[updated September 2022]
Spring Powers Almost Spent: (Butterflies Love Flowers)
春 事 阑 珊： 蝶 恋 花
春 事 阑 珊 芳 草 歇
客 里 风 光
又 过 清 明 节。
小 院 黄 昏 人 忆 别
落 红 处 处 闻 啼 鴂。
咫 尺 江 山 分 楚 越
目 断 魂 销
应 是 音 尘 绝。
梦 破 五 更 心 欲 折
角 声 吹 落 梅 花 月。
Chun Shi Lan Shan: (Die Lian Hua)
Chun shi lan shan fang cao xie
Ke li feng guang
you guo qing ming jie.
Xiao yuan huang hun ren yi bie
Luo hong chu chu wen ti jue.
Zhi chi jiang shan fen chu yue
Mu duan hun xiao
Ying shi yin chen jue.
Meng po wu geng xin yu zhe
Jiao sheng chui luo mei hua yue.
Spring Powers Almost Spent: (Butterflies Love Flowers)
Spring powers almost spent, fragrant grasses rest
As a visitor, again another landscape of the Qing Ming festival.
Small courtyard, yellow dusk, another person of art and skill
Red petals fall down, hear the cry of a small bird.
What appears to be very close, actually these rivers and mountains are far apart, separating the regions of Chu and Yue
Leaving each other, watch your spirit melt away.
From now on not possible to exchange letters, dream broken apart in the hours before dawn
Heart-mind fractured, military conch blows the alarm
Chinese plum blossoms fall down in the moonlight.
Notes:
Qing Ming: The fifteenth day after the Spring Equinox, a time to honor the ancestors by cleaning around and sweeping the tombs and gravesites.
Chu: Large ancient kingdom encompassing modern-day Hubei and Hunan provinces, and part of others.
Yue: Ancient state during the Zhou Dynasty and in the area of Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces.