[updated October 2022]
Feelings For This Place: Two Poems: No. 2
感 寓： 二 首
(2)
咸 阳 二 三 月
百 鸟 鸣 花 枝。
玉 剑 谁 家 子
西 秦 豪 侠 儿。
日 暮 醉 酒 归
白 马 骄 且 驰。
意 气 人 所 仰
游 冶 方 及 时。
子 云 不 晓 事
晚 献 长 杨 词。
赋 达 身 已 老
草 玄 鬓 若 丝。
投 阁 良 可 叹
但 为 此 悲 嗤。
Gan Yu: Er Shou
(2)
Xian yang er san yue
Bai niao ming hua zhi.
Yu jian shei jia zi
Xi qin hao xia er.
Ri mu zui jiu gui
Bai ma jiao qie chi.
Yi qi ren suo yang
You ye fang ji shi.
Zi yun bu xiao shi
Wan xian chang yang ci.
Fu da shen yi lao
Cao xuan bin ruo si.
Tou ge liang ke tan
Dan wei ci bei chi.
Feelings For This Place: Two Poems: No. 2
Xianyang city in the second or third lunar month
Hundreds of birds sing on blossomed branches.
And the young men with jade-handled swords
Western Qin rich and powerful, martial arts men.
Every sunset they return drunk
Proud and fierce white horses gallop for a long time.
Bystanders look up to see the strong and spirited
They travel with seductively-dressed women.
Yang Xu so experienced a poet
Yet still only displayed knowledge of the rules of rhyme.
Composed a famous poem in his old age
Spent his youth not living a life.
Working for the wrong general, he committed suicide in the writing pavilion
These young people like him, to waste away their lives.
Notes:
Xianyang City: Located on the Han River in northwestern Hubei Province.
Qin: The Qin kingdom (ca. 900-207 BC) during the Zhou Dynasty, and the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) in the west during ancient times.
Yang Xu: (ca. 330-386) Eastern Jin Dynasty poet known as being a poetic rule follower.