Day of Nines
九 日
重 阳 独 酌 杯 中 酒
抱 病 起 登 江 上 台。
竹 叶 于 人 既 无 分
菊 花 从 此 不 须 开。
殊 方 日 落 玄 猿 哭
旧 国 霜 前 白 雁 来。
弟 妹 萧 条 各 何 在？
干 戈 衰 谢 两 相 催！
Jiu Ri
Chong yang du zhuo bei zhong jiu
Bao bing qi deng jiang shang tai.
Zhu ye yu ren ji wu fen
Ju hua cong ci bu xu kai.
Shu fang ri luo xuan yuan ku
Jiu guo shuang qian bai yan lai.
Di mei xiao tiao ge he zai?
Gan ge shuai xie liang xiang cui!
Day of Nines
Alone during the festival of Nines, pour out a cup of wine
In poor health I arise, climb up upon a riverside terrace.
Already without human companions and zhuye wine
Do not have to open up the chrysanthemum blossom wine bottles.
Sun going down in different directions, and a growing darkness monkeys wail
Early frost and white migrating geese arrive before those in Luoyang.
Like the desolate twigs, where are my younger brothers and sisters?
Throughout dagger-axe violence, thankful this time is gone, but so are my people!
Notes:
Day of Nines: The ninth day of the ninth lunar month. Traditional activities include climbing a mountain or hill, drink chrysanthemum wine and wear the zhuyu plant. Most visit the ancestral graves to clean and light incense.
Zhuye wine: Sorghum-based white wine that is also made with bamboo leaves that give a green tint. Made with herbal plants, native to the province of Shanxi.