Lu Yu: Ninth Lunar Month, Third Day, Go Boating Mid-Lake Composition

 

[updated November 2022]

 

Ninth Lunar Month, Third Day, Go Boating Mid-Lake Composition

 

九 月 三 日 泛 舟 湖 中 作
儿 童 随 笑 放 翁 狂
又 向 湖 边 上 野 航。
鱼 市 人 家 满 斜 日
菊 花 天 气 近 新 霜。
重 重 红 树 秋 山 晚
猎 猎 青 帘 社 酒 香。
邻 曲 暮 辞 同 一 醉
十 年 客 里 过 重 阳。
Jiu Yue San Ri Fan Zhou Hu Zhong Zuo

Er tong sui xiao fang weng kuang
You xiang hu bian shang ye hang.
Yu shi ren jia man xie ri
Ju hua tian qi jin xin shuang.

Chong chong hong shu qiu shan wan
Lie lie qing lian she jiu xiang.
Lin qu mu ci tong yi zui
Shi nian ke li guo chong yang.

 

Ninth Lunar Month, Third Day, Go Boating Mid-Lake Composition

Children laugh at this crazy, free old man
Again boat from the vast open water into a cove.
Setting sun, fish market and people’s houses full
Chrysanthemum flower weather, fresh dew nearby.

Late autumn, layer upon layer
Green wineshop banners fluttering in the wind, fragrant opened wine.
Close to neighbors drinking and singing, do not need formal good-byes
For ten years this traveler has let the Double Ninth Days slip by.

 

 

Notes:

Double Ninth Days:  Celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, people commonly climb a high mountain or hill, drink chrysanthemum wine, and wear the zhuyu plant. It is also time for the living to visit and honor the graves of their ancestors.