[updated September 2022]
Pond Cranes: Eight Four-Line Poems
池 鹤： 八 绝 句
池 上 有 鹤
介 然 不 群
乌 鸢 鸡 鹅
次 第 朝 噪。
诸 禽 似 有 所 诮
鹤 亦 时 复 一 鸣。
予 非 冶 长
不 通 其 意。
因 戏 与 赠 答
以 意 斟 酌 之
聊 亦 自 取 笑 耳。
Chi He: Ba Jue Ju
Chi shang you he
Jie ran bu qun
Wu yuan ji e
Ci di zhao zao.
Zhu qin si you suo qiao
He yi shi fu yi ming.
Yu fei ye chang
Bu tong qi yi.
Yin xi yu zeng da
Yi yi zhen zhuo zhi
Liao yi zi qu xiao er.
Pond Cranes: Eight Four-Line Poems Poems
Upon the pond cranes by themselves, not in a flock
Crows, hawks, chickens and geese gather at daybreak to chirp in an uproar.
All of these birds have a place where they can sneer at others
Crows during this time produce just one sound.
I am not Yechang, who was fluent in bird languages
I try to follow their dramas.
Give me as a gift, skill to reply to them
In my mind naturally laugh at what I hear from them.
Notes:
Yechang: Full name of Gong Yechang who was a student of Confucius.