It’s so hard to be together, and so hard to part: a tender
east wind is powerless: the hundred blossoms crumble:
the heart-thread doesn’t end until the silkworm’s dead,
and tears don’t dry until the candle’s burnt into ash:
she grieves, seeing white hair in her morning mirror,
and chanting at night, she feels the chill of moonlight:
exquisite Paradise Mountain—it isn’t so very far away,
and that azure bird can show us the way back anytime.
translated by David Hinton
T’ang Dynasty
Drinking Alone in a Small Garden by Li Shang-yin
Who could have knit the willow’s belts?
The flower buds are unwilling to open yet.
Only a pair of dancing butterflies are left;
Not a single person has come here.
I half unfold the dragon-whisker mat,
And lightly pour into the horse-brain cup.
Every year the arrival of spring is uncertain;
I have been deceived by the early blooming plum!
translated by James J.Y. Liu
Goodbye At The River by Li Po
In this little river town
the autumn rain lets up
the wine’s all gone
well then, goodbye!
you stretch out in your boat
the sail fills, you skim home
past islands burning with flowers
banks crowded with willows
what about me? I don’t know
I think I’ll go sit
on that big rock
and fish
translated by David Young
Conversation Among Mountains by Li Po
You ask why I live
in these green mountains
I smile
can’t answer
I am completely at peace
a peach blossom
sails past
on the current
there are worlds
beyond this one
translated by David Young
Spring Dawn by Meng Haoran
Sleeping in spring, I don’t feel the dawn
though everywhere birds are singing.
Last night I heard sounds, blowing, raining.
How many flowers have fallen down?
translated by Tony Barnstone & Chou Ping
The Coat of Gold Brocade by Du Qiuniang
I tell you, don’t adore your coat of gold brocade.
I tell you, adore the short spell of youth.
When the blossom is ready it must be plucked.
Don’t wait till flowers drop and break the empty twig.
treanslated by Tony Barnstone & Chou Ping
Stopping at Beign Mountain by Wang Wan
Man on a road through green mountains.
A boat sails the green waters.
The banks grow when the tide stills.
One sail taut in the wind.
The ocean sun emerges from broken night.
Spring flows in rivers as the year ages.
How can my letter find its way home
to Luoyang where the geese fly?
translated by Tony Barnstone & Chou Ping
Traveling By River In Lınghan by Liu Tsung-yuan
Sailing south on infested waters into the land of mist
horizon of tanglehead stretching to the sea
hills marked by elephant swaths after a rain
dragon drool rising from the depths in the sun
poison-spitting frogs that can see a traveler’s shadow
a typhoon sky frightening the passengers on board
my concerns however are other than these
namely how to bear white hair and the disappearing years
translated by Red Pine
Yüeh-yang Tower by Li Shang-yin
Wishing to disperse for once the sorrows of a lifetime,
I mount the Yüeh-yang Tower above the Tung-t’ing lake.
Over ten thousand miles I could have sailed in high spirits,
But alas, there are dragons who know how to upset the boat!
traslated by James J.Y. Liu
Night Thoughts by Li Shang-yin
A hanging screen, a half-rolled-up curtain;
The pillows are cold, the quilts still fragrant.
Why does my soul, for the sake of remembrance,
Fly in a dream across the Hsiao and the Hsiang?
translated by James J.Y. Liu
Leonard Durso 