Zhuge's 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. 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. 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.
It's 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? 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.
Another version:
Advent of Spring
The city has fallen: only the hills and rivers remain.
In Spring the streets were green with grass and trees.
Sorrowing over the times, the flowers are weeping.
The birds startled my heart in fear of departing.
The beacon fires were burning for three months,
A letter from home was worth ten thousand pieces of gold.
I scratch the scant hairs on my white head,
And vainly attempt to secure them with a hairpin. The Three Kingdoms, divided, have been bound by his greatness.
The Eight-Sided Fortress is founded on his fame;
Beside the changing river, it stands stony as his grief
That he never conquered the Kingdom of Wu. 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? The war-chariots rattle,
The war-horses whinny.
Each man of you has a bow and a quiver at his belt.
Father, mother, son, wife, stare at you going,
Till dust shall have buried the bridge beyond Changan.
They run with you, crying, they tug at your sleeves,
And the sound of their sorrow goes up to the clouds;
And every time a bystander asks you a question,
You can only say to him that you have to go.
...We remember others at fifteen sent north to guard the river
And at forty sent west to cultivate the campfarms.
The mayor wound their turbans for them when they started out.
With their turbaned hair white now, they are still at the border,
At the border where the blood of men spills like the sea –
And still the heart of Emperor Wu is beating for war.
...Do you know that, east of China's mountains, in two hundred districts
And in thousands of villages, nothing grows but weeds,
And though strong women have bent to the ploughing,
East and west the furrows all are broken down?
...Men of China are able to face the stiffest battle,
But their officers drive them like chickens and dogs.
Whatever is asked of them,
Dare they complain?
For example, this winter
Held west of the gate,
Challenged for taxes,
How could they pay?
...We have learned that to have a son is bad luck-
It is very much better to have a daughter
Who can marry and live in the house of a neighbour,
While under the sod we bury our boys.
...Go to the Blue Sea, look along the shore
At all the old white bones forsaken –
New ghosts are wailing there now with the old,
Loudest in the dark sky of a stormy day. "Decay and decline": deep knowledge have I of Sung Yu's 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. Yulu maple trees wither injury, gas Xiaosen Wushan Wu Gorge. Waves and days between Jiang Yong, stuffed ground overcast situation. Cong Ju future of two open tears, boat and a series of hometown heart. Knife feet warm clothing reminders everywhere, Baidicheng anvil high-anxious evening. Kui government isolated city sun_set_ ramp, each bucket according to Wang Jing Hua Nan. Listen to tears three times under real ape, Feng Shi Cha virtual with August. V pillow paintings violated provincial incense, Mountain House, Hidden sad Jia pink battlements. See the stone vines month, has been mapped before Chau Lo Tik flowers. Thousands of Shan Guo Zhaohui, Jiang floor sitting Cuiwei day. The destination Fisherman's also broad, clear autumn swallow it Feifei. Kuangheng CONSOLID fame thin, Liu Xiang pass on their minds violation. Young students do not take cheap, light Wuling Chevalier from fat. Wen Chang Road, like chess, a hundred years very sad things. Raja Dizhai all new primary, civil and military attire different yore. Zhen Guan Shan Ku straight north, Zheng Xi Yu traveling book late. Long cold lonely Autumn River fish, native country level home but gorgeous. Penglai palace of Nanshan, Cheng Lu Chin fearless room. Review Of Jade Pool down the Queen Mother, the East Purple full letter off. Clouds Move open Zhiwei Gong Shan, at around the Dragonscale know holy face. Cangjiang a surprise year-end lying a few Huiqing trivial point toward classes. Qutang mouth Qujiang head, then Su Qiu, Wind and Smoke Miles. City Link Royal Air calyx folder, Hibiscus Court, into the edge of a small depression. Wong Wai-chu Hu bead embroidery, Kam cable from the White Gull tooth wall. Looking back on the poor singing and dancing, the Qin emperor in the ancient state. Han, Kunming water power, flags in the eyes of the Emperor. Weaver machine wire Xu Yeyue, stone whale scales moving autumn. Shen Yun black wave drift wild rice, cold dew falling lotus pink. However, most days of the relevant plug Bird Road, rivers and lakes all over the floor of a Fisherman. Kun wu Yu Su from the meandering, purple shade into the U.S. House Peak Pei. More than parrots pecking grain aromatic rice, the old Phoenix Chi Biwu habitat. Woman Found in spring relative to Q Cui, more night shift Xianlv same boat. Weather was dry brush past, Bai Touyin look hard falls. Ba Lang remote, on Spring and stop short and art is received before the palace of spring. Although the world is full of soldiers, from the strong spring day. Xijing battle-weary, any Qunxiong North Palace. Plug off the three thousand miles, ten thousand heavy fireworks. Dust dews anxious, Yu Su, and who for. Before re-Yin Wang, Zhou moved to the old country capacity. Penglai foot clouds, should be combined total from the dragon. Orioles into the New Year's language, so full of blooming branches. Azure Kazamaki mantle, grass green water through pool. Prison off the government troops far, everything is dangerous depression. Mane of the original confession, tears always vertical. Is not no brother, the subject leave. Spring Bashan quiet, winding turn north. Sun and Moon also fight, the stars repeated encirclement. Fails to punish law enforcement, nothing change crisis. Cape Air bound soldiers, the Emperor kee Chan hook. Yudao faint dust, Qijiu to tink. Que line armies to lean toward the generals. Yin Tu fishing and more hidden, the king is willing to _set_ existed. Court further chaos, it is difficult to know the message true. Chuan Wang Luo recent, complex road to go to Qin. Ma Beigong wins the primary, your best man boarding sobbing. Siu Kwan fan north, the sea like the East Tour. Dare material safety body, still more than the old minister. Shao Qi Ji-free blood stained car dust is sprinkled. Fortunately, I have heard that the beginning of the East, orphans are walking more. Hard to Taicang Su, Lu Yang Jing Ge abandoned. Hulu board front hall, kings and the Imperial River. Was no dancing in the night, who recalled "wind song." Spring Health and Feng Sui, You Ren Xue weeping radish. Monarch rebuilt Germany, still evident, and when. Chang Ying Ji Chek Dayton, non-free miles posture. Sorrow and tears to the ground, for those who asked Yu. Phoenix came from heaven, He intended to re-fly. Bamboo flowers are not strong, and read tolerance towards child hunger. Monarch since ancient times together, you can physically push. Sage knowledge _set_ points, fixed its wish to advance and retreat. City People Japan _set_s, knife cone at profit competition. _Set_ on fire paste, sorrow and self-torment. Farmers look old twist, fraction except basil. The Valley-based service, no win is a labor evil. Shun give sixteen-phase, high body respect Tao Ho. Shang Yang Qin Ren, decrees, such as ox hair. Hankuang to gain power, Zuo existence has opened. Qi Wei emperor St., Xiao Cao to work from. Jinglun in Societe Generale, Ho-generation talent. I admire Koudeng Xun, Ji Liang Zai, Trust. Jiayi Zong Chen Geng, wings were hovering. Win the final four hundred off the picture in the head. Zhelong three winter lying, the old heart of Cape miles. Once-Hyun Joon people, not as the case still today. Kang can not die, Ming are friends. Another example is the end of Pine Ridge, with homes in the search. What a Great frost dry, aged for a long time to dry forest. Formerly Pang Degong, not into the state capital. Xiangyang Qijiu, the Department Scholar suffering alone. When no power to economic policy, and finally went so far as Lo Kwu fear. Linmao birds have owned, the water depth knowledge of fish gather. Hidden Lumen his family, Liu Biao nothing to take. Weng Tao Qian to avoid customs, may not be up to road. By his book of poetry, rather also hate it withered. Dasheng How can it be enough, not earlier tacit cover. A sub-Yin and Yu, Qi linked arms. He Gongya Wu, the incumbent always clean freak. Shu Qi on the bones, yellow crown to the hometown. Shuangqi not delivered, he died this fall. Sanin a Mao Yu, Jianghai day cool. I pity Haoran, short brown that night. Why write poetry more often Lingbao welcome. Qingjiang empty old fish, rain than sugar cane. Looking southeast every cloud, makes a few sad Sa. 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. What shall I say of the Great Peak? --
The ancient dukedoms are everywhere green,
Inspired and stirred by the breath of creation,
With the Twin Forces balancing day and night.
...I bare my breast toward opening clouds,
I strain my sight after birds flying home.
When shall I reach the top and hold
All mountains in a single glance? Nishioka Lingzheng startled at the statue, Peaks Lolli like children and grandchildren. Andhra immortal nine rod, Zhu to Lady wash basin. Trunk into the grain, no turning back There is an arrow Trichosanthes sky. Wait a cool or cold autumn after Bai Di asked to find the source of high real. Zhu Nanyue with birds, rank gift from the king a hundred. Secular spiritual absorption territory, Hong Yan Fang half hole. State Home Ceremony, in Germany and Africa fragrance. Ho Shou solitude, there are danger this fall. JI I pass the World network, the more Xiaoxiang line step. Thirst out on cliffs, Yang Zhou, next to pure light. Vulcan statue Wufeng, low expensive peak times. North Korea is not alone purple cap, a long struggle Chong sea. Christine heard Ms. Wei, Qunxian clip fly. Sometimes Wufeng gas, scattered wind as Feishuang. Pull forced to limit repair purposes, Kang Chong Wei Xia stick. Return covet pay their visit, bathing off Yutang. House asked the Lord three sigh, Camps to praise me Emperor. Popular feeling bad Pik sacrifice, God down their thinking Cheung. 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. 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? Your life is a man, the husband re-secret. Less than good one, as the row blossom. Sigh I went so far as to shake the Ke, the old Sun Jianwei. Hu child forced artifact, reverse section with the return. Luo River into blood, grass between princes sing. Atlantis did not re-_set_tlement, Greenwood dust fly. Million pure grief surname, Liang Gong abandoned Ziwei. Mortal to the second century, Jianxiong more wrong. Re-establish the dynasty and less Zhenguan time. Date to the reservoir in the military, Shangguan Governor Yousi. High Yin forced situation, not at leisure phase support. Acenaphthene Gou pregnant fatigue policy, habitat crumbs do nothing. Now the old king had real crime, the pain is as're unhappy. Time does not and I, wasted disease in Sri Lanka. Night to see the city Feng Qi, back dragon pool. Made from tooth has been expected, the Italian deep Chen bitter speech. Risk bad state law, San Yuan Yi Mu worry. Sway Gui water swim, Chang Wang Cangwu evening. No title Potential fish hooks, no duty-bound to go deer. Jiaojiao quiet desert heart, Sincere usually different. Phase arrest Ae food, clothing, limited Refugees friends know. Fengtao spring and sand, Trinidad Baptist Jiang tree. Retrograde less auspicious day, the season empty re degrees. Well appointed kitchen dust, the number of boat trouble with Air. Qianchan plus old and sick, trivial narrow popular services. Vancomycin a life and death, full name for the number of Hu. More worries pollution haven, Zhuo total mud _Insert_. Yan malaria drugs are not resigned, put off the trek fear. Tigers glimpse of the Central Plains, nothing to live by the calendar. Ge Hong and Xu Jing, Masquerade always this way. Xian Yu Cheng arithmetic, self-love of the gallop. Lean and how lean, soul wins acupuncture repeated. Fan delay servants careless, angry teachers missed pole. When I sail the end, God is difficult to tell. Vulcan off the south, barely pro-stick shoe. Results care Canopus, Louvre exhibition bad step. O General, descended from Wei's Emperor Wu,
You are nobler now than when a noble....
Conquerors and their velour perish,
But masters of beauty live forever.
...With your brush-work learned from Lady Wei
And second only to Wang Xizhi's,
Faithful to your art, you know no age,
Letting wealth and fame drift by like clouds.
...In the years of Kaiyuan you were much with the Emperor,
Accompanied him often to the Court of the South Wind.
When the spirit left great statesmen, on walls of the Hall of Fame
The point of your brush preserved their living faces.
You crowned all the premiers with coronets of office;
You fitted all commanders with arrows at their girdles;
You made the founders of this dynasty, with every hair alive,
Seem to be just back from the fierceness of a battle.
...The late Emperor had a horse, known as Jade Flower,
Whom artists had copied in various poses.
They led him one day to the red marble stairs
With his eyes toward the palace in the deepening air.
Then, General, commanded to proceed with your work,
You centred all your being on a piece of silk.
And later, when your dragon-horse, born of the sky,
Had banished earthly horses for ten thousand generations,
There was one Jade Flower standing on the dais
And another by the steps, and they marvelled at each other....
The Emperor rewarded you with smiles and with gifts,
While officers and men of the stud hung about and stared.
...Han Gan, your follower, has likewise grown proficient
At representing horses in all their attitudes;
But picturing the flesh, he fails to draw the bone-
So that even the finest are deprived of their spirit.
You, beyond the mere skill, used your art divinely-
And expressed, not only horses, but the life of a good man....
Yet here you are, wandering in a world of disorder
And sketching from time to time some petty passerby
People note your case with the whites of their eyes.
There's nobody purer, there's nobody poorer.
...Read in the records, from earliest times,
How hard it is to be a great artist. I met you often when you were visiting princes
And when you were playing in noblemen's halls.
...Spring passes.... Far down the river now,
I find you alone under falling petals. 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? It is almost as hard for friends to meet
As for the morning and evening stars.
Tonight then is a rare event,
Joining, in the candlelight,
Two men who were young not long ago
But now are turning grey at the temples.
...To find that half our friends are dead
Shocks us, burns our hearts with grief.
We little guessed it would be twenty years
Before I could visit you again.
When I went away, you were still unmarried;
But now these boys and girls in a row
Are very kind to their father's old friend.
They ask me where I have been on my journey;
And then, when we have talked awhile,
They bring and show me wines and dishes,
Spring chives cut in the night-rain
And brown rice cooked freshly a special way.
...My host proclaims it a festival,
He urges me to drink ten cups --
But what ten cups could make me as drunk
As I always am with your love in my heart?
...Tomorrow the mountains will separate us;
After tomorrow-who can say? Who is lovelier than she?
Yet she lives alone in an empty valley.
She tells me she came from a good family
Which is humbled now into the dust.
...When trouble arose in the Kuan district,
Her brothers and close kin were killed.
What use were their high offices,
Not even shielding their own lives? --
The world has but scorn for adversity;
Hope goes out, like the light of a candle.
Her husband, with a vagrant heart,
Seeks a new face like a new piece of jade;
And when morning-glories furl at night
And mandarin-ducks lie side by side,
All he can see is the smile of the new love,
While the old love weeps unheard.
The brook was pure in its mountain source,
But away from the mountain its waters darken.
...Waiting for her maid to come from selling pearls
For straw to cover the roof again,
She picks a few flowers, no longer for her hair,
And lets pine-needles fall through her fingers,
And, forgetting her thin silk sleeve and the cold,
She leans in the sunset by a tall bamboo. |
|