[updated September 2022]
Stay Overnight at Wuling
宿 武 陵 即 事
川 暗 夕 阳 尽
孤 舟 泊 岸 初。
岭 猿 相 叫 啸
潭 嶂 似 空 虚。
就 枕 灭 明 烛
扣 船 闻 夜 渔。
鸡 鸣 问 何 处
人 物 是 秦 馀。
Su Wu Ling Ji Shi
Chuan an xi yang jin
Gu zhou bo an chu.
Ling yuan xiang jiao xiao
Tan zhang si kong xu.
Jiu zhen mie ming zhu
Kou chuan wen ye yu.
Ji ming wen he chu
Ren wu shi qin yu.
Stay Overnight at Wuling
River dark, setting sun finished
Solitary boat moored at a permanent riverbank.
Mountain monkeys howl, calling out to each other
Mountain peaks shadows on a deep pool appear empty and vacant.
Going to bed, extinguished the candlelight
Can hear night time net fishermen tapping on their boats.
Chickens clucking, I ask the people where we are
These local people are Qin descendents.
Notes:
Wuling: A city along the Xiang River
Permanent riverbank: As opposed to the seasonal rising and lowering of the river levels.
Tapping on their boats: A local fishing technique.
Qin descendents: These Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 AD) inhabitants are a literary allusion to those of the Peach Blossom River Source, an often imitated poem made by the famous Eastern Jin Dynasty poet, Tao Yuanming. See this site for the poem and information about Tao.