Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 8
饮 酒 ： 二 十 首
青 松 在 东 园
众 草 没 其 姿。
凝 霜 殄 异 类
卓 然 见 高 枝。
连 林 人 不 觉
独 树 众 乃 奇。
提 壶 抚 寒 柯
远 望 复 何 为。
五 生 梦 幻 间
何 事 绁 尘 羁。
Yin Jiu: Er Shi Shou
Qing song zai dong yuan
Zhong cao mei qi zi.
Ning shuang tian yi lei
Zhuo ran jian gao zhi.
Lian lin ren bu jue
Du shu zhong nai qi.
Ti hu fu han ke
Yuan wang fu he wei.
Wu sheng meng huan jian
He shi xie chen ji.
Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 8
Green pine trees here in the eastern garden
Numerous grasses without the trees’ appearance.
Solid frost has eliminated them
Outstanding to see the tallest branches.
Continuous forests, people not aware of
One tree out of the many is unusual.
Carry a pot of wine under the protection of the cold branches
Again look far off into the distance
My life between an illusion and a dream
Why the involvement and bonds to worldly affairs.
Commentary:
Tao is implying that he is one unusual tree. These pine trees are not affected by the autumn frost. The penultimate line reminds a person of the this author’s background to remember the lines to an old campfire song: “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream, merrily merrily, life is but a dream.”