English Translation of Poems

Poem without a Title

by Li Shangyin

无题

李商隐

It’s difficult for us to meet and hard to part,
The east wind is too weak to revive flowers dead.
The silkworm till its death spins silk from love-sick heart;
The candle only when burned has no tears* to shed.
At dawn she’d be afraid to see mirrored hair gray;
At night she would feel cold while I croon by moonlight.
To the three fairy hills it is not a long way.
Without the blue-bird oft fly to see her on their height?　

Note: The melted wax of a guttering candle is compared to tears.

相见时难别也难，
东风无力百花残。
春蚕到死丝方尽，
蜡炬成灰泪始干。
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。

注:熔化的蜡比作眼泪。

Coming Home

by He Zhizhang

回乡偶书

贺知章

I left home young and not till old do I come back,
My accent is unchanged, my hair no longer black.
The children don’t know me, whom I meet on the way,
"Where do you come from, reverend sir?" they smile and say.

小少离家老大回，
乡音无改鬓毛摧。
儿童相见不相识，
笑问客从何处来？

To Wang Lun

Li Bai

I’m on board; We’re about to sail,
When there’s stamping and singing on shore;
Peach Blossom Pool is a thousand feet deep,
Yet not so deep,Wang Lun,as your love for me.

赠 汪 伦

李 白

李 白 乘 舟 将 欲 行 ，
忽 闻 岸 上 踏 歌 声 。
桃 花 潭 水 深 千 尺 ，
不 及 汪 伦 送 我 情 。

Thoughts in the Silent Night

Li Bai

Beside my bed a pool of light---
Is it hoarfrost on the ground?
I lift my eyes and see the moon,
I bend my head and think of home.

静 夜 思

李 白

床 前 明 月 光 ，
疑 是 地 上 霜 。
举 头 望 明 月 ，
低 头 思 故 乡 。

The Deer Enclosure

Wang Wei

Empty the hills,no man in sight,
Yet voices echo here;
Deep in the woods slanting sunlight,
Falls on the jade-green moss.

鹿 柴

王 维

空 山 不 见 人 ，
但 闻 人 语 响 。
返 景 入 深 林 ，
复 照 青 苔 上 。

In the Rainy Season of Spring

Du Mu

It drizzles endlessly during the rainy season in spring,
Travelers along the road look gloomy and miserable.
When I ask a shepherd boy where I can find a tavern,
He points at a distant hamlet nestling amidst apricot blossoms.

清 明

杜 牧

清明时节雨纷纷，
路上行人欲断魂。
借问酒家何处有，
牧童遥指杏花村。