[updated October 2022]
Xiangyang Songs: Four Poems
襄 阳 曲： 四 首
(1)
襄 阳 行 乐 处
歌 舞 白 铜 (a).
江 城 回 渌 水
花 月 使 人 迷。
Xiangyang Qu: Si Shou
(1)
Xiang yang xing yue chu
Ge wu “bai tong te.”
Jiang cheng hui lu shui
Hua yue shi ren mi.
(1)
The music while traveling outside to Xiangyang
Sing and dance to the “Bai Tong Te” melody.
Green moat water around the city wall
People enchanted by blossoms and moonlight.
(2)
山 公 醉 酒 时
酩 酊 高 阳 下。
头 上 白 接 (b)
倒 着 还 骑 马。
(2)
Shan gong zui jiu shi
Ming ding gao yang xia.
Tou shang bai jie li
Dao zhe huan qi ma.
(2)
San Jian drunk on the seasonal wine
From noon into the afternoon at Gao Yang
White official hat worn upside down
Still riding his horse.
(3)
峴 山 临 汉 江
水 渌 沙 如 雪。
上 有 堕 泪 碑
青 苔 久 磨 灭。
(3)
Xian shan lin han jiang
Shui lu sha ru xue
Shang you duo lei bei
Qing tai jiu mo mie.
(3)
Xian mountains overlook the Han River
Water green, sand like snow
Falling teardrops around his mountain stele
So long not tended, green moss gathers.
(4)
且 醉 习 家 池
莫 看 堕 泪 碑。
山 公 欲 上 马
笑 杀 襄 阳 儿。
(4)
Qie zui xi jia chi
Mo kan duo lei bei
Shan gong yu shang ma
Xiao sha xiang yang er.
(4)
For now, drunk at Xi’s family pond
No one watches falling teardrops for his stele
San Jian wants to remount his horse
Xiang Yang dies of laughter.
Notes:
Xiangyang: City located in Hubei Province.
Bai Tong Te: A local Hubei provincial song.
[In the first two quatrains, there are two characters that are very arcane and ancient. Modern dictionaries do not have them.]
(a): The first quatrain has the final character of line 2, “ti“. The original character has the “ge” 革 radical to the left of the “ti” 题 component.
(b) In the second quatrain, the final character in line 3 “li“. The original character has the “wang” 网 radical above the li 离 component. It most likely means “leather”.
Gao Yang: Located in Hebei Province.
Xian mountains: Located to the west of the capital city Chang’an (Xi’an)
Han River: The longest and major tributary to the Changjiang.