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， 惟余钟磬音。

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 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?

115

五言律诗

王维

辋川闲居赠裴秀才迪

寒山转苍翠， 秋水日潺湲。
倚杖柴门外， 临风听暮蝉。
渡头余落日， 墟里上孤烟。
复值接舆醉， 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

五言律诗

王维

山居秋暝

空山新雨后， 天气晚来秋。
明月松间照， 清泉石上流。
竹喧归浣女， 莲动下渔舟。
随意春芳歇， 王孙自可留。

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

五言律诗

王维

归嵩山作

清川带长薄， 车马去闲闲。
流水如有意， 暮禽相与还。
荒城临古渡， 落日满秋山。
迢递嵩高下， 归来且闭关。

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

五言律诗

王维

终南山

太乙近天都， 连山接海隅。
白云回望合， 青霭入看无。
分野中峰变， 阴晴众壑殊。
欲投人处宿， 隔水问樵夫。

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

五言律诗

王维

酬张少府

晚年惟好静， 万事不关心。
自顾无长策， 空知返旧林。
松风吹解带， 山月照弹琴。
君问穷通理， 渔歌入浦深。

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

五言律诗

王维

过香积寺

不知香积寺， 数里入云峰。
古木无人径， 深山何处钟。
泉声咽危石， 日色冷青松。
薄暮空潭曲， 安禅制毒龙。

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

五言律诗

王维

送梓州李使君

万壑树参天， 千山响杜鹃。
山中一夜雨， 树杪百重泉。
汉女输橦布， 巴人讼芋田。
文翁翻教授， 不敢倚先贤。

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

五言律诗

王维

汉江临眺

楚塞三湘接， 荆门九派通。
江流天地外， 山色有无中。
郡邑浮前浦， 波澜动远空。
襄阳好风日， 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

五言律诗

王维

终南别业

中岁颇好道， 晚家南山陲。
兴来美独往， 胜事空自知。
行到水穷处， 坐看云起时。
偶然值林叟， 谈笑无还期。

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

五言律诗

孟浩然

望洞庭湖赠张丞相

八月湖水平， 涵虚混太清。
气蒸云梦泽， 波撼岳阳城。
欲济无舟楫， 端居耻圣明。
坐观垂钓者， 空有羡鱼情。

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

五言律诗

孟浩然

与诸子登岘山

人事有代谢， 往来成古今。
江山留胜迹， 我辈复登临。
水落鱼梁浅， 天寒梦泽深。
羊公碑字在， 读罢泪沾襟。

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

五言律诗

孟浩然

清明日宴梅道士房

林卧愁春尽， 开轩览物华。
忽逢青鸟使， 邀入赤松家。
丹灶初开火， 仙桃正发花。
童颜若可驻， 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

五言律诗

孟浩然

岁暮归南山

北阙休上书， 南山归敝庐。
不才明主弃， 多病故人疏。
白发催年老， 青阳逼岁除。
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

五言律诗

孟浩然

过故人庄

故人具鸡黍， 邀我至田家。
绿树村边合， 青山郭外斜。
开轩面场圃， 把酒话桑麻。
待到重阳日， 还来就菊花。

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

五言律诗

孟浩然

秦中感秋寄远上人

一丘尝欲卧， 三径苦无资。
北土非吾愿， 东林怀我师。
黄金燃桂尽， 壮志逐年衰。
日夕凉风至， 闻蝉但益悲。

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 ful desires have been burnt with the years-
And tonight in the chilling sunset-wind
A cicada, singing, weighs on my heart.

130

五言律诗

孟浩然

宿桐庐江寄广陵旧游

山暝听猿愁， 沧江急夜流。
风鸣两岸叶， 月照一孤舟。
建德非吾土， 维扬忆旧游。
还将两行泪， 遥寄海西头。

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

五言律诗

孟浩然

留别王侍御维

寂寂竟何待， 朝朝空自归。
欲寻芳草去， 惜与故人违。
当路谁相假， 知音世所稀。
祗应守寂寞， 还掩故园扉。

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

五言律诗

孟浩然

早寒江上有怀

木落雁南渡， 北风江上寒。
我家襄水曲， 遥隔楚云端。
乡泪客中尽， 孤帆天际看。
迷津欲有问， 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

五言律诗

刘长卿

秋日登吴公台上寺远眺

古台摇落后， 秋日望乡心。
野寺人来少， 云峰水隔深。
夕阳依旧垒， 寒磬满空林。
惆怅南朝事， 长江独至今。

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

五言律诗

刘长卿

送李中丞归汉阳别业

流落征南将， 曾驱十万师。
罢归无旧业， 老去恋明时。
独立三边静， 轻生一剑知。
茫茫江汉上， 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

五言律诗

刘长卿

饯别王十一南游

望君烟水阔， 挥手泪沾巾。
飞鸟没何处？ 青山空向人。
长江一帆远， 落日五湖春。
谁见汀洲上， 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

五言律诗

刘长卿

寻南溪常山道人隐居

一路经行处， 莓苔见履痕。
白云依静渚， 春草闭闲门。
过雨看松色， 随山到水源。
溪花与禅意， 相对亦忘言。

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

五言律诗

刘长卿

新年作

乡心新岁切， 天畔独潸然。
老至居人下， 春归在客先。
岭猿同旦暮， 江柳共风烟。
已似长沙傅， 从今又几年。

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

五言律诗

钱起

送僧归日本

上国随缘住， 来途若梦行。
浮天沧海远， 去世法舟轻。
水月通禅寂， 鱼龙听梵声。
惟怜一灯影， 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

五言律诗

钱起

谷口书斋寄杨补阙

泉壑带茅茨， 云霞生薜帷。
竹怜新雨后， 山爱夕阳时。
闲鹭栖常早， 秋花落更迟。
家童扫萝径， 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

五言律诗

韦应物

淮上喜会梁川故人

江汉曾为客， 相逢每醉还。
浮云一别后， 流水十年间。
欢笑情如旧， 萧疏鬓已斑。
何因北归去？ 淮上对秋山。

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

五言律诗

韦应物

赋得暮雨送李胄

楚江微雨里， 建业暮钟时。
漠漠帆来重， 冥冥鸟去迟。
海门深不见， 浦树远含滋。
相送情无限， 沾襟比散丝。

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

五言律诗

韩翃

酬程延秋夜即事见赠

长簟迎风早， 空城澹月华。
星河秋一雁， 砧杵夜千家。
节候看应晚， 心期卧亦赊。
向来吟秀句， 不觉已鸣鸦。

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

五言律诗

刘脊虚

阙题

道由白云尽， 春与青溪长。
时有落花至， 远隋流水香。
闲门向山路， 深柳读书堂。
幽映每白日， 清辉照衣裳。

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

五言律诗

戴叔伦

江乡故人偶集客舍

天秋月又满， 城阙夜千重。
还作江南会， 翻疑梦里逢。
风枝惊暗鹊， 露草覆寒虫。
羁旅长堪醉， 相留畏晓钟。

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

五言律诗

卢纶

李端公

故关衰草遍， 离别正堪悲。
路出寒云外， 人归暮雪时。
少孤为客早， 多难识君迟。
掩泪空相向， 风尘何处期。

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

五言律诗

李益

喜见外弟又言别

十年离乱后， 长大一相逢。
问姓惊初见， 称名忆旧容。
别来沧海事， 语罢暮天钟。
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

五言律诗

司空曙

云阳馆与韩绅宿别

故人江海别， 几度隔山川。
乍见翻疑梦， 相悲各问年。
孤灯寒照雨， 深竹暗浮烟。
更有明朝恨， 离杯惜共传。

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

五言律诗

司空曙

喜外弟卢纶见宿

静夜四无邻， 荒居旧业贫。
雨中黄叶树， 灯下白头人。
以我独沉久， 愧君相访频。
平生自有分， 况是蔡家亲。

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

五言律诗

司空曙

贼平后送人北归

世乱同南去， 时清独北还。
他乡生白发， 旧国见青山。
晓月过残垒， 繁星宿故关。
寒禽与衰草， 处处伴愁颜。

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

五言律诗

刘禹锡

蜀先主庙

天地英雄气， 千秋尚凛然。
势分三足鼎， 业复五铢钱。
得相能开国， 生儿不象贤。
凄凉蜀故妓， 来舞魏宫前。

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

五言律诗

张籍

没蕃故人

前年伐月支， 城下没全师。
蕃汉断消息， 死生长别离。
无人收废帐， 归马识残旗。
欲祭疑君在， 天涯哭此时。

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

五言律诗

白居易

赋得古原草送别

离离原上草， 一岁一枯荣。
野火烧不尽， 春风吹又生。
远芳侵古道， 晴翠接荒城。
又送王孙去， 萋萋满别情。

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

五言律诗

杜牧

旅宿

旅馆无良伴， 凝情自悄然。
寒灯思旧事， 断雁警愁眠。
远梦归侵晓， 家书到隔年。
沧江好烟月， 门系钓鱼船。

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

五言律诗

许浑

秋日赴阙题潼关驿楼

红叶晚萧萧， 长亭酒一瓢。
残云归太华， 疏雨过中条。
树色随山迥， 河声入海遥。
帝乡明日到， 犹自梦渔樵。

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

五言律诗

许浑

早秋

遥夜泛清瑟， 西风生翠萝。
残萤栖玉露， 早雁拂银河。
高树晓还密， 远山晴更多。
淮南一叶下， 自觉老烟波。

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

五言律诗

李商隐

蝉

本以高难饱， 徒劳恨费声。
五更疏欲断， 一树碧无情。
薄宦梗犹泛， 故园芜已平。
烦君最相警， 我亦举家清。

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

五言律诗

李商隐

风雨

凄凉宝剑篇， 羁泊欲穷年。
黄叶仍风雨， 青楼自管弦。
新知遭薄俗， 旧好隔良缘。
心断新丰酒， 销愁斗几千。

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

五言律诗

李商隐

落花

高阁客竟去， 小园花乱飞。
参差连曲陌， 迢递送斜晖。
肠断未忍扫， 眼穿仍欲归。
芳心向春尽， 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

五言律诗

李商隐

凉思

客去波平槛， 蝉休露满枝。
永怀当此节， 倚立自移时。
北斗兼春远， 南陵寓使迟。
天涯占梦数， 疑误有新知。

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

五言律诗

李商隐

北青萝

残阳西入崦， 茅屋访孤僧。
落叶人何在？ 寒云路几层。
独敲初夜磬， 闲倚一枝藤。
世界微尘里， 吾宁爱与憎。

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

五言律诗

温庭筠

送人东游

荒戍落黄叶， 浩然离故关。
高风汉阳渡， 初日郢门山。
江上几人在？ 天涯孤棹还。
何当重相见？ 樽酒慰离颜。

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

五言律诗

马戴

灞上秋居

灞原风雨定， 晚见雁行频。
落叶他乡树， 寒灯独夜人。
空园白露滴， 孤壁野僧邻。
寄卧郊扉久， 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

五言律诗

马戴

楚江怀古

露气寒光集， 微阳下楚丘。
猿啼洞庭树， 人在木兰舟。
广泽生明月， 苍山夹乱流。
云中君不见， 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

五言律诗

张乔

书边事

调角断清秋， 征人倚戍楼。
春风对青冢， 白日落梁州。
大漠无兵阻， 穷边有客游。
蕃情似此水， 长愿向南流。

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

五言律诗

崔涂

巴山道中除夜有怀

迢递三巴路， 羁危万里身。
乱山残雪夜， 孤独异乡春。
渐与骨肉远， 转于僮仆亲。
那堪正飘泊， 明日岁华新。

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

五言律诗

崔涂

孤雁

几行归塞尽， 片影独何之？
暮雨相呼失， 寒塘欲下迟。
渚云低暗渡， 关月冷相随。
未必逢矰缴， 孤飞自可疑。

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

五言律诗

杜荀鹤

春宫怨

早被婵娟误， 欲妆临镜慵。
承恩不在貌， 教妾若为容？
风暖鸟声碎， 日高花影重。
年年越溪女， 相忆采芙蓉。

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

五言律诗

韦庄

章台夜思

清瑟怨遥夜， 绕弦风雨哀。
孤灯闻楚角， 残月下章台。
芳草已云暮， 故人殊未来。
乡书不可寄， 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

五言律诗

僧皎然

寻陆鸿渐不遇

移家虽带郭， 野径入桑麻。
近种篱边菊， 秋来未著花。
扣门无犬吠， 欲去问西家。
报到山中去， 归来每日斜。

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.