I left the Yiching in the woods
now I drift with the gulls by the stream
among the singers of the way of Ch’u
to whom do you most often turn
translated by Red Pine
T’ang Dynasty
Climbing White Stork Tower by Wang Chih-huan
The midday sun slips behind mountains
the Yellow River turns for the sea
trying to see for a thousand miles
I climb one more story
translated by Red Pine
Commiserating with Gentleman-in-Waiting Wang on Tungting Lake by Chang Wei
Through Tungting Lake in the middle of fall
the waters of the Hsiao and Hsiang flow north
but home is a thousand-mile dream away
and a guest greets dawn with sorrow
there’s no need to open a book
far better to visit an inn
Ch’ang-an and Loyang are full of old friends
but when will we join them again
translated by Red Pine
For Lotus Flower by Li Shang-yin
Leaves and flowers are never rated the same:
Flowers put into pots of gold, leaves turn to dust.
Still there are the green foliage and the red blooms.
Folded, stretched out, open or closed: all naturally beautiful.
These flowers, these leaves, long mirror each other’s glory:
When their greens pale, their reds fade–it’s more than one can bear.
translated by Eugene Eoyang & Irving Y. Lo
Watching Fireflies by Tu Fu
Fireflies from the Enchanted Mountains
come through the screen this autumn evening
and settle on my shirt
my lute and my books grow cold
outside, above the eaves
they are hard to tell from the stars
they sail over the well
each reflecting a mate
in the garden they pass chrysanthemums
flares of color against the dark
white-haired and sad
I try to read their code
wanting a prediction:
will I be here next year
to watch them?
translated by David Young
Civilization by Yüan Chieh
To the south-east–three thousand leagues–
The Yüan and Hsiang form into a mighty lake.
Above the lake are deep mountain valleys,
And men dwelling whose hearts are without guile.
Gay like children, they swarm to the tops of trees;
And run to the water to catch bream and trout.
Their pleasures are the same as those beasts and birds;
They put no restraint either on body or mind.
Far I have wandered throughout the Nine Lands;
Wherever I went such manners had disappeared.
I find myself standing and wondering, perplexed,
Whether Saints and Sages have really done us good.
translated by Arthur Waley
Replying to a Poem by Prime Minister Lu of Chinling by Tu Shen-yen
Only an impotent official
is truly surprised when things become new
red clouds giving birth to the ocean dawn
plums and willows ferrying spring across the river
clear skies inciting yellow birds
sunshine turning duckweed green
suddenly hearing a familiar tune
I think of home and dry my eyes
translated by Red Pine
On Yellow Crane Tower Hearing a Flute by Li Pai
Suddenly an exile on the way to Changsha
looking back toward Ch’ang-an I don’t see a soul
from Yellow Crane Tower I hear a jade flute
plum blossoms fall in this city in June
translated by Red Pine
Delayed on the Szechuan Road by Chang Yueh
A traveler races the sun and moon
coming and going according to plan
but autumn wind doesn’t wait
it reaches Loyang before me
translated by Red Pine
Po Chü-I on Lao-tzü
“Those who speak know nothing;
Those who know are silent.”
These words, as I am told,
Were spoken by Lao-tzü.
If we are to believe that Lao-tzü
Was himself one who knew,
How comes it that he wrote a book
of five thousand words?
translated by Arthur Waley
Leonard Durso 