[updated October 2022]
Beginning of Spring, Send This Letter of Feelings to Xizhou For Ministry Counselor Xing
初 春 有 感 寄 歙 州 邢 员 外
雪 涨 前 溪 水
啼 声 已 绕 滩。
梅 衰 未 减 态
春 嫩 不 禁 寒。
迹 去 梦 一 觉
年 来 事 百 般。
闻 君 亦 多 感
何 处 倚 阑 干。
Chu Chun You Gan Ji Xi Zhou Xing Yuan Wai
Xue zhang qian xi shui
Ti sheng yi rao tan.
Mei shuai wei jian tai.
Chun nen bu jin han.
Ji qu meng yi jue
Nian lai shi bai ban.
Wen jun yi duo gan
He chu yi lan gan.
Beginning of Spring, Send This Letter of Feelings to Xizhou For Ministry Counselor Xing
Snow melt causes the Qian River to rise
Coiling around a river shoal, water sounds like someone crying.
Plum tree flowers decline, not yet a barren appearance
Spring delicate natures cannot endure the cold.
Traces of what has departed, one dream awakens
Another year arrives, a hundred troubled affairs in the past.
Heard you also have many of these feelings and insights
Where are you going to ponder the crossroads of life.
Notes:
Xizhou: A city north of Dali in the province of Yunnan.
Qian River: Tributary to the Xiang river in Hunan Province.