Ninth Month First Day Evening, Read Aloud Poem Manuscripts to Show Feelings, Composed By Following My Writing Brush to Compose This Song
九 月 一 日 夜 读 诗 稿 有 感 走 笔 作 歌
我 昔 学 诗 未 有 得
残 馀 未 免 从 人 乞。
力 孱 气 馁 心 自 知
妄 取 虚 名 有 惭 色。
四 十 从 戌 驻 南 郑
酣 宴 军 中 夜 连 日。
打 球 筑 场 一 千 步
阅 马 列 厩 三 万 匹。
华 灯 纵 博 声 满 楼
宝 钗 艳 舞 光 照 席。
琵 琶 弦 急 冰 雹 乱
羯 鼓 手 匀 风 雨 疾。
诗 家 三 昧 忽 见 前
屈 贾 在 眼 元 历 历。
天 机 云 锦 用 在 我
剪 裁 妙 处 非 刀 尺。
世 间 才 杰 固 不 乏
秋 毫 未 合 天 地 隔。
放 翁 老 死 何 足 论？
广 陵 散 绝 还 堪 惜。
Jiu Yue Yi Ri Ye Du Shi Gao You Gan Zou Bi Zuo Ge
Wo xi xue shi wei you de
Can yu wei mian cong ren qi.
Li chan qi nei xin zi zhi
Wang qu xu ming you can se.
Si shi cong xu zhu nan zheng
Han yan jun zhong ye lian ri.
Da qiu zhu chang yi qian bu
Yue ma lie jiu san wu pi.
Hua deng zong bo sheng man lou
Bao chai yan wu guan zhao xi.
Pi pa xian ji bing bao luan
Jie gu shou yun feng yu ji.
Shi jia san mei hu jiang qian
Qu gu zai yan yuan li li.
Tian ji yun jin yong zai wo
Jian cai miao chu fei dao chi.
Shi jian cai jie gu bu fa
Qiu hao wei he tian di ge.
Fang wen lao si he zu lun?
Guang ling san jue huan kan xi.
Ninth Month First Day Evening, Read Aloud Poem Manuscripts to Show Feelings, Composed By Following My Writing Brush to Compose This Song
I treasured learning poems yet to be read
Could not avoid following other people’s work to beg for their scraps.
As a youth with a hungry heart-mind, naturally know strong and weak temperaments
Ridiculous how I gained a false fame, now have expressions of shame.
After age forty joined the army stationed in southern Sichuan
Troops heartily entertained for evenings, partied for days on end.
Over a one thousand-paced square we played our polo games
About thirty thousand horses arranged in make-shift stables.
Radiant lanterns and the release of sounds from full towers
Treasured hairpins, gorgeous dancers made an illuminated banquet scene.
Pipa strings twanged ice and hail musical strains
Hand-played drums revealed the quickening of wind and rain.
Unlike before these excitements, my new poems full of true spirit and vigor
Quyuan and Jiayi with their basic key points became clear and distinct.
With heaven I can link the clouds together like brocade
Mysterious how I do not need a knife or scissors to cut the material.
Society has no lack of heroes and the talented
I now yield an autumn fine-feathered writing brush to make a wide variety of fine poems.
Will this free old man when he dies be trivial when compared to his skills?
May the unique Guang Lingsan be cherished and endure for all time.
Notes:
Pipa strings: A pipa is an ancient four-stringed musical instrument.
Quyuan: (c. 340-278 BC) State of Chu poet and politician famous for drowning himself in the Miluo River. From this incident the Dragon Boat Festival emerged along with the food called zongzi, a pyramid of rice and some meat.
Jiayi: (c. 200-169 BC) Poet and politician during the Western Han dynasty and composer of the famous poem, “Lament For Qu Yuan”.
Guang Lingsan: Named for an area inside Jiangsu Province. It is considered among the best of ancient classical Chinese music and expression of ethos written for the guqin instrument. One source for this music came from the Nie Zheng Assassination of the King of Han . But the melody was written by Ji Kang.
Nie Zheng was the son of a swordsmith. He committed suicide after stabbing the king to avenge the wrongs done to his father.
Ji Kang: (223-263 AD) Poet, musician and Daoist famous for being one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. Ji was falsely charged with a crime and was sentence to death. While the executioner was making ready, Ji requested and was granted permission to play this music first.