Yearning
Away in southern lands the red beans lay
As spring returns to send its blooms above;
Desiring you I pluck a big bouquet,
To hold a thing that marks our tender love.
Chinese
相思
紅豆生南國，
春來發幾枝。
願君多采擷，
此物最相思。
Pronunciation
Xiāng Sī
Hóng dòu shēng nán guó，
Chūn lái fā jī zhī。
Yuàn jūn duō cǎi xié，
Cǐ wù zuì xiāng sī。
Literal Character Translation
Farewell to a Dear Friend
I shut my door, the sun begins to set.
In spring next year the grass will turn to green,
But if you’ll come back here, I know not yet.
Chinese
送別
山中相送罷，
日暮掩柴扉。
春草明年綠，
王孫歸不歸。
Pronunciation
Sòng Bié
Shān zhōng xiāng sòng bà，
Rì mù yǎn chái fēi。
Chūn cǎo nián nián lǜ，
Wáng sūn guī bù guī。
Literal Character Translation
Bamboo Retreat
Alone, I sit serene within a bamboo grove,
At ease, I strum the lute and hum a song.
Unknown into the forest deep I’ll rove
Until the shining moon has sung along.
Chinese
竹里館
獨坐幽篁裡，
彈琴復長嘯。
深林人不知，
明月來相照。
Pronunciation
Zhú Lǐ Guǎn
Dú zuò yōu huáng lǐ，
Dàn qín fù cháng xiào。
Shēn lín rén bù zhī，
Míng yuè lái xiāng zhào。
Literal Character Translation
Deer Woods
The human words I hear are merely echoes.
Returning deep within the woods again,
The light reflects atop, where green moss grows.
Chinese
鹿柴
空山不見人，
但聞人語響。
返景入深林，
復照青苔上。
Pronunciation
Lù Chái
Kōng shān bù jiàn rén，
Dàn wén rén yǔ xiǎng。
Fǎn jǐng rù shēn lín，
Fù zhào qīng tái shàng。
Literal Character Translation
Saying Goodbye at a Water Pavilion Feast
Silent night, deserted town,
A cold pond and a warehouse wall.
The frontier cicadas already buzz,
And the tree leaves change for fall.
Your road will touch the distant sky,
But we'll sing until the morning call.
Unable to watch you leave us behind,
The plunging moon like a hook befalls.
For a Hearty Old Man
Eighty years old with nowhere to go,
Away and cold, you beg for clothes;
Again and again I pity your woes
As all is gone, but the wind still blows.
Original Chinese poem by Bai Juyi
Spring Worries
In spring I fear the summer’s heat,
At the Xinzhou Water Pavilion
At the southern edge, around a turn,
The earth is filled by a sea of white;
The day has passed, but I haven’t returned
From this gardenia trance, both scent and sight.
Original Chinese poem by Zhang Hu
Sending Off My Cousin, Beyond the Castle by the Southern Moon
At home we fenced with traveling swords,
Cutting at this and that like idle lords;
The two of us, like towns around a turn,
Will drift apart as soon as I return.
Riding horses over the moon bridge south,
We follow the light to the road fork’s mouth;
Arriving at last at Shandong Mountain,
Memories flow like an endless fountain.
Blossoms scatter about this fragrant plot
As we drink until our sense is shot;
Drunk and happy, we rise with force,
But cannot climb back on the horse.
A Fish Released
Money’s freed you, fish, from knife-cut trials,
A story that’ll fill all fish and fowl with gratitude.
So, Bon Voyage! The Yangtze swells for countless miles,
Go swim at ease to peaceful latitudes.
