Meng Haoran: At the Li Family Forested Garden, Lying Down Sick

 

[updated September 2022]

 

At the Li Family Forested Garden, Lying Down Sick

 

李 氏 园 林 卧 疾
我 爱 陶 家 趣
林 园 無 俗 情。
春 雷 百 卉 坼
寒 食 四 邻 情。
伏 枕 嗟 公 幹
归 山 羡 子 平。
年 年 白 社 客
空 滞 洛 阳 城。

 

Li Shi Yuan Lin Wo Ji

Wo ai tao jia qu
Lin yuan wu su qing.
Chun lei bai hui che
Han shi si lin qing.

Fu zhen jie gong gan
Gui shan xian zi ping.
Nian nian bai she ke
Kong zhi luo yang cheng.

 

At the Li Family Forested Garden, Lying Down Sick

I love this Tao Yuanming-like home of rural seclusion
This forested garden without the mass culture emotions.
Spring thunder, numerous grasses emerge
Neighborhood quiet during the four Cold Food days.

Lie on pillows, lament Gong Gan
Jealous of Zi Ping returning to the mountains.
Every year a traveler, like Dong Jing stuck in the poor suburbs
Empty and stagnant outside the city of Luoyang.

 

Notes:

Tao Yuanming:  (365-427). His poetry and biographical information can also be found at this website.

Cold Food Days:  Originally began to honor the death of a Jin nobleman, Jie Zitui. In present day, no hot food is prepared on or around the Qing Ming Festival. It is also a metaphor for the virtues of self-sacrifice and loyalty.