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Seven-character-regular-verse

七言律詩 李頎 送魏萬之京

朝聞遊子唱驪歌， 昨夜微霜初度河。
鴻雁不堪愁裡聽， 雲山況是客中過。
關城樹色催寒近， 御苑砧聲向晚多。
莫見長安行樂處， 空令歲月易蹉跎。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Qi A FAREWELL TO WEI WAN

The travellers' parting-song sounds in the dawn.
Last night a first frost came over the river;
And the crying of the wildgeese grieves my sad heart
Bounded by a gloom of cloudy mountains....
Here in the Gate City, day will flush cold
And washing-flails quicken by the gardens at twilight --
How long shall the capital content you,
Where the months and the years so vainly go by?

七言律詩 崔曙 九日登望仙臺呈劉明府

漢文皇帝有高臺， 此日登臨曙色開。
三晉雲山皆北向， 二陵風雨自東來。
關門令尹誰能識？ 河上仙翁去不回，
且欲竟尋彭澤宰， 陶然共醉菊花杯。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Cui Shu A CLIMB ON THE MOUNTAIN HOLIDAY
TO THE TERRACE WHENCE ONE SEES THE MAGICIAN
A POEM SENT TO VICE-PREFECT LU

The Han Emperor Wen bequeathed us this terrace
Which I climb to watch the coming dawn.
Cloudy peaks run northward in the three Jin districts,
And rains are blowing westward through the two Ling valleys.
...Who knows but me about the Guard at the Gate,
Or where the Magician of the River Bank is,
Or how to find that magistrate, that poet,
Who was as fond as I am of chrysanthemums and winecups?

七言律詩 李白 登金陵鳳凰台

鳳凰台上鳳凰游， 鳳去台空江自流。
吳宮花草埋幽徑， 晉代衣冠成古邱。
三台半落青山外， 二水中分白鷺洲。
總為浮雲能蔽日， 長安不見使人愁。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Bai ON CLIMBING IN NANJING TO THE TERRACE
OF PHOENIXES

Phoenixes that played here once, so that the place was named for them,
Have abandoned it now to this desolate river;
The paths of Wu Palace are crooked with weeds;
The garments of Qin are ancient dust.
...Like this green horizon halving the Three Peaks,
Like this Island of White Egrets dividing the river,
A cloud has arisen between the Light of Heaven and me,
To hide his city from my melancholy heart.

七言律詩 高適 送李少府貶峽中王少府貶長沙

嗟君此別意何如？ 駐馬銜杯問謫居。
巫峽啼猿數行淚， 衡陽歸雁幾封書。
青楓江上秋帆遠， 白帝城邊古木疏。
聖代即今多雨露， 暫時分手莫躊躇。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Gao Shi TO VICE-PREFECTS LI AND WANG DEGRADED AND
TRANSFERRED TO XIAZHONG AND CHANGSHA

What are you thinking as we part from one another,
Pulling in our horses for the stirrup-cups?
Do these tear-streaks mean Wu Valley monkeys all weeping,
Or wildgeese returning with news from Heng Mountain?....
On the river between green maples an autumn sail grows dim,
There are only a few old trees by the wall of the White God City....
But the year is bound to freshen us with a dew of heavenly favour --
Take heart, we shall soon be together again!

七言律詩 岑參 奉和中書舍人賈至早朝大明宮

雞鳴紫陌曙光寒， 鶯囀皇州春色闌。
金闕曉鐘開萬戶， 玉階仙仗擁千官。
花迎劍珮星初落， 柳拂旌旗露未乾。
獨有鳳凰池上客， 陽春一曲和皆難。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Cen Can AN EARLY AUDIENCE AT THE PALACE OF LIGHT
HARMONIZING SECRETARY JIA ZHI'S POEM

Cock-crow, the Purple Road cold in the dawn;
Linnet songs, court roofs tinted with April;
At the Golden Gate morning bell, countless doors open,
And up the jade steps float a thousand officials
With flowery scabbards.... Stars have gone down;
Willows are brushing the dew from the flags --
And, alone on the Lake of the Phoenix, a guest
Is chanting too well The Song of Bright Spring.

七言律詩 王維 和賈舍人早朝大明宮之作

絳幘雞人送曉籌， 尚衣方進翠雲裘。
九天閶闔開宮殿， 萬國衣冠拜冕旒。
日色纔臨仙掌動， 香煙欲傍袞龍浮。
朝罷須裁五色詔， 珮聲歸向鳳池頭。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei AN EARLY AUDIENCE AT THE PALACE OF LIGHT
HARMONIZING SECRETARY JIA ZHI POEM

The red-capped Cock-Man has just announced morning;
The Keeper of the Robes brings Jade-Cloud Furs;
Heaven's nine doors reveal the palace and its courtyards;
And the coats of many countries bow to the Pearl Crown.
Sunshine has entered the giants' carven palms;
Incense wreathes the Dragon Robe:
The audience adjourns-and the five-coloured edict
Sets girdle-beads clinking toward the Lake of the Phoenix.

七言律詩 王維 奉和聖製從蓬萊向興慶閣道中留春雨中春望之作應制

渭水自縈秦塞曲， 黃山舊遶漢宮斜。
鑾輿迥出千門柳， 閣道迴看上苑花。
雲裡帝城雙鳳闕， 雨中春樹萬人家。
為乘陽氣行時令， 不是宸遊玩物華。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei LOOKING DOWN IN A SPRING-RAIN ON THE COURSE
FROM FAIRY-MOUNTAIN PALACE TO THE PAVILION OF
INCREASE HARMONIZING THE EMPEROR'S POEM

Round a turn of the Qin Fortress winds the Wei River,
And Yellow Mountain foot-hills enclose the Court of China;
Past the South Gate willows comes the Car of Many Bells
On the upper Palace-Garden Road-a solid length of blossom;
A Forbidden City roof holds two phoenixes in cloud;
The foliage of spring shelters multitudes from rain;
And now, when the heavens are propitious for action,
Here is our Emperor ready-no wasteful wanderer.

七言律詩 王維 積雨輞川莊作

積雨空林煙火遲， 蒸藜炊黍餉東菑。
漠漠水田飛白鷺， 陰陰夏木囀黃鸝。
山中習靜觀朝槿， 松下清齋折露葵。
野老與人爭席罷， 海鷗何事更相疑？

Seven-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei IN MY LODGE AT WANG CHUAN
AFTER A LONG RAIN

The woods have stored the rain, and slow comes the smoke
As rice is cooked on faggots and carried to the fields;
Over the quiet marsh-land flies a white egret,
And mango-birds are singing in the full summer trees....
I have learned to watch in peace the mountain morningglories,
To eat split dewy sunflower-seeds under a bough of pine,
To yield the post of honour to any boor at all....
Why should I frighten sea gulls, even with a thought?

七言律詩 王維 酬郭給事

洞門高閣靄餘輝， 桃李陰陰柳絮飛。
禁裡疏鐘官舍晚， 省中啼鳥吏人稀。
晨搖玉珮趨金殿， 夕奉天書拜瑣闈。
強欲從君無那老， 將因臥病解朝衣。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Wang Wei HARMONIZING A POEM BY PALACE-ATTENDANT GUO

High beyond the thick wall a tower shines with sunset
Where peach and plum are blooming and the willowcotton flies.
You have heard in your office the court-bell of twilight;
Birds find perches, officials head for home.
Your morning-jade will tinkle as you thread the golden palace;
You will bring the word of Heaven from the closing gates at night.
And I should serve there with you; but being full of years,
I have taken off official robes and am resting from my troubles.

七言律詩 杜甫 蜀相

丞相祠堂何處尋？ 錦官城外柏森森，
映階碧草自春色， 隔葉黃鸝空好音。
三顧頻煩天下計， 兩朝開濟老臣心。
出師未捷身先死， 長使英雄淚滿襟。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu THE TEMPLE OF THE PREMIER OF SHU

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.

七言律詩 杜甫 客至

舍南舍北皆春水， 但見群鷗日日來。
花徑不曾緣客掃， 蓬門今始為君開。
盤飧市遠無兼味， 樽酒家貧只舊醅。
肯與鄰翁相對飲， 隔籬呼取盡餘杯。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu A HEARTY WELCOME TO VICE-PREFECT CUI

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?

七言律詩 杜甫 野望

西山白雪三城戍， 南浦清江萬里橋。
海內風塵諸弟隔， 天涯涕淚一身遙。
唯將遲暮供多病， 未有涓埃答聖朝。
跨馬出郊時極目， 不堪人事日蕭條。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu A VIEW OF THE WILDERNESS

Snow is white on the westward mountains and on three fortified towns,
And waters in this southern lake flash on a long bridge.
But wind and dust from sea to sea bar me from my brothers;
And I cannot help crying, I am so far away.
I have nothing to expect now but the ills of old age.
I am of less use to my country than a grain of dust.
I ride out to the edge of town. I watch on the horizon,
Day after day, the chaos of the world.

七言律詩 杜甫 聞官軍收河南河北

劍外忽傳收薊北， 初聞涕淚滿衣裳。
卻看妻子愁何在？ 漫卷詩書喜欲狂。
白日放歌須縱酒， 青春作伴好還鄉。
即從巴峽穿巫峽， 便下襄陽向洛陽。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu BOTH SIDES OF THE YELLOW RIVER
RECAPTURED BY THE IMPERIAL ARMY

News at this far western station! The north has been recaptured!
At first I cannot check the tears from pouring on my coat --
Where is my wife? Where are my sons?
Yet crazily sure of finding them, I pack my books and poems - -
And loud my song and deep my drink
On the green spring-day that starts me home,
Back from this mountain, past another mountain,
Up from the south, north again-to my own town!

七言律詩 杜甫 登高

風急天高猿嘯哀， 渚清沙白鳥飛迴。
無邊落木蕭蕭下， 不盡長江滾滾來。
萬里悲秋常作客， 百年多病獨登臺。
艱難苦恨繁霜鬢， 潦倒新停濁酒杯。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu A LONG CLIMB

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.

七言律詩 杜甫 登樓

花近高樓傷客心， 萬方多難此登臨。
錦江春色來天地， 玉壘浮雲變古今。
北極朝庭終不改， 西山寇盜莫相侵。
可憐後主還祠廟， 日暮聊為梁父吟。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu FROM AN UPPER STORY

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.

七言律詩 杜甫 宿府

清秋幕府井梧寒， 獨宿江城蠟炬殘。
永夜角聲悲自語， 中天月色好誰看？
風塵荏苒音書絕， 關塞蕭條行
[_]
陸
難。
已忍伶俜十年事， 強移棲息一枝安。
[_]
又作路

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu STAYING AT THE GENERAL'S HEADQUARTERS

The autumn night is clear and cold in the lakka-trees of this courtyard.
I am lying forlorn in the river-town. I watch my guttering candle.
I hear the lonely notes of a bugle sounding through the dark.
The moon is in mid-heaven, but there's no one to share it with me.
My messengers are scattered by whirls of rain and sand.
City-gates are closed to a traveller; mountains are walls in my way --
Yet, I who have borne ten years of pitiable existence,
Find here a perch, a little branch, and am safe for this one night.

七言律詩 杜甫 閣夜

歲暮陰陽催短景， 天涯霜雪霽寒霄。
五更鼓角聲悲壯， 三峽星河影動搖。
野哭千家聞戰伐， 夷歌數處起漁樵。
臥龍躍馬終黃土， 人事音書漫寂寥。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu NIGHT IN THE WATCH-TOWER

While winter daylight shortens in the elemental scale
And snow and frost whiten the cold-circling night,
Stark sounds the fifth-watch with a challenge of drum and bugle.
...The stars and the River of Heaven pulse over the three mountains;
I hear women in the distance, wailing after the battle;
I see barbarian fishermen and woodcutters in the dawn.
...Sleeping-Dragon, Plunging-Horse, are no generals now, they are dust --
Hush for a moment, O tumult of the world.

七言律詩 杜甫 詠懷古跡五首之一

支離東北風塵際， 漂泊西南天地間。
三峽樓臺淹日月， 五溪衣服共雲山。
羯胡事主終無賴， 詞客哀時且未還。
庾信平生最蕭瑟， 暮年詩賦動江關。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu POETIC THOUGHTS ON ANCIENT SITES I

Forlorn in the northeast among wind and dust,
Drifting in the southwest between heaven and earth,
Lingering for days and months in towers and terraces at the Three Gorges,
Sharing clouds and mountains with the costumes of the Five Streams.
The barbarian serving the ruler in the end was unreliable.
The wandering poet lamenting the times had no chance to return.
Yu Xin throughout his life was most miserable,
In his waning years his poetry stirred the land of rivers and passes.

七言律詩 杜甫 詠懷古跡五首之二

搖落深知宋玉悲， 風流儒雅亦吾師。
悵望千秋一灑淚， 蕭條異代不同時。
江山故宅空文藻， 雲雨荒臺豈夢思。
最是楚宮俱泯滅， 舟人指點到今疑。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu POETIC THOUGHTS ON ANCIENT SITES II

"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.

七言律詩 杜甫 詠懷古跡五首之三

群山萬壑赴荊門， 生長明妃尚有村。
一去紫臺連朔漠， 獨留青塚向黃昏。
畫圖省識春風面， 環珮空歸月下魂。
千載琵琶作胡語， 分明怨恨曲中論。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu THOUGHTS OF OLD TIME III

Ten thousand ranges and valleys approach the Jing Gate
And the village in which the Lady of Light was born and bred.
She went out from the purple palace into the desertland;
She has now become a green grave in the yellow dusk.
Her face ! Can you picture a wind of the spring?
Her spirit by moonlight returns with a tinkling
Song of the Tartars on her jade guitar,
Telling her eternal sorrow.

七言律詩 杜甫 詠懷古跡五首之四

蜀主征吳幸三峽， 崩年亦在永安宮。
翠華想像空山裡， 玉殿虛無野寺中。
古廟杉松巢水鶴， 歲時伏臘走村翁。
武侯祠屋常鄰近， 一體君臣祭祀同。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu POETIC THOUGHTS ON ANCIENT SITES IV

The ruler of Shu had his eyes on Wu and progressed as far as the Three Gorges.
In the year of his demise, too, he was in the Palace of Eternal Peace.
The blue-green banners can be imagined on the empty mountain,
The jade palace is a void in the deserted temple.
In the pines of the ancient shrine aquatic cranes nest;
At summer and winter festivals the comers are village elders.
The Martial Marquis's memorial shrine is ever nearby;
In union, sovereign and minister share the sacrifices together.

七言律詩 杜甫 詠懷古跡五首之五

諸葛大名垂宇宙， 宗臣遺像肅清高。
三分割據紆籌策， 萬古雲霄一羽毛。
伯仲之間見伊呂， 指揮若定失蕭曹。
運移漢祚終難復， 志決身殲軍務勞。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Du Fu THOUGHTS OF OLD TIME V

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.

七言律詩 劉長卿 江州重別薛六柳八二員外

生涯豈料承優詔？ 世事空知學醉歌。
江上月明胡雁過， 淮南木落楚山多。
寄身且喜滄洲近， 顧影無如白髮何！
今日龍鐘人共老， 媿君猶遣慎風波。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Liu Changquing ON LEAVING GUIJIANG AGAIN TO XUE AND LIU

Dare I, at my age, accept my summons,
Knowing of the world's ways only wine and song?....
Over the moon-edged river come wildgeese from the Tartars;
And the thinner the leaves along the Huai, the wider the southern mountains....
I ought to be glad to take my old bones back to the capital,
But what am I good for in that world, with my few white hairs?....
As bent and decrepit as you are, I am ashamed to thank you,
When you caution me that I may encounter thunderbolts.

七言律詩 劉長卿 長沙過賈誼宅

三年謫宦此棲遲， 萬古惟留楚客悲。
秋草獨尋人去後， 寒林空見日斜時。
漢文有道恩猶薄， 湘水無情弔豈知？
寂寂江山搖落處， 憐君何事到天涯？

Seven-character-regular-verse
Liu Changqing ON PASSING JIA YI'S HOUSE IN CHANGSHA

Here, where you spent your three years' exile,
To be mourned in Chu ten thousand years,
Can I trace your footprint in the autumn grass --
Or only slanting sunlight through the bleak woods?
If even good Emperor Wen was cold-hearted,
Could you hope that the dull river Xiang would understand you,
These desolate waters, these taciturn mountains,
When you came, like me, so far away?

七言律詩 劉長卿 自夏口至鸚洲夕望岳陽寄源中丞

汀洲無浪復無煙， 楚客相思益渺然。
漢口夕陽斜渡鳥， 洞庭秋水遠連天。
孤城背嶺寒吹角， 獨戍臨江夜泊船。
賈誼上書憂漢室， 長沙謫去古今憐。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Liu Changqing AN EVENING VIEW OF THE CITY OF YOUZHOU AFTER
COMING FROM HANKOU TO PARROT ISLAND A POEM SENT
TO MY FRIEND GOVERNOR YUAN

No ripples in the river, no mist on the islands,
Yet the landscape is blurred toward my friend in Chu....
Birds in the slanting sun cross Hankou,
And the autumn sky mingles with Lake Dongting.
...From a bleak mountain wall the cold tone of a bugle
Reminds me, moored by a ruined fort,
That Jia Yi's loyal plea to the House of Han
Banned him to Changsha, to be an exile.

七言律詩 錢起 贈闕下裴舍人

二月黃鸝飛上林， 春城紫禁曉陰陰。
長樂鐘聲花外盡， 龍池柳色雨中深。
陽和不散窮途恨， 霄漢長懷捧日心。
獻賦十年猶未遇， 羞將白髮對華簪。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Qian Qi TO MY FRIEND AT THE CAPITAL SECRETARY PEI

Finches flash yellow through the Imperial Grove
Of the Forbidden City, pale with spring dawn;
Flowers muffle a bell in the Palace of Bliss
And rain has deepened the Dragon Lake willows;
But spring is no help to a man bewildered,
Who would be like a cloud upholding the Light of Heaven,
Yet whose poems, ten years refused, are shaming
These white hairs held by the petalled pin.

七言律詩 韋應物 寄李儋元錫

去年花裡逢君別， 今日花開又一年。
世事茫茫難自料， 春愁黯黯獨成眠。
身多疾病思田里， 邑有流亡愧俸錢。
聞道欲來相問訊， 西樓望月幾回圓。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Wei Yingwu TO MY FRIENDS LI DAN AND YUANXI

We met last among flowers, among flowers we parted,
And here, a year later, there are flowers again;
But, with ways of the world too strange to foretell,
Spring only brings me grief and fatigue.
I am sick, and I think of my home in the country -
Ashamed to take pay while so many are idle.
...In my western tower, because of your promise,
I have watched the full moons come and go.

七言律詩 韓翃 同題仙游觀

仙臺初見五城樓， 風物淒淒宿雨收。
山色遙連秦樹晚， 砧聲近報漢宮秋。
疏松影落空壇靜， 細草香閑小洞幽。
何用別尋方外去？ 人間亦自有丹丘。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Han Hong INSCRIBED IN THE TEMPLE OF THE WANDERING GENIE

I face, high over this enchanted lodge, the Court of the Five Cities of Heaven,
And I see a countryside blue and still, after the long rain.
The distant peaks and trees of Qin merge into twilight,
And Had Palace washing-stones make their autumnal echoes.
Thin pine-shadows brush the outdoor pulpit,
And grasses blow their fragrance into my little cave.
...Who need be craving a world beyond this one?
Here, among men, are the Purple Hills

七言律詩 皇甫冉 春思

鶯啼燕語報新年， 馬邑龍堆路幾千。
家住層城鄰漢苑， 心隨明月到胡天。
機中錦字論長恨， 樓上花枝笑獨眠。
為問天戎竇車騎， 何時返旆勒燕然。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Huangfu Ran SPRING THOUGHTS

Finch-notes and swallow-notes tell the new year....
But so far are the Town of the Horse and the Dragon Mound
From this our house, from these walls and Han Gardens,
That the moon takes my heart to the Tartar sky.
I have woven in the frame endless words of my grieving....
Yet this petal-bough is smiling now on my lonely sleep.
Oh, ask General Dou when his flags will come home
And his triumph be carved on the rock of Yanran mountain!

七言律詩 盧綸 晚次鄂州

雲開遠見漢陽城， 猶是孤帆一日程。
估客晝眠知浪靜， 舟人夜語覺潮生。
三湘愁鬢逢秋色， 萬里歸心對月明。
舊業已隨征戰盡， 更堪江上鼓鼙聲。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Lu Lun A NIGHT-MOORING AT WUCHANG

Far off in the clouds stand the walls of Hanyang,
Another day's journey for my lone sail....
Though a river-merchant ought to sleep in this calm weather,
I listen to the tide at night and voices of the boatmen.
...My thin hair grows wintry, like the triple Xiang streams,
Three thousand miles my heart goes, homesick with the moon;
But the war has left me nothing of my heritage --
And oh, the pang of hearing these drums along the river!

七言律詩 柳宗元 登柳州城樓寄漳汀封連四州刺史

城上高樓接大荒， 海天愁思正茫茫。
驚風亂颭芙蓉水， 密雨斜侵薜荔牆。
嶺樹重遮千里目， 江流曲似九迴腸。
共來百越文身地， 猶自音書滯一鄉。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Liu Zongyuan FROM THE CITY-TOWER OF LIUZHOU
TO MY FOUR FELLOW-OFFICIALS AT ZHANG,
DING, FENG, AND LIAN DISTRICTS

At this lofty tower where the town ends, wilderness begins;
And our longing has as far to go as the ocean or the sky....
Hibiscus-flowers by the moat heave in a sudden wind,
And vines along the wall are whipped with slanting rain.
Nothing to see for three hundred miles but a blur of woods and mountain --
And the river's nine loops, twisting in our bowels....
This is where they have sent us, this land of tattooed people --
And not even letters, to keep us in touch with home.

七言律詩 劉禹錫 西塞山懷古

王濬樓船下益州， 金陵王氣黯然收。
千尋鐵鎖沈江底， 一片降旛出石頭。
人世幾回傷往事， 山形依舊枕寒流。
從今四海為家日， 故壘蕭蕭蘆荻秋。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Liu Yuxi THOUGHTS OF OLD TIME AT WEST FORT MOUNTAIN

Since Wang Jun brought his towering ships down from Yizhou,
The royal ghost has pined in the city of Nanjing.
Ten thousand feet of iron chain were sunk here to the bottom --
And then came the flag of surrender on the Wall of Stone....
Cycles of change have moved into the past,
While still this mountain dignity has commanded the cold river;
And now comes the day of the Chinese world united,
And the old forts fill with ruin and with autumn reeds.

七言律詩 元稹 遣悲懷之一

謝公最小偏憐女， 自嫁黔婁百事乖。
顧我無衣搜藎篋， 泥他沽酒拔金釵。
野蔬充膳甘長藿， 落葉添薪仰古槐。
今日俸錢過十萬， 與君營奠復營齋。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Yuan Zhen AN ELEGY I

O youngest, best-loved daughter of Xie,
Who unluckily married this penniless scholar,
You patched my clothes from your own wicker basket,
And I coaxed off your hairpins of gold, to buy wine with;
For dinner we had to pick wild herbs --
And to use dry locust-leaves for our kindling.
...Today they are paying me a hundred thousand --
And all that I can bring to you is a temple sacrifice.

七言律詩 元稹 遣悲懷之二

昔日戲言身後事， 今朝都到眼前來。
衣裳已施行看盡， 針線猶存未忍開。
尚想舊情憐婢僕， 也曾因夢送錢財。
誠知此恨人人有， 貧賤夫妻百事哀。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Yuan Zhen AN ElEGY II

We joked, long ago, about one of us dying,
But suddenly, before my eyes, you are gone.
Almost all your clothes have been given away;
Your needlework is sealed, I dare not look at it....
I continue your bounty to our men and our maids --
Sometimes, in a dream, I bring you gifts.
...This is a sorrow that all mankind must know --
But not as those know it who have been poor together.

七言律詩 元稹 遣悲懷之三

閑坐悲君亦自悲， 百年都是幾多時？
鄧攸無子尋知命， 潘岳悼亡猶費詞。
同穴窅冥何所望？ 他生緣會更難期。
惟將終夜長開眼， 報答平生未展眉。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Yuan Zhen AN ELEGY III

I sit here alone, mourning for us both.
How many years do I lack now of my threescore and ten?
There have been better men than I to whom heaven denied a son,
There was a poet better than I whose dead wife could not hear him.
What have I to hope for in the darkness of our tomb?
You and I had little faith in a meeting after death -
Yet my open eyes can see all night
That lifelong trouble of your brow.

七言律詩 白居易 自河南經亂，關內阻饑，兄弟離散，各在一處。因望月有感，聊書所懷，寄上浮梁大兄，於潛七兄，烏江十五兄，兼示符離及下邽弟妹。

時難年荒世業空， 弟兄羈旅各西東。
田園寥落干戈後， 骨肉流離道路中。
弔影分為千里雁， 辭根散作九秋蓬。
共看明月應垂淚， 一夜鄉心五處同。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Bai Juyi TO MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS ADRIFT
IN TROUBLED TIMES THIS POEM OF THE MOON

Since the disorders in Henan and the famine in Guannei, my brothers and sisters have been scattered. Looking at the moon, I express my thoughts in this poem, which I send to my eldest brother at Fuliang, my seventh brother at Yuqian, My fifteen brother at Wujiang and my younger brothers and sisters at Fuli and Xiagui.

My heritage lost through disorder and famine,
My brothers and sisters flung eastward and westward,
My fields and gardens wrecked by the war,
My own flesh and blood become scum of the street,
I moan to my shadow like a lone-wandering wildgoose,
I am torn from my root like a water-plant in autumn:
I gaze at the moon, and my tears run down
For hearts, in five places, all sick with one wish.

七言律詩 李商隱 錦瑟

錦瑟無端五十絃， 一絃一柱思華年。
莊生曉夢迷蝴蝶， 望帝春心託杜鵑。
滄海月明珠有淚， 藍田日暖玉生煙。
此情可待成追憶， 只是當時已惘然。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin THE INLAID HARP

I wonder why my inlaid harp has fifty strings,
Each with its flower-like fret an interval of youth.
...The sage Chuangzi is day-dreaming, bewitched by butterflies,
The spring-heart of Emperor Wang is crying in a cuckoo,
Mermen weep their pearly tears down a moon-green sea,
Blue fields are breathing their jade to the sun....
And a moment that ought to have lasted for ever
Has come and gone before I knew.

七言律詩 李商隱 無題

昨夜星辰昨夜風， 畫樓西畔桂堂東。
身無綵鳳雙飛翼， 心有靈犀一點通。
隔座送鉤春酒暖， 分曹射覆蠟燈紅。
嗟余聽鼓應官去， 走馬蘭臺類轉蓬。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin TO ONE UNNAMED

The stars of last night and the wind of last night
Are west of the Painted Chamber and east of Cinnamon Hall.
...Though I have for my body no wings like those of the bright- coloured phoenix,
Yet I feel the harmonious heart-beat of the Sacred Unicorn.
Across the spring-wine, while it warms me, I prompt you how to bet
Where, group by group, we are throwing dice in the light of a crimson lamp;
Till the rolling of a drum, alas, calls me to my duties
And I mount my horse and ride away, like a water-plant cut adrift.

七言律詩 李商隱 隋宮

紫泉宮殿鎖煙霞， 欲取蕪城作帝家。
玉璽不緣歸日角， 錦帆應是到天涯。
於今腐草無螢火， 終古垂楊有暮鴉。
地下若逢陳後主， 豈宜重問後庭花？

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin THE PALACE OF THE SUI EMPEROR

His Palace of Purple Spring has been taken by mist and cloud,
As he would have taken all Yangzhou to be his private domain
But for the seal of imperial jade being seized by the first Tang Emperor,
He would have bounded with his silken sails the limits of the world.
Fire-flies are gone now, have left the weathered grasses,
But still among the weeping-willows crows perch at twilight.
...If he meets, there underground, the Later Chen Emperor,
Do you think that they will mention a Song of Courtyard Flowers?

七言律詩 李商隱 無題之一

來是空言去絕蹤， 月斜樓上五更鐘。
夢為遠別啼難喚， 書被催成墨未濃。
蠟照半籠金翡翠， 麝熏微度繡芙蓉。
劉郎已恨蓬山遠， 更隔蓬山一萬重。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin TO ONE UNNAMED I

You said you would come, but you did not, and you left me with no other trace
Than the moonlight on your tower at the fifth-watch bell.
I cry for you forever gone, I cannot waken yet,
I try to read your hurried note, I find the ink too pale.
...Blue burns your candle in its kingfisher-feather lantern
And a sweet breath steals from your hibiscus-broidered curtain.
But far beyond my reach is the Enchanted Mountain,
And you are on the other side, ten thousand peaks away.

七言律詩 李商隱 無題之二

颯颯東風細雨來， 芙蓉塘外有輕雷。
金蟾齧璅燒香入， 玉虎牽絲汲井迴。
賈氏窺簾韓掾少， 宓妃留枕魏王才。
春心莫共花爭發， 一寸想思一寸灰。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin TO ONE UNNAMED II

A misty rain comes blowing with a wind from the east,
And wheels faintly thunder beyond Hibiscus Pool.
...Round the golden-toad lock, incense is creeping;
The jade tiger tells, on its cord, of water being drawn
A great lady once, from behind a screen, favoured a poor youth;
A fairy queen brought a bridal mat once for the ease of a prince and then vanished.
...Must human hearts blossom in spring, like all other flowers?
And of even this bright flame of love, shall there be only ashes?

七言律詩 李商隱 籌筆驛

猿鳥猶疑畏簡書， 風雲常為護儲胥。
徒令上將揮神筆， 終見降王走傳車。
管樂有才原不忝， 關張無命欲何如？
他年錦里經祠廟， 梁父吟成恨有餘。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin IN THE CAMP OF THE SKETCHING BRUSH

Monkeys and birds are still alert for your orders
And winds and clouds eager to shield your fortress.
...You were master of the brush, and a sagacious general,
But your Emperor, defeated, rode the prison-cart.
You were abler than even the greatest Zhou statesmen,
Yet less fortunate than the two Shu generals who were killed in action.
And, though at your birth-place a temple has been built to you,
You never finished singing your Song of the Holy Mountain

七言律詩 李商隱 無題之三

相見時難別亦難， 東風無力百花殘。
春蠶到死絲方盡， 蠟炬成灰淚始乾。
曉鏡但愁雲鬢改， 夜吟應覺月光寒。
蓬萊此去無多路， 青鳥殷勤為探看。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin TO ONE UNNAMED III

Time was long before I met her, but is longer since we parted,
And the east wind has arisen and a hundred flowers are gone,
And the silk-worms of spring will weave until they die
And every night the candles will weep their wicks away.
Mornings in her mirror she sees her hair-cloud changing,
Yet she dares the chill of moonlight with her evening song.
...It is not so very far to her Enchanted Mountain
O blue-birds, be listening!-Bring me what she says!

七言律詩 李商隱 春雨

悵臥新春白袷衣， 白門寥落意多違。
紅樓隔雨相望冷， 珠箔飄燈獨自歸。
遠路應悲春晼晚， 殘宵猶得夢依稀。
玉璫緘札何由達， 萬里雲羅一雁飛。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin SPRING RAIN

I am lying in a white-lined coat while the spring approaches,
But am thinking only of the White Gate City where I cannot be.
...There are two red chambers fronting the cold, hidden by the rain,
And a lantern on a pearl screen swaying my lone heart homeward.
...The long road ahead will be full of new hardship,
With, late in the nights, brief intervals of dream.
Oh, to send you this message, this pair of jade earrings! --
I watch a lonely wildgoose in three thousand miles of cloud.

七言律詩 李商隱 無題之四

鳳尾香羅薄幾重， 碧文圓頂夜深縫。
扇裁月魄羞難掩， 車走雷聲語未通。
曾是寂寥金燼暗， 斷無消息石榴紅。
斑騅只繫垂楊岸， 何處西南任好風？

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin TO ONE UNNAMED IV

A faint phoenix-tail gauze, fragrant and doubled,
Lines your green canopy, closed for the night....
Will your shy face peer round a moon-shaped fan,
And your voice be heard hushing the rattle of my carriage?
It is quiet and quiet where your gold lamp dies,
How far can a pomegranate-blossom whisper?
...I will tether my horse to a river willow
And wait for the will of the southwest wind.

七言律詩 李商隱 無題之五

重帷深下莫愁堂， 臥後清宵細細長。
神女生涯原是夢， 小姑居處本無郎。
風波不信菱枝弱， 月露誰教桂葉香。
直道相思了無益， 未妨惆悵是清狂。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Li Shangyin TO ONE UNNAMED V

There are many curtains in your care-free house,
Where rapture lasts the whole night long.
...What are the lives of angels but dreams
If they take no lovers into their rooms?
...Storms are ravishing the nut-horns,
Moon- dew sweetening cinnamon-leaves
I know well enough naught can come of this union,
Yet how it serves to ease my heart!

七言律詩 溫庭筠 利洲南渡

澹然空水對斜暉， 曲島蒼茫接翠微。
波上馬嘶看棹去， 柳邊人歇待船歸。
數叢沙草群鷗散， 萬頃江田一鷺飛。
誰解乘舟尋范蠡？ 五湖煙水獨忘機。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Wen Tingyun NEAR THE LIZHOU FERRY

The sun has set in the water's clear void,
And little blue islands are one with the sky.
On the bank a horse neighs. A boat goes by.
People gather at a willow- clump and wait for the ferry.
Down by the sand-bushes sea-gulls are circling,
Over the wide river-lands flies an egret.
...Can you guess why I sail, like an ancient wise lover,
Through the misty Five Lakes, forgetting words?

七言律詩 溫庭筠 蘇武廟

蘇武魂銷漢使前， 古祠高樹兩茫然。
雲邊雁斷胡天月， 隴上羊歸塞草煙。
迴日樓臺非甲帳， 去時冠劍是丁年。
茂陵不見封侯印， 空向秋波哭逝川。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Wen Tingyun THE TEMPLE OF SU WU

Though our envoy, Su Wu, is gone, body and soul,
This temple survives, these trees endure....
Wildgeese through the clouds are still calling to the moon there
And hill-sheep unshepherded graze along the border.
...Returning, he found his country changed
Since with youthful cap and sword he had left it.
His bitter adventures had won him no title....
Autumn-waves endlessly sob in the river.

七言律詩 薛逢 宮詞

十二樓中盡曉妝， 望仙樓上望君王。
鎖銜金獸連環冷， 水滴銅龍晝漏長。
雲髻罷梳還對鏡， 羅衣欲換更添香。
遙窺正殿簾開處， 袍褲宮人掃御床。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Xue Feng A PALACE POEM

In twelve chambers the ladies, decked for the day,
Peer afar for their lord from their Fairy-View Lodge;
The golden toad guards the lock on the door-chain,
And the bronze-dragon water-clock drips through the morning
Till one of them, tilting a mirror, combs her cloud of hair
And chooses new scent and a change of silk raiment;
For she sees, between screen-panels, deep in the palace,
Eunuchs in court-dress preparing a bed.

七言律詩 秦韜玉 貧女

蓬門未識綺羅香， 擬託良媒益自傷。
誰愛風流高格調， 共憐時世儉梳妝。
敢將十指誇鍼巧， 不把雙眉鬥畫長。
苦恨年年壓金線， 為他人作嫁衣裳。

Seven-character-regular-verse
Qin Taoyu A POOR GIRL

Living under a thatch roof, never wearing fragrant silk,
She longs to arrange a marriage, but how could she dare?
Who would know her simple face the loveliest of them all
When we choose for worldliness, not for worth?
Her fingers embroider beyond compare,
But she cannot vie with painted brows;
And year after year she has sewn gold thread
On bridal robes for other girls.
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