Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 10
饮 酒： 二 十 首
在 昔 曾 远 游
直 至 东 海 隅。
道 路 迥 且 长
风 波 阻 中 涂。
此 行 谁 使 然
似 为 饥 所 驱。
倾 身 营 一 饱
少 许 便 有 馀。
恐 此 非 名 计
息 驾 归 闲 居。
Yin Jiu: Er Shi Shou
Zai xi ceng yuan you
Zhi zhi dong hai yu.
Dao lu jiong qie chang
Feng bo zu zhong tu.
Ci xing shei shi ran
Si wei ji suo qu.
Qing shen ying yi bao
Shao xu bian you yu.
Kong ci fei ming ji
Xi jia gui xian ju.
Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 10
Once, in former days, work and travel far away
All the way to the Dongting Lake shoreline.
The road traveled for a long time
Along the way blocked by waves and wind.
Wonder why I committed to this journey
Had to make it to drive away family hunger.
Used all my strength to satisfy this end
But we only really require small amounts.
This plan, I fear, still not the right thing to do
Stop the cart, I will go back to my humble house.
Notes:
Dongting Lake: (link) Large, shallow lake in northern Hunan Province. It serves as the flood basin for the Changjiang (Yangzi River). The provinces of Hubei and Hunan derive their names from this lake. (“Hu” meaning “Lake”)