[updated November 2022]
Evening Sit By the White Crane Pavilion
白 鹤 馆 夜 坐
竹 声 风 雨 交
松 声 波 涛 翻。
我 坐 白 鹤 馆
灯 青 无 晤 言。
廓 然 心 境 寂
一 洗 吏 卒 喧。
袖 手 哦 新 诗
清 寒 愧 雄 浑。
屈 宋 死 千 载
谁 能 起 九 原？
中 间 李 与 杜
独 招 湘 水 魂。
自 此 竟 摹 写
几 人 望 其 藩？
兰 苕 看 翡 翠
烟 雨 啼 青 猿。
岂 知 云 海 中
九 万 击 鹏 鵾。
更 阑 灯 欲 死
此 意 与 谁 论？
Bai He Guan Ye Zuo
Zhu sheng feng yu jiao
Song sheng bo tao fan.
Wo zuo bai he guan
Deng qing wu wu yan.
Kuo ran xin jing ji
Yi xi li zu xuan.
Xiu shou e xin shi
Qing han kui xiong hun.
Qu song si qian zai
Shei neng qi jiu yuan?
Zhong jian li yu du
Du zhao xiang shui hun.
Zi ci jing mo xie
Ji ren wang qi fan?
Lan shao kan fei cui
Yan yu ti qing yuan.
Qi zhi yun hai zhong
Jiu wan ji peng kun.
Geng lan deng yu si
Ci yi yu shei lun?
Evening Sit By the White Crane Pavilion
Wind and rain upon bamboo sounds
Pine tree sounds like big churning waves.
I sit here next to the White Crane pavilion
One-candle lantern, without any words.
Vast borders of my heart-mind silent and solitary
Have washed away the din of petty officials.
Hands in opposite sleeves, softly I chant new poems
Ashamed they are all cold and lacking.
Qu Yuan and Songyu have been dead for one thousand years
Who can arise above their gravestones?
Later Li Bai and Du Fu also laid down to rest
Qu Yuan’s lonely spirit from the depths of the Xiang River.
Naturally after they were gone, others could only compete to imitate them
How many people gaze into the distance over their front gates?
Orchid flowers cannot be compared with the green of feicui jade
Also cannot match his poem about black apes in the mists and rain.
Who knows what is inside an ocean of clouds
Thirty thousand miles away are the legendary animals peng and kun.
When the night fades away, lanterns are expected to die
Who can I share all of this with?
Notes:
White Crane Pavilion: Perhaps the one found inside the Guyi Garden in the Nanxiang district of Shanghai.
Qu Yuan: (c. 340-278 BC) Poet and politician famous for writing the poem “Li Sao” and for compiling the Chu Ci Anthology of poetry. His death is connected to the popular Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
Songyu: (289-264 BC) Some of his poems are also to be found in the Chu Ci Anthology. Famous for combining the themes of Nature and inherent Pathos. His poems also serve as origins for a number of Chinese idioms.
Xiang River: Large tributary to the Changjiang (Yangzi), and chief river in the Dong Ting Lake area.
Peng and Kun: The Kun is a giant mythological fish that can transform into a giant mythological bird, the Peng. These animals can be found in the early part of Zhuangzi’s Inner Chapters.