Magpie Bridge Immortals
鹊 桥 仙
华 灯 纵 博
雕 鞍 驰 射
谁 记 当 年 豪 举？
酒 徒 一 半 取 封 侯
独 去 作 江 边 渔 父。
轻 舟 八 尺
低 蓬 三 扇
占 断 蘋 洲 烟 雨。
镜 湖 元 自 属 闲 人
又 何 必 官 家 赐 与！
Que Qiao Xian
Hua deng zong bo
Diao an chi she
Shei ji dang nian hao ju?
Jiu tu yi ban qu feng hou
Du qu zuo jiang bian yu fu.
Qing zhou ba chi
Di peng san shan
Zhan duan pin zhou yan yu.
Jing hu yuan zi shu xian ren
You he bi guan jia ci yu!
Magpie Bridge Immortals
Bright lanterns and gambling tables
Engraved saddles gallop around for show
Who remembers my courage in those past years?
Half of my drinking friends got positions of nobility
I go back home alone with fishermen along the riversides.
Eight foot long light boat
Lowered sails and a simple house.
Blessed to have views of clover-fern covered islets in the mists and rain
The natural and mirrored lakes a part of being a man of artistic leisure
The palace years of the past gave all of this land to He Zhizhang.
Notes:
He Zhizhang: (659-744 AD): Poet and scholar of the early Tang Dynasty. His most famous poem is called “Coming Home”. He was given this plot of land by emperor Xuanzong to enjoy in his Daoist retirement years. Lu Yu is now enjoying it too.