[updated November 2022]
Compose a Poem to the Patterns of Early Autumn
and Government Official Fan
和 范 得 制 秋 兴
策 策 桐 飘 半 已 空
蹄 螀 渐 觉 近 房 拢。
一 生 不 作 牛 衣 泣
万 事 从 渠 马 耳 风。
名 姓 已 甘 黄 纸 外
光 阴 全 付 绿 樽 中。
唯 有 落 花 吹 不 去
数 枝 红 湿 自 相 依。
He Fan De Zhi Qiu Xing
Ce ce tong piao ban yi kong
Ti jiang jian jue jin fang long.
Yi sheng bu zuo niu yi qi
Wan shi cong qu ma er feng.
Ming xing yi gan huang zhi wai
Guang yin quan fu lu zun zhong.
Wei you luo hua chui bu qu
Shu zhi hong shi zi xiang yi.
Compose a Poem to the Patterns of Early Autumn
and Government Official Fan
Swishing sounds of paulownia leaves floating down, tree already half empty
Nearby house windows, the cicadas wail their laments.
All my life did not want the poverty of Wang Zhan wearing oxen clothes
Let the ten thousand things flow past like wind through a horse’s ears.
Already my name will never appear on the emperor’s yellow paper list of candidates
Now will spend the rest of my life in the middle of a green wine vessel.
Who is this knocking on my door, are they looking for me?
Who will celebrate this year being a banished old man?
Notes:
Paulownia trees: Found throughout most of China, they are a very fast growing tree of pretty flowers and used as a strong and for lightweight timber.