gāo wò nán zhāi shí,
kāi wéi yuè chū tù。
qīng huī dàn shuǐ mù,
yǎn yàng zài chuāng hù。
rěn rǎn jǐ yíng xū,
chéng chéng biàn jīn gǔ。
měi rén qīng jiāng pàn,
shì yè yuè yín kǔ。
qiān lǐ gòng rú hé,
wēi fēng chuī lán dù。
Lying on a high seat in the south study,
We have lifted the curtain-and we see the rising moon
Brighten with pure light the water and the grove
And flow like a wave on our window and our door.
It will move through the cycle, full moon and then crescent again,
Calmly, beyond our wisdom, altering new to old.
...Our chosen one, our friend, is now by a limpid river --
Singing, perhaps, a plaintive eastern song.
He is far, far away from us, three hundred miles away.
And yet a breath of orchids comes along the wind.