University of Virginia Library

Five-character-ancient-verse

五言古詩 孟浩然 秋登蘭山寄張五

北山白雲裡, 隱者自怡悅;
相望始登高, 心隨雁飛滅。
愁因薄暮起, 興是清秋發。
時見歸村人, 沙行渡頭歇。
天邊樹若薺, 江畔洲如月。
何當載酒來, 共醉重陽節。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Meng Haoran ON CLIMBING ORCHID MOUNTAIN
IN THE AUTUMN TO ZHANG

On a northern peak among white clouds
You have found your hermitage of peace;
And now, as I climb this mountain to see you,
High with the wildgeese flies my heart.
The quiet dusk might seem a little sad
If this autumn weather were not so brisk and clear;
I look down at the river bank, with homeward-bound villagers
Resting on the sand till the ferry returns;
There are trees at the horizon like a row of grasses
And against the river's rim an island like the moon
I hope that you will come and meet me, bringing a basket of wine --
And we'll celebrate together the Mountain Holiday.

五言古詩 孟浩然 夏日南亭懷辛大

山光忽西落, 池月漸東上。
散髮乘夜涼, 開軒臥閑敞。
荷風送香氣, 竹露滴清響。
欲取鳴琴彈, 恨無知音賞。
感此懷故人, 中宵勞夢想。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Meng Haoran IN SUMMER AT THE SOUTH PAVILION
THINKING OF XING

The mountain-light suddenly fails in the west,
In the east from the lake the slow moon rises.
I loosen my hair to enjoy the evening coolness
And open my window and lie down in peace.
The wind brings me odours of lotuses,
And bamboo-leaves drip with a music of dew....
I would take up my lute and I would play,
But, alas, who here would understand?
And so I think of you, old friend,
O troubler of my midnight dreams !

五言古詩 孟浩然 宿業師山房待丁大不至

夕陽度西嶺, 群壑倏已暝;
松月生夜涼, 風泉滿清聽。
樵人歸欲盡, 煙鳥棲初定。
之子期宿來, 孤琴候蘿徑。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Meng Haoran AT THE MOUNTAIN-LODGE OF THE BUDDHIST PRIEST YE
WAITING IN VAIN FOR MY FRIEND DING

Now that the sun has set beyond the western range,
Valley after valley is shadowy and dim....
And now through pine-trees come the moon and the chill of evening,
And my ears feel pure with the sound of wind and water
Nearly all the woodsmen have reached home,
Birds have settled on their perches in the quiet mist....
And still -- because you promised -- I am waiting for you, waiting,
Playing lute under a wayside vine.

五言古詩 王昌齡 同從弟南齋翫月憶山陰崔少府

高臥南齋時, 開帷月初吐;
清輝淡水木, 演漾在窗戶。
苒苒幾盈虛? 澄澄變今古。
美人清江畔, 是夜越吟苦。
千里其如何? 微風吹蘭杜。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wang Changling WITH MY BROTHER AT THE SOUTH STUDY
THINKING IN THE MOONLIGHT OF VICE-PREFECT
CUI IN SHANYIN

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.

五言古詩 邱為 尋西山隱者不遇

絕頂一茅茨, 直上三十里;
扣關無僮僕, 窺室惟案几。
若非巾柴車? 應是釣秋水。
差池不相見, 黽勉空仰止。
草色新雨中, 松聲晚窗裡;
及茲契幽絕, 自足蕩心耳。
雖無賓主意, 頗得清淨理。
興盡方下山, 何必待之子。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Qiu Wei AFTER MISSING THE RECLUSE
ON THE WESTERN MOUNTAIN

To your hermitage here on the top of the mountain
I have climbed, without stopping, these ten miles.
I have knocked at your door, and no one answered;
I have peeped into your room, at your seat beside the table.
Perhaps you are out riding in your canopied chair,
Or fishing, more likely, in some autumn pool.
Sorry though I am to be missing you,
You have become my meditation--
The beauty of your grasses, fresh with rain,
And close beside your window the music of your pines.
I take into my being all that I see and hear,
Soothing my senses, quieting my heart;
And though there be neither host nor guest,
Have I not reasoned a visit complete?
...After enough, I have gone down the mountain.
Why should I wait for you any longer?

五言古詩 綦毋潛 春泛若耶溪

幽意無斷絕, 此去隨所偶;
晚風吹行舟, 花路入溪口。
際夜轉西壑, 隔山望南斗。
潭煙飛溶溶, 林月低向後。
生事且瀰漫, 願為持竿叟。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Qiwu Qian A BOAT IN SPRING ON RUOYA LAKE

Thoughtful elation has no end:
Onward I bear it to whatever come.
And my boat and I, before the evening breeze
Passing flowers, entering the lake,
Turn at nightfall toward the western valley,
Where I watch the south star over the mountain
And a mist that rises, hovering soft,
And the low moon slanting through the trees;
And I choose to put away from me every worldly matter
And only to be an old man with a fishing-pole.

五言古詩 常建 宿王昌齡隱居

清溪深不測, 隱處唯孤雲;
松際露微月, 清光猶為君。
茅亭宿花影, 藥院滋苔紋。
余亦謝時去, 西山鸞鶴群。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Chang Jian AT WANG CHANGLIN' S RETREAT

Here, beside a clear deep lake,
You live accompanied by clouds;
Or soft through the pine the moon arrives
To be your own pure-hearted friend.
You rest under thatch in the shadow of your flowers,
Your dewy herbs flourish in their bed of moss.
Let me leave the world. Let me alight, like you,
On your western mountain with phoenixes and cranes.

五言古詩 岑參 與高適薛據登慈恩寺浮圖

塔勢如湧出, 孤高聳天宮;
登臨出世界, 磴道盤虛空。
突兀壓神州, 崢嶸如鬼工;
四角礙白日, 七層摩蒼穹。
下窺指高鳥, 俯聽聞驚風。
連山若波濤, 奔湊如朝東。
青槐夾馳道, 宮館何玲瓏?
秋色從西來, 蒼然滿關中。
五陵北原上, 萬古青濛濛。
淨理了可悟, 勝因夙所宗。
誓將挂冠去, 覺道資無窮。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Cen Can ASCENDING THE PAGODA AT THE TEMPLE OF KIND
FAVOUR WITH GAO SHI AND XUE JU

The pagoda, rising abruptly from earth,
Reaches to the very Palace of Heaven....
Climbing, we seem to have left the world behind us,
With the steps we look down on hung from space.
It overtops a holy land
And can only have been built by toil of the spirit.
Its four sides darken the bright sun,
Its seven stories cut the grey clouds;
Birds fly down beyond our sight,
And the rapid wind below our hearing;
Mountain-ranges, toward the east,
Appear to be curving and flowing like rivers;
Far green locust-trees line broad roads
Toward clustered palaces and mansions;
Colours of autumn, out of the west,
Enter advancing through the city;
And northward there lie, in five graveyards,
Calm forever under dewy green grass,
Those who know life's final meaning
Which all humankind must learn.
...Henceforth I put my official hat aside.
To find the Eternal Way is the only happiness.

五言古詩 元結 賊退示官吏并序

[_]
癸卯歲,西原賊入道州,焚燒殺掠,幾盡而 去。明年,賊又攻永州,破邵,不犯此州邊 鄙而退,豈力能制敵歟?蓋蒙其傷憐而已! 諸史何為忍苦徵歛!故作詩一篇以示官吏。
昔歲逢太平, 山林二十年。
泉源在庭戶, 洞壑當門前。
井稅有常期, 日
[_]
猶得眠。

忽然遭
[_]
變, 數歲親戎旃。

今來典斯郡, 山夷又紛然。
城小賊不屠, 人貧傷可憐。
是以陷鄰境, 此州獨見全。
使臣將王命, 豈不如賊焉?
令彼徵歛者, 迫之如火煎。
誰能絕人命? 以作時世賢。
思欲委符節, 引竿自刺船,
將家就魚麥, 歸老江湖邊。
[_]
又作宴
[_]
又作世

Five-character-ancient-verse Yuan Jie TO THE TAX-COLLECTORS
AFTER THE BANDITS RETREAT

[_]
In the year Kuimao the bandits from Xiyuan entered Daozhou, set fire, raided, killed, and looted. The whole district was almost ruined. The next year the bandits came again and, attacking the neighbouring prefecture, Yong, passed this one by. It was not because we were strong enough to defend ourselves, but, probably, because they pitied us. And how now can these commissioners bear to impose extra taxes? I have written this poem for the collectors' information.
I still remember those days of peace --
Twenty years among mountains and forests,
The pure stream running past my yard,
The caves and valleys at my door.
Taxes were light and regular then,
And I could sleep soundly and late in the morning -
Till suddenly came a sorry change.
...For years now I have been serving in the army.
When I began here as an official,
The mountain bandits were rising again;
But the town was so small it was spared by the thieves,
And the people so poor and so pitiable
That all other districts were looted
And this one this time let alone.
...Do you imperial commissioners
Mean to be less kind than bandits?
The people you force to pay the poll
Are like creatures frying over a fire.
And how can you sacrifice human lives,
Just to be known as able collectors? --
...Oh, let me fling down my official seal,
Let me be a lone fisherman in a small boat
And support my family on fish and wheat
And content my old age with rivers and lakes!

五言古詩 韋應物 郡齋雨中與諸文士燕集

兵衛森畫戟, 宴寢凝清香。
海上風雨至, 逍遙池閣涼。
煩痾近消散, 嘉賓復滿堂。
自慚居處崇, 未睹斯民康。
理會是非遣, 性達形跡忘。
鮮肥屬時禁, 蔬果幸見嘗。
俯飲一杯酒, 仰聆金玉章。
神歡體自輕, 意欲淩風翔。
吳中盛文史, 群彥今汪洋。
方知大蕃地, 豈曰財賦強?

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu ENTERTAINING LITERARY MEN IN MY
OFFICIAL RESIDENCE ON A RAINY DAY

Outside are insignia, shown in state;
But here are sweet incense-clouds, quietly ours.
Wind and rain, coming in from sea,
Have cooled this pavilion above the lake
And driven the feverish heat away
From where my eminent guests are gathered.
...Ashamed though I am of my high position
While people lead unhappy lives,
Let us reasonably banish care
And just be friends, enjoying nature.
Though we have to go without fish and meat,
There are fruits and vegetables aplenty.
...We bow, we take our cups of wine,
We give our attention to beautiful poems.
When the mind is exalted, the body is lightened
And feels as if it could float in the wind.
...Suzhou is famed as a centre of letters;
And all you writers, coming here,
Prove that the name of a great land
Is made by better things than wealth.

五言古詩 韋應物 初發揚子寄元大校書

悽悽去親愛, 泛泛入煙霧;
歸棹洛陽人, 殘鐘廣陵樹。
今朝為此別, 何處還相遇?
世事波上舟, 沿洄安得住。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu SETTING SAIL ON THE YANGZI
TO SECRETARY YUAN

Wistful, away from my friends and kin,
Through mist and fog I float and float
With the sail that bears me toward Loyang.
In Yangzhou trees linger bell-notes of evening,
Marking the day and the place of our parting....
When shall we meet again and where?
...Destiny is a boat on the waves,
Borne to and fro, beyond our will.

五言古詩 韋應物 寄全椒山中道士

今朝郡齋冷, 忽念山中客;
澗底束荊薪, 歸來煮白石。
欲持一瓢酒, 遠慰風雨夕;
落葉滿空山, 何處尋行跡。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu A POEM TO A TAOIST HERMIT
CHUANJIAO MOUNTAIN

My office has grown cold today;
And I suddenly think of my mountain friend
Gathering firewood down in the valley
Or boiling white stones for potatoes in his hut....
I wish I might take him a cup of wine
To cheer him through the evening storm;
But in fallen leaves that have heaped the bare slopes,
How should I ever find his footprints!

五言古詩 韋應物 長安遇馮著

客從東方來, 衣上灞陵雨。
問客何為來? 采山因買斧。
冥冥花正開, 颺颺燕新乳。
昨別今已春, 鬢絲生幾縷。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu ON MEETING MY FRIEND FENG ZHU
IN THE CAPITAL

Out of the east you visit me,
With the rain of Baling still on your clothes,
I ask you what you have come here for;
You say: "To buy an ax for cutting wood in the mountains"
...Hidden deep in a haze of blossom,
Swallow fledglings chirp at ease
As they did when we parted, a year ago....
How grey our temples have grown since them!

五言古詩 韋應物 夕次盱眙縣

落帆逗淮鎮, 停舫臨孤驛。
浩浩風起波, 冥冥日沈夕。
人歸山郭暗, 雁下蘆洲白。
獨夜憶秦關, 聽鐘未眠客。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu MOORING AT TWILIGHT IN YUYI DISTRICT

Furling my sail near the town of Huai,
I find for harbour a little cove
Where a sudden breeze whips up the waves.
The sun is growing dim now and sinks in the dusk.
People are coming home. The bright mountain-peak darkens.
Wildgeese fly down to an island of white weeds.
...At midnight I think of a northern city-gate,
And I hear a bell tolling between me and sleep.

五言古詩 韋應物 東郊

吏舍跼終年, 出郊曠清曙。
楊柳散和風, 青山澹吾慮。
依叢適自憩, 緣澗還復去。
微雨靄芳原, 春鳩鳴何處?
樂幽心屢止, 遵事跡猶遽;
終罷斯結廬, 慕陶真可庶。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu EAST OF THE TOWN

From office confinement all year long,
I have come out of town to be free this morning
Where willows harmonize the wind
And green hills lighten the cares of the world.
I lean by a tree and rest myself
Or wander up and down a stream.
...Mists have wet the fragrant meadows;
A spring dove calls from some hidden place.
...With quiet surroundings, the mind is at peace,
But beset with affairs, it grows restless again....
Here I shall finally build me a cabin,
As Tao Qian built one long ago.

五言古詩 韋應物 送楊氏女

永日方慼慼, 出行復悠悠。
女子今有行, 大江泝輕舟。
爾輩苦無恃, 撫念益慈柔;
幼為長所育, 兩別泣不休。
對此結中腸, 義往難復留。
自小闕內訓, 事姑貽我憂;
賴茲託令門, 仁卹庶無尤。
貧儉誠所尚, 資從豈待周!
孝恭遵婦道, 容止順其猷。
別離在今晨, 見爾當何秋?
居閑始自遣, 臨感忽難收。
歸來視幼女, 零淚緣纓流。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu TO MY DAUGHTER
ON HER MARRIAGE INTO THE YANG FAMILY

My heart has been heavy all day long
Because you have so far to go.
The marriage of a girl, away from her parents,
Is the launching of a little boat on a great river.
...You were very young when your mother died,
Which made me the more tender of you.
Your elder sister has looked out for you,
And now you are both crying and cannot part.
This makes my grief the harder to bear;
Yet it is right that you should go.
...Having had from childhood no mother to guide you,
How will you honour your mother-in-law?
It's an excellent family; they will be kind to you,
They will forgive you your mistakes --
Although ours has been so pure and poor
That you can take them no great dowry.
Be gentle and respectful, as a woman should be,
Careful of word and look, observant of good example.
...After this morning we separate,
There's no knowing for how long....
I always try to hide my feelings --
They are suddenly too much for me,
When I turn and see my younger daughter
With the tears running down her cheek.

五言古詩 柳宗元 晨詣超師院讀禪經

汲井漱寒齒, 清心拂塵服,
閒持貝葉書, 步出東齋讀。
真源了無取, 忘跡世所逐;
遺言冀可冥, 繕性何由熟?
道人庭宇靜, 苔色連深竹;
日出霧露餘, 青松如膏沐。
澹然離言說, 悟悅心自足。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Liu Zongyuan READING BUDDHIST CLASSICS WITH ZHAO
AT HIS TEMPLE IN THE EARLY MORNING

I clean my teeth in water drawn from a cold well;
And while I brush my clothes, I purify my mind;
Then, slowly turning pages in the Tree-Leaf Book,
I recite, along the path to the eastern shelter.
...The world has forgotten the true fountain of this teaching
And people enslave themselves to miracles and fables.
Under the given words I want the essential meaning,
I look for the simplest way to sow and reap my nature.
Here in the quiet of the priest's templecourtyard,
Mosses add their climbing colour to the thick bamboo;
And now comes the sun, out of mist and fog,
And pines that seem to be new-bathed;
And everything is gone from me, speech goes, and reading,
Leaving the single unison.

五言古詩 柳宗元 溪居

久為簪組累, 幸此南夷謫。
閑依農圃鄰, 偶似山林客。
曉耕翻露草, 夜榜響溪石,
來往不逢人, 長歌楚天碧。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Liu Zongyuan DWELLING BY A STREAM

I had so long been troubled by official hat and robe
That I am glad to be an exile here in this wild southland.
I am a neighbour now of planters and reapers.
I am a guest of the mountains and woods.
I plough in the morning, turning dewy grasses,
And at evening tie my fisher-boat, breaking the quiet stream.
Back and forth I go, scarcely meeting anyone,
And sing a long poem and gaze at the blue sky.