Bai Juyi: Late Autumn Evening

 

[updated September 2022]

Late Autumn Evening

 

晚 秋 夜
碧 空 溶 溶 月 华 静
月 里 愁 人 吊 孤 影。
花 开 残 菊 傍 疏 蓠
叶 下 衰 桐 落 寒 井。
塞 鸿 飞 急 觉 秋 尽
邻 鸡 鸣 迟 知 夜 永。
凝 情 不 语 空 所 思
风 吹 白 露 衣 裳 冷。
Wan Qiu Ye

Bi kong rong rong yue hua jing
Yue li chou ren diao gu ying.
Hua kai can ju bang shu li
Ye xia shuai tong luo han jing.

Sai hong fei ji jue qiu jin
Lin ji ming chi zhi ye yong.
Ning qing bu yu kong suo si
Feng chui bai lu yi chang leng.

 

Late Autumn Evening

Broad and vast azure sky, moonlight radiant and calm
With the moon we are sad, solitary shadows hang down.
Remnants of opened blossoms, scattered chrysanthemums along the hedge
Fading paulownia leaves fall, cold well fills up.

Geese fly from strategic border passes, provide a sense of declining autumn
Neighborhood chickens sound off, they are slow to realize the lengthening evenings.
With mixed emotions, cannot think of words in these empty places
Winds blow, white-dew clothes for the cold have not arrived.

 

Notes:

Paulownia: A tall deciduous tree native to central and western China. Also a fast-growing hardwood with fragrant flowers, where the wood is used for making furniture, musical instruments and carvings.