Beauty Spring flowers and autumn moon, when will such sentiments come to an end? All memories of the past, how could I explain! To my little loft last night, the easterly wind blew again I couldn’t bear to think of the homeland In such lucent moonlight! The fine mansions must be there still Only the fair faces have wilted How much sorrow do you ever conceal? Must be as much as the river of spring Rolling eastward never-ending … ~ Translated from Li Yu’s “The Royal Beauty,” written in the Tang dynasty 春花秋月何時了 往事知多少 小樓昨夜又東風 故國不堪回首 月明中 雕欄玉砌應猶在 只是朱颜改 問君能有幾多愁 恰似一江春水 向東流 ~ 李煜 (唐代) <<虞美人>>
Bird Chirps At Night Up the west tower I go, in silence alone Latching onto a phoenix tree in the courtyard, a half moon shaped like a sickle And the autumn, a lockup on its own A tangled thread, an unsortable mess This parting sorrow, quite unusual Has a mind of its own, lingering on ~ Translated from Li Yu’s “Autumn Sentiments,” written in the Tang dynasty (Li Yu was the last Emperor of the Tang dynasty, also a great poet.) 無言獨上西樓 月如鉤 寂寞梧桐深院 鎖清秋 剪不斷 理還亂 是離愁 別是一般滋味 在心頭 ~ 李煜 (唐朝最後一位皇帝) <<鳥夜啼 秋懷>>
In The Woods Not a soul is seen on the empty mountain Yet voices are heard round about Sunset light returns to the woods Slanting again on the moss ~ Translated from Wang Wei’s “The Deer Range,” written in the Tang dynasty 空山不見人 但聞人語響 返景入深林 復照青苔上 ~ 王維 (唐代) <<鹿柴>>
