[updated October 2022]
Jin Gu Garden Song
金 谷 园 歌
石 氏 灭
金 谷 园 中 水 流 绝。
当 时 豪 右 争 骄 侈
锦 为 步 障 四 十 里。
东 风 吹 花 雪 满 川
紫 气 凝 阁 朝 景 妍。
洛 阳 陌 上 人 回 首
丝 竹 飘 飖 入 青 天。
晋 武 平 吴 恣 欢 燕
馀 风 靡 靡 朝 廷 变。
嗣 世 衰 微 谁 肯 忧
二 十 四 友 日 日 空 追 游。
追 游 讵 可 足
共 惜 年 华 促。
祸 端 一 发 埋 恨 长
百 草 无 情 春 自 绿。
Jin Gu Yuan Ge
Shi shi mie
Jin gu yuan zhong shui liu jue.
Dang shi hao you zheng jiao chi
Jin wei bu zhang si shi li.
Dong feng chui hua xue man chuan
Zi qi ning ge zhao jing yan.
Luo yang mo shang ren hui shou
Si zhu piao yao ru qing tian.
Jin wu ping wu zi huan yan
Yu feng mi mi zhao ting bian.
Si shi shuai wei shei ken you
Er shi si you ri ri kong zhui you.
Zhui you ju ke zu
Gong xi nian hua cu.
Huo duan yi fa mai hen chang
Bai cao wu qing chun zi lu.
Jin Gu Garden Song
The Shi family perished
Jingu garden water flows have dried up.
At this time the rich and powerful compete for pride and waste
A garden of five miles, brocade-like fence impedes potential on-lookers.
East wind blows flowers like snow to fill the river
Dawn pavilion scenery enchanting to create an auspicious atmosphere.
People in the Luoyang alleys and lanes turn around
String and wind instrument sounds flutter into blue skies.
Emperor Jin Wu conquered Wu, happy as newly freed swallows
Relaxed palace decadence.
Subsequent society declines, no concerns for the country
Twenty-four elites daily travel to each other’s house for the best party.
They compete together to fully enjoy their short remaining years
Hidden and buried misfortunes for a long time before being discovered.
Exposing each other’s faults many of them die, one hundred spring green plants without feelings
Notes:
Jin Gu : Literally means the “Garden of the Golden Valley”. It is also a type of garden designed for poets and scholars. The original was built in 296 AD by Shi Chong (249-300), a former court official. It was located about six miles to the northeast of the capital city of Luoyang. Shi invited thirty poets to banquet and party with him, which began the tradition of writing poems in and about gardens. Components of his and following gardens included: pure spring water, thick woods, fruit trees, stands of bamboo and cypress, medicinal plants, a water mill, fish pond, caves, and animals.
Emperor Jin of Wu: (236-290) The first emperor of the Jin Dynasty.
Wu state: (12th century to 473 BC) Comprised of the region east of the state of Chu, around the mouth of the Changjiang (Yangzi River) in what is now the province of Zhejiang.