[updated September 2022]
Homebound Idleness on the Double Ninth Day
九 日 闲 居
世 短 意 常 多
斯 人 乐 久 生。
日 月 依 辰 至
举 俗 爱 其 名。
露 凄 暄 风 息
气 澈 天 象 明。
往 燕 无 遗 影
来 雁 有 馀 声。
酒 能 祛 百 思
菊 解 制 颓 龄。
如 何 蓬 庐 士
空 视 时 运 倾！
尘 爵 耻 虚 罍
寒 华 徒 自 荣。
敛 襟 独 闲 谣
缅 焉 起 深 情。
栖 迟 固 多 娱
淹 留 岂 无 成？
Jiu Ri Xian Ju
Shi duan yi chang duo
Si ren le jiu sheng.
Ri yue yi chen zhi
Ju su ai qi ming.
Lu qi xuan feng xi
Qi che tian xiang ming.
Wang yan wu yi ying
Lai yan you yu sheng.
Jiu neng qu bai si
Ju jie zhi tui ling.
Ru he peng lu shi
Kong shi shi yun qing !
Chen jue chi xu lei
Han hua tu zi rong.
Lian jin du xian yao
Mian yan qi shen qing.
Qi chi gu duo yu
Yan liu qi wu cheng ?
Homebound Idleness on the Double Ninth Day
Human life is brief, everyone worries too much
But all people wish for a long and happy life.
Day by day, month after month, the seasons have come around again
Most people love this name.
Cold dew, soft winds have stopped
Air very clear, sky and future looks bright.
The swallows have left without a trace
Wild geese arrive with abundant sounds.
Wine can remove many kinds of worry
Chrysanthemums can relieve the effects of old age.
How can I, as a disheveled-hut scholar
Have the good fortune to do nothing except watch the seasons change !
The humiliation of having an empty wine jug
Compared to me, the cold chrysanthemums are prosperous.
Straighten my clothes, humming alone by myself
Thinking of the past builds deep emotions.
Dwelling here no doubt has many pleasures
Remaining here for a long time, isn’t this without some success?
Notes:
Double Ninth Day: Also known in China as the Chrysanthemum Festival. In the west we have the Harvest Moon. Celebrated since before 25 AD, festival traditions include climbing a mountain, drinking chrysanthemum wine, and visiting ancestral gravesites.
Love this name (double ninth): Jiu jiu: An onomatopoeia for the sound of birds.
Commentary:
Staying at home on the Double Ninth holiday with nothing to do, but Tao Yuanming still loves this time of year. He enjoyed the chrysanthemums and their wine, but he had no wine in order to celebrate. Such was his poverty.