[updated October 2022]
Xi River Meditations on the Past
西 江 怀 古
上 吞 巴 汉 探 潇 湘
怒 似 连 山 净 镜 光。
魏 帝 缝 襄 真 戏 剧
符 坚 投 箠 更 荒 唐。
千 秋 钓 舸 歌 明 月
万 里 沙 鸥 弄 夕 阳。
范 蠡 清 尘 何 寂 寞
好 风 唯 属 往 来 商。
Xi Jiang Huai Gu
Shang tun ba han tan xiao xiang
Nu si lian shan jing jing guang.
Wei di feng xiang zhen xi ju
Fu jian tou chui geng huang tang.
Qian qiu diao ge ge ming yue
Wan li sha ou nong xi yang.
Fan li qing chen he ji mo
Hao feng wei shu wang lai shang.
Xi River Meditations on the Past
The Ba and Han river waters meet to make a large clear river
Vigorous like connected mountains and clean mirror scenery.
Three Kingdoms people could begin to control their water flows
Fu Jian tried to drop stone pilings for a bridge without success.
Thousand autumns later, only have fishing barge songs under
the bright moons
For three thousand miles seagulls play in the sand under the setting sun.
Fa Li purified this mortal world within this lightly inhabited region
The merchants chew the fat while awaiting for the fine breezes.
Notes:
Three Kingdoms: (220-280 AD) The period after the Han Dynasty when the Wei, Shu, and Wu nations comprised most of China.