

七言律诗

李商隐

无题之二

飒飒东风细雨来， 芙蓉塘外有轻雷。

金蟾啮璅烧香入， 玉虎牵丝汲井回。

贾氏窥帘韩掾少， 宓妃留枕魏王才。

春心莫共花争发， 一寸想思一寸灰。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

TO ONE UNNAMED II

A misty rain comes blowing with a wind from the east,

And wheels faintly thunder beyond Hibiscus Pool.

...Round the golden-toad lock, incense is creeping;

The jade tiger tells, on its cord, of water being drawn

A great lady once, from behind a screen, favoured a poor youth;

A fairy queen brought a bridal mat once for the ease of a prince and then vanished.

...Must human hearts blossom in spring, like all other flowers?

And of even this bright flame of love, shall there be only ashes?

214

七言律诗

李商隐

筹笔驿

猿鸟犹疑畏简书， 风云常为护储胥。

徒令上将挥神笔， 终见降王走传车。

管乐有才原不忝， 关张无命欲何如？

他年锦里经祠庙， 梁父吟成恨有余。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

IN THE CAMP OF THE SKETCHING BRUSH

Monkeys and birds are still alert for your orders

And winds and clouds eager to shield your fortress.

...You were master of the brush, and a sagacious general,

But your Emperor, defeated, rode the prison-cart.

You were abler than even the greatest Zhou statesmen,

Yet less fortunate than the two Shu generals who were killed in action.

And, though at your birth-place a temple has been built to you,

You never finished singing your Song of the Holy Mountain

215

七言律诗

李商隐

无题之三

相见时难别亦难， 东风无力百花残。

春蚕到死丝方尽， 蜡炬成灰泪始乾。

晓镜但愁云鬓改， 夜吟应觉月光寒。

蓬莱此去无多路， 青鸟殷勤为探看。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

TO ONE UNNAMED III

Time was long before I met her, but is longer since we parted,

And the east wind has arisen and a hundred flowers are gone,

And the silk-worms of spring will weave until they die

And every night the candles will weep their wicks away.

Mornings in her mirror she sees her hair-cloud changing,

Yet she dares the chill of moonlight with her evening song.

...It is not so very far to her Enchanted Mountain

O blue-birds, be listening!-Bring me what she says!

216

七言律诗

李商隐

春雨

怅卧新春白袷衣， 白门寥落意多违。

红楼隔雨相望冷， 珠箔飘灯独自归。

远路应悲春晼晚， 残宵犹得梦依稀。

玉珰缄札何由达， 万里云罗一雁飞。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

SPRING RAIN

I am lying in a white-lined coat while the spring approaches,

But am thinking only of the White Gate City where I cannot be.

...There are two red chambers fronting the cold, hidden by the rain,

And a lantern on a pearl screen swaying my lone heart homeward.

...The long road ahead will be full of new hardship,

With, late in the nights, brief intervals of dream.

Oh, to send you this message, this pair of jade earrings! --

I watch a lonely wildgoose in three thousand miles of cloud.

217

七言律诗

李商隐

无题之四

凤尾香罗薄几重， 碧文圆顶夜深缝。

扇裁月魄羞难掩， 车走雷声语未通。

曾是寂寥金烬暗， 断无消息石榴红。

斑骓只系垂杨岸， 何处西南任好风？

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

TO ONE UNNAMED IV

A faint phoenix-tail gauze, fragrant and doubled,

Lines your green canopy, closed for the night....

Will your shy face peer round a moon-shaped fan,

And your voice be heard hushing the rattle of my carriage?

It is quiet and quiet where your gold lamp dies,

How far can a pomegranate-blossom whisper?

...I will tether my horse to a river willow

And wait for the will of the southwest wind.

218

七言律诗

李商隐

无题之五

重帷深下莫愁堂， 卧后清宵细细长。

神女生涯原是梦， 小姑居处本无郎。

风波不信菱枝弱， 月露谁教桂叶香。

直道相思了无益， 未妨惆怅是清狂。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Li Shangyin

TO ONE UNNAMED V

There are many curtains in your care-free house,

Where rapture lasts the whole night long.

...What are the lives of angels but dreams

If they take no lovers into their rooms?

...Storms are ravishing the nut-horns,

Moon- dew sweetening cinnamon-leaves

I know well enough naught can come of this union,

Yet how it serves to ease my heart!

219

七言律诗

温庭筠

利洲南渡

澹然空水对斜晖， 曲岛苍茫接翠微。

波上马嘶看棹去， 柳边人歇待船归。

数丛沙草群鸥散， 万顷江田一鹭飞。

谁解乘舟寻范蠡？ 五湖烟水独忘机。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Wen Tingyun

NEAR THE LIZHOU FERRY

The sun has set in the waters clear void,

And little blue islands are one with the sky.

On the bank a horse neighs. A boat goes by.

People gather at a willow- clump and wait for the ferry.

Down by the sand-bushes sea-gulls are circling,

Over the wide river-lands flies an egret.

...Can you guess why I sail, like an ancient wise lover,

Through the misty Five Lakes, forgetting words?

220

七言律诗

温庭筠

苏武庙

苏武魂销汉使前， 古祠高树两茫然。

云边雁断胡天月， 陇上羊归塞草烟。

回日楼台非甲帐， 去时冠剑是丁年。

茂陵不见封侯印， 空向秋波哭逝川。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Wen Tingyun

THE TEMPLE OF SU WU

Though our envoy, Su Wu, is gone, body and soul,

This temple survives, these trees endure....

Wildgeese through the clouds are still calling to the moon there

And hill-sheep unshepherded graze along the border.

...Returning, he found his country changed

Since with youthful cap and sword he had left it.

His bitter adventures had won him no title....

Autumn-waves endlessly sob in the river.

221

七言律诗

薛逢

宫词

十二楼中尽晓妆， 望仙楼上望君王。

锁衔金兽连环冷， 水滴铜龙昼漏长。

云髻罢梳还对镜， 罗衣欲换更添香。

遥窥正殿帘开处， 袍裤宫人扫御床。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Xue Feng

A PALACE POEM

In twelve chambers the ladies, decked for the day,

Peer afar for their lord from their Fairy-View Lodge;

The golden toad guards the lock on the door-chain,

And the bronze-dragon water-clock drips through the morning

Till one of them, tilting a mirror, combs her cloud of hair

And chooses new scent and a change of silk raiment;

For she sees, between screen-panels, deep in the palace,

Eunuchs in court-dress preparing a bed.

222

七言律诗

秦韬玉

贫女

蓬门未识绮罗香， 拟托良媒益自伤。

谁爱风流高格调， 共怜时世俭梳妆。

敢将十指夸针巧， 不把双眉斗画长。

苦恨年年压金线， 为他人作嫁衣裳。

Seven-character-regular-verse

Qin Taoyu

A POOR GIRL

Living under a thatch roof, never wearing fragrant silk,

She longs to arrange a marriage, but how could she dare?

Who would know her simple face the loveliest of them all

When we choose for worldliness, not for worth?

Her fingers embroider beyond compare,

But she cannot vie with painted brows;

And year after year she has sewn gold thread

On bridal robes for other girls.