[updated September 2022]
City of Baidi
白 帝
白 帝 城 中 云 出 门
白 帝 城 下 雨 翻 盆。
高 江 急 峡 雷 霆 斗
古 木 苍 藤 日 月 昏。
戎 马 不 如 归 马 逸
千 家 今 有 百 家 存。
哀 哀 寡 妇 诛 求 尽
恸 哭 秋 原 何 处 村？
Bai Di
Bai di cheng zhong yun chu men
Bai di cheng xia yu fan pen.
Gao jiang ji xia lei ting tou
Gu mu cang teng ri yue hun.
Rong yu bu ru gui yu yi
Qian jian jin you bai jia cun.
Ai ai gua fu zhu qiu jin
Tong ku qiu yuan he chu cun?
The City of Bai Di
Baidi city, clouds come out through the gates
Baidi city, rainfall like an overturned basin.
Surging river rises to the top of a gorge, sounding like thunderclaps
Old trees and bluish-green vines, sun and moon in darkness.
Army horses not like the returning horses of leisure
Of one thousand houses, now have only one hundred families survive.
Widows with overpowering grief, ask the government to not demand
any more sacrifices
How can anyone determine from where all of the autumn cries of sorrow
originate?
Notes:
Baidi: City near present day Chongqing, Sichuan province.