[updated October 2022]
Returning By Boat to the South, Send This Letter to Government Official Yuan
南 还 舟 中 寄 袁 太 祝
沿 溯 非 便 习
风 波 厌 苦 辛。
忽 闻 迁 谷 鸟
来 报 五 陵 春。
岭 北 回 征 棹
巴 东 闻 故 人。
花 源 何 处 是？
游 子 正 迷 津！
Nan Huan Zhou Zhong Ji Yuan Tai Zhu
Yan su fei bian xi
Feng bo yan ku xin.
Hu wen qian gu niao
Lai bao wu ling chun.
Ling bei hui zheng zhao
Ba dong wen gu ren.
Hua yuan he chu shi ?
You zi zheng mi jin !
Returning By Boat to the South, Send This Letter to Government Official Yuan
Traveling upstream against cold winds and my normal habits
Overwhelmed by troubles bitter and painful.
Suddenly hear the springtime planting birds
Arrive to report the spring in Wuling.
My boat making the long way around a northern mountain range
In Badong, go to visit some old friends
Where can the peach blossom riverhead be?
Like a person who has been away from his home for a long time, too often I was fascinated by the distractions of ferry crossings along the way !
Notes:
Wuling: An area near the capital city of Chang’an (Xi’an).
Badong: An area in western Hubei Province and just east of the Wu Gorge on the Changjiang.(Yangzi)
Peach blossom riverhead: Literary reference to the famous poem by Tao Yuanming, “Peach Blossom Water Source”. Tao and his poem can also be found on this website.
Commentary:
Got to love that first line. How true of life in general, traveling upstream against the wind (in a sailboat), and a struggle against the habits of our programming.