[updated October 2022]
Xiangyang Song
襄 阳 歌
落 日 欲 没 岘 山 西
倒 看 接 (离) 花 下 迷。
襄 阳 小 儿 齐 拍 手
拦 街 争 唱 白 铜 (题)
旁 人 借 问 笑 何 事
笑 杀 山 公 醉 似 泥。
鸬 鹚 杓， 鹦 鹉 杯。
百 年 三 万 六 千 日
一 日 须 三 百 杯。
遥 看 汉 水 鸭 头 绿
恰 似 蒲 萄 初 酦 醅。
此 江 若 变 作 春 酒。
垒 曲 便 筑 糟 丘 台
千 金 骏 马 换 少 妾
醉 坐 雕 鞍 歌 落 梅。
车 旁 侧 挂 一 壶 酒
凤 笙 龙 管 行 相 摧。
咸 阳 市 中 叹 黄 犬
何 如 月 下 倾 金 罍。
君 不 见 晋 朝 羊 公
一 片 古 碑 材
龟 头 剥 落 生 莓 苔。
泪 亦 不 能 为 之 堕
心 亦 不 能 为 之 哀。
谁 能 忧 彼 身 后 事
金 凫 银 芽 鸭 死 灰。
清 风 朗 月 不 用 一 钱 买
玉 山 自 倒 非 人 推。
舒 州 杓， 力 士 铛
李 白 与 尔 同 死 生。
襄 王 云 雨 今 安 在？
江 水 东 流 猿 夜 声。
Xiang Yang Ge
Luo ri yu mo xian shan xi
Dao zhe jie li hua xia mi.
Xiang yang xiao er qi pai shou
Lan jie zheng chang “bai tong te.”
Pang ren jie wen xiao he shi
Xiao sha shan gong zui si ni.
Lu ci shao, ying wu bei
Bai nian san wan liu qian ri
Yi ri xu san bai bei.
Yao kan han shui ya tou lu
Qia si pu tao chu fa pei.
Ci jiang ruo bian zuo chun jiu
Lei qu bian zhu zao qiu tai.
Qian jin jun ma huan shao qie
Zui zuo diao an ge luo mei.
Che pang ce gua yi hu jiu
Feng sheng long guan xing xiang cui.
Xian yang shi zhong tan huang quan
He ru yue xia qing jin lei.
Jun bu jian jin zhao yang gong
Yi pian gu bei cai
Gui tou bao luo sheng mei tai.
Lei yi bu neng wei zhi duo
Xin yi bu neng wei zhi ai.
Shei neng you bi shen hou shi
Jin fu yin ya ya si hui.
Qing feng lang yue bu yong yi qian mai
Yu shan zi dao fei ren tui.
Shu zhou shao, li shi cheng
Li bai yu er tong si sheng.
Xiang wang yun yu jin ai zai?
Jiang shui dong liu yuan ye sheng.
Xiangyang Song
Sunset almost covering the western Xian mountains
Changjing hats, now enchanted below the blossoms.
Xiangyang children reach for him and clap their hands
Every block they sing back and forth the “Bai Tong Te” song.
Other people laugh and ask him what is so funny
Smiling until dead, drunk like walking in the mud.
Cormorant-shaped spoons, parrot-beaked cups
Every century has thirty-six thousand days.
Each day must have several hundred cups of wine
Far away watch Han River ducks with their green heads.
Kind of like unfiltered grape wine.
This river changes like fermented spring wine.
Curved stones formed into mounds for spent wine-making materials
Not having a thousand gold pieces, one can barter a low level concubine
for a fine horse.
Sitting drunk in a carved saddle, playing flute melodies
Side of the cart, one pot of wine hanging.
Traveling with a feng sheng and long guan
Xian Yang center chant “Huang Tai”.
Why can’t we live under the moon without needing golden wine vessels?
You do not see General Yang Gong at the dawn of the Jin Dynasty.
Only one slice of his original stele remains
The turtle head and shell have fallen down, covered with berries and moss.
So long ago teardrops cannot fall
My heart-mind does not contain sorrow or grief.
Who can worry about things so far in the past
Buried with golden and silver ducks, body’s ashes still turn to dust.
Clear wind, bright moon requires no money
Jade mountains fallen down, no it is me tilting to one side.
Shouzhou ladle, Lishi wine warmers
Li Bai can live or die with these things.
Chu emperor Xiang alive today to enjoy the clouds and rain?
No, but the river water still flows to the east, past the monkey and evening sounds.
Notes:
[In the first quatrain there are two characters that are very arcane and ancient. Modern dictionaries do not have them. The first one is the fourth character of line 2, “li“. But the original character has the “wang” 网 radical above the li 离 component. It most likely means “leather”. The second one is the final character in line 4, “te”. But the original character has the “ge” 革 radical to the left of the “ti” 题 component.]
Xiangyang: City located in Hubei Province.
Xian mountains: Mountains to the west of the capital Chang’an (Xi’an).
“Him” in line three: A man from the Jin Dynasty named San Jian. He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove . He was an army general before he became a sage.
Bai Tong Te song: A local Hubei song.
Han River: Longest and major tributary to the Changjiang.
Feng sheng and long guan: A reed wind instrument, and a non-reed wind instrument.
Huang Tai: Story of a rich man who had most everything, but wanted more. He wanted a kingdom. When the government authorities heard of this, they sentenced him to die. Before this fate, he was quoted as saying, “Too bad my son and I cannot give up everything and just take our dog to go hunting for rabbits.”
Shouzhou: A city, people and language in eastern Guangdong province.
Lishi wine warmers: Perhaps refers to the area in Shanxi Province.
Chu emperor Xiang: (232-202 BC) Conqueror of the Qin nation, and ruler of the Chu from 206-202 BC.