My sorrow is like a
whirling
gale--like a flurry of white snow.
Amy Lowell - Chinese Poets
There is only the free, clear wind
Again--again--passing over the stones of the spring.
A TRAVELLER COMES TO THE OLD TERRACE OF SU
BY LI T'AI-PO
The old Imperial Park--the ruined Terrace--the young willows.
The water-chestnut pickers are singing, a simple song unaccompanied
by instruments--but joy is unbearable.
For now the moon over the Western River is alone.
The time is past when she gazed upon the concubines in the Palace of
the King of Wu.
THEME OF THE REST-HOUSE ON THE CLEAR WAN RIVER
BY LI T'AI-PO
I love the beauty of the Wan River.
One can see its clear heart shining a hundred feet deep.
In what way does it not equal the river Hsin An?
For a thousand times eight feet one can see its bright bed,
The white sand keeps the colour of the moon.
The dark green bamboos accentuate the Autumn sounds.
Really one cannot help laughing to think that, until now, the rapid
current celebrated by Yen
Has usurped all the fame.
DRINKING SONG
BY LI T'AI-PO
Do you not see the waters of the Yellow River coming down from Heaven?
They rush with incredible speed to the sea, and they never turn and
come back again.
Do you not see, in the clear mirror of the Guest Hall, the miserable
white hair on my head?
At dawn it is like shining thread, but at sunset it is snow.
In this life, to be perfectly happy, one must drain one's pleasures;
The golden wine-cup must not stand empty opposite the moon.
Heaven put us here, we must use what we have.
Scatter a thousand ounces of silver and you are but where you were.
Boil the sheep,
Kill the ox,
Be merry.
We should drink three hundred cups at once.
Mr. Wise Gentleman Ts'en,
And you, Mr. Scholar Tan Ch'iu,
Drink, you must not stop.
I will sing one of my poems for you,
Please lean over and listen:
"Bells! Drums! Delicacies
Worth their weight in jade--
These things
Are of the slightest value.
I only want to be drunk
For ages and never wake.
The sages and worthies of old times
Have left not a sound,
Only those who drank
Have achieved lasting fame.
The King of Ch'ên, long ago, caroused
In the Hall of Peaceful Content.
They drank wine paid
At a full ten thousand a gallon;
They surpassed themselves in mirth,
And the telling of obscene stories.
How can a host say
He has very little money.
It is absolutely imperative
That he buy wine for his friends.
Horses of five colours, dappled flower horses,
Fur coats costing
A thousand ounces of silver--
He sends his son to exchange
All these for delectable wine,
So that you and I together
May drown our ancient grief. "
ANSWER TO AN AFFECTIONATE INVITATION FROM TS'UI FIFTEEN
BY LI T'AI-PO
You have the "bird's foot-print" characters.
You suggest that we drink together at the Lute Stream.
The characters you wrote are in the centre of a foot of pure white
silk,
They are like exquisite clouds dropped from Heaven.
Having finished reading, I smile at the empty air,
I feel as though my friend were before me
Reciting verses for a long time.
The characters are not faded. I shall keep them in my sleeve, and
they should last three years.
PARROT ISLAND
BY LI T'AI-PO
The parrots come, they cross the river waters of Wu.
The island in the river is called Parrot Island.
The parrots are flying West to the Dragon Mountain.
There are sweet grasses on the island, and how green, green, are
its trees!
The mists part and one can see the leaves of the spear-orchid, and
its scent is warm on the wind;
The water is embroidered and shot with the reflections of the
peach-tree blossoms growing on both banks.
Now indeed does the departing official realize the full meaning of
his banishment.
The long island--the solitary moon--facing each other in the
brightness.
THE HONOURABLE LADY CHAO
BY LI T'AI-PO
Moon over the houses of Han, over the site of Ch'in.
It flows as water--its brightness shone on Ming Fei, the "Bright
Concubine,"
Who took the road to the Jade Pass.
She went to the edge of Heaven, but she did not return;
She gave up the moon of Han, she departed from the Eastern Sea.
The "Bright Concubine" married in the West, and the day of her
returning never came.
For her beautiful painted face, there was the long, cold snow
instead of flowers.
She, with eyebrows like the antennæ of moths, pined and withered.
Her grave is in the sand of the Barbarians' country.
Because, when alive, she did not pay out yellow gold,
The portrait painted of her was distorted.
Now she is dead no one can prevent the bright green grass from
spreading over her grave,
And men weep because of it.
THINKING OF THE FRONTIER
BY LI T'AI-PO
At what season last year did my Lord leave his Unworthy One?
In the Southern garden, the butterflies were fluttering in the young
green grass.
Now, this year, at what season does the Unworthy One cherish
thoughts of her Lord?
There is white snow on the Western hills and the clouds of Ch'in are
dark.
It is three thousand _li_ from here to the Jade Barrier.
I desire to send the "harmonious writings," but how can they reach
you?
A SONG OF RESENTMENT
BY LI T'AI-PO
At fifteen, she entered the Palace of Han,
Her flower-face was like a river in Spring.
The Prince chose her of the jade colour
To attend his rest within the embroidered screen.
As she presented the pillow, she was lovely as the evening moon.
He who wears the dragon robes delighted in the sweetly scented wind
of her garments.
How was it possible for the "Flying Swallow" to snatch the Emperor's
love?
Jealousy unending! Profoundest grief which can so wound a person
And turn the black cloud head-dress to frosted thistledown!
If, for one day, our desires be not satisfied,
Verily the things of the world are nothing.
Change the duck-feather dress for sweet wine,
Cease to embroider dragons on the dresses for the wu dance.
She is chilly with bitterness,
Words cannot be endured.
For one's Lord one plays the table-lute of wu-t'ung wood with
strings of silk,
But when one's bowels are torn with grief, the strings also break.
Grief in the heart at night is anguish and despair.
PICKING WILLOW
BY LI T'AI-PO
The drooping willow brushes the very clear water,
Beautifully it flickers in this East-wind time of the year.
Its flowers are bright as the snow of the Jade Pass,
Its leaves soft as smoke against the gold window.
She, the Lovely One, bound in her long thoughts;
Facing them, her heart is burnt with grief.
Pull down a branch,
Gather the Spring colour
And send it far,
Even to that place
Before the Dragon Gate.
AUTUMN RIVER SONG
ON THE BROAD REACH
BY LI T'AI-PO
In the clear green water--the shimmering moon.
In the moonlight--white herons flying.
A young man hears a girl plucking water-chestnuts;
They paddle home together through the night, singing.
VISITING THE TAOIST PRIEST ON THE MOUNTAIN WHICH UPHOLDS HEAVEN.
HE IS ABSENT
BY LI T'AI-PO
A dog,
A dog barking.
And the sound of rushing water.
How dark and rich the peach-flowers after the rain.
Every now and then, between the trees, I see deer.
Twelve o'clock, but I hear no bell in the ravine.
Wild bamboos slit the blue-green of a cloudy sky,
The waterfall hangs against the jade-green peak.
There is no one to tell me where he has gone.
I lean against the pine-trees grieving.
REPLY TO AN UNREFINED PERSON ENCOUNTERED IN THE HILLS
BY LI T'AI-PO
He asks why I perch in the green jade hills.
I smile and do not answer. My heart is comfortable and at peace.
Fallen peach-flowers spread out widely, widely, over the water.
It is another sky and earth, not the world of man.
RECITING VERSES BY MOONLIGHT IN A WESTERN UPPER CHAMBER IN THE CITY OF
THE GOLDEN MOUND
BY LI T'AI-PO
The night is still in Chin Ling, a cool wind blows.
I am alone in a high room, gazing over Wu and Yüeh.
White clouds shine on the water and blur the reflection of the still
city.
The cold dew soaks my clothes, Autumn moonlight is damp.
In the moonlight, murmuring poems, one loses count of time.
From old days until now, people who can really see with their eyes
are few,
Those who understand and speak of a clear river as being bright as
silk.
I suggest that men meditate at length on Hsieh Hsüan Hui.
PASSING THE NIGHT AT THE WHITE HERON ISLAND
BY LI T'AI-PO
At dawn, I left the Red Bird Gate;
At sunset, I came to roost on the White Heron Island.
The image of the moon tumbles along the bright surface of the water.
The Tower above the City Gate is lost in the twinkling light of the
stars.
I gaze far off, toward my beloved, the Official of Chin Ling,
And the longing in my heart is like that for the Green Jasper Tree.
It is useless to tell my soul to dream;
When it comes back, it will feel the night turned to Autumn.
The green water understands my thoughts,
For me it flows to the Northwest.
Because of this, the sounds of my jade table-lute
Will follow the flowing of its current and carry my grief to my
friend.
ASCENDING THE THREE CHASMS
BY LI T'AI-PO
The Sorceress Mountain presses against Green Heaven.
The Serpent River runs terribly fast.
The Serpent River can be suddenly exhausted.
The time may never come when we shall arrive at the Green Heaven.
Three dawns shine upon the Yellow Ox.
Three sunsets--and we go so slowly.
Three dawns--again three sunsets--
And we do not notice that our hair is white as silk.
PARTING FROM YANG, A HILL MAN WHO IS RETURNING TO THE HIGH MOUNTAIN
BY LI T'AI-PO
There is one place which is an everlasting home to me:
The Jade Woman Peak on the High Southern Mountain.
Often, a wide, flat moonlight
Hangs upon the pines of the whirling Eastern stream.
You are going to pick the fairy grasses
And the shooting purple flower of the _ch'ang p'u_.
After a year, perhaps, you will come to see me
Riding down from the green-blue Heaven on a white dragon.
NIGHT THOUGHTS
BY LI T'AI-PO
In front of my bed the moonlight is very bright.
I wonder if that can be frost on the floor?
I lift up my head and look full at the full moon, the dazzling moon.
I drop my head, and think of the home of old days.
THE SERPENT MOUND
SENT AS A PRESENT TO CHIA THE SECRETARY
BY LI T'AI-PO
Chia, the Scholar, gazes into the West, thinking of the splendour of
the Capitol.
Although you have been transferred to the broad reaches of the river
Hsiang, you must not sigh in resentment.
The mercy of the Sainted Lord is far greater than that of Han Wên Ti.
The Princely One had pity, and did not appoint you to the station of
the Unending Sands.
ON THE SUBJECT OF OLD TAI'S WINE-SHOP
BY LI T'AI-PO
Old Tai is gone down to the Yellow Springs.
Yet he must still wish to make "Great Spring Wine. "
There is no Li Po on the terrace of Eternal Darkness.
To whom, then, will he sell his wine?
DRINKING IN THE T'AO PAVILION
BY LI T'AI-PO
The house of the lonely scholar is in the winding lane.
The great scholar's gate is very high.
The garden pool lies and shines like the magic gall mirror;
Groves of trees throw up flowers with wide, open faces;
The leaf-coloured water draws the Spring sun.
Sitting in the green, covered passage-way, watching the strange, red
clouds of evening,
Listening to the lovely music of flageolets and strings,
The Golden Valley is not much to boast of.
A SONG FOR THE HOUR WHEN THE CROWS ROOST
BY LI T'AI-PO
This is the hour when the crows come to roost on the Ku Su Terrace.
In his Palace, the King of Wu is drinking with Hsi Shih.
Songs of Wu--posturings of Ch'u dances--and yet the revels are not
finished.
But already the bright hills hold half of the sun between their lips,
The silver-white arrow-tablet above the gold-coloured brass jar of
the water-clock marks the dripping of much water,
And, rising, one can see the Autumn moon sliding beneath the ripples
of the river,
While slowly the sun mounts in the East--
What hope for the revels now?
POEM SENT TO THE OFFICIAL WANG OF HAN YANG
BY LI T'AI-PO
The Autumn moon was white upon the Southern Lake.
That night the Official Wang sent me an invitation.
Behind the embroidered bed-curtain lay the Official Secretary--drunk.
The woven dresses of the beautiful girls who performed the wu dance
took charming lines,
The shrill notes of the bamboo flute reached to Mien and O,
The phrases of the songs rose up to the silent clouds.
Now that we are parted, I grieve.
We think of each other a single piece of water distant.
DRINKING ALONE ON THE ROCK IN THE RIVER OF THE CLEAR STREAM
BY LI T'AI-PO
I have a flagon of wine in my hand.
I am alone on the Ancestor Rock in the river.
Since the time when Heaven and Earth were divided,
How many thousand feet has the rock grown?
I lift my cup to Heaven and smile.
Heaven turns round, the sun shines in the West.
I am willing to sit on this rock forever,
Perpetually casting my fish-line like Yen Ling.
Send and ask the man in the midst of the hills
Whether we are not in harmony, both pursuing the same thing.
A FAREWELL BANQUET TO MY FATHER'S YOUNGER BROTHER YÜN, THE IMPERIAL
LIBRARIAN
BY LI T'AI-PO
When I was young, I spent the white days lavishly.
I sang--I laughed--I boasted of my ruddy face.
I do not realize that now, suddenly, I am old.
With joy I see the Spring wind return.
It is a pity that we must part, but let us make the best of it and
be happy.
We walk to and fro among the peach-trees and plum-trees.
We look at the flowers and drink excellent wine.
We listen to the birds and climb a little way up the bright hills.
Soon evening comes and the bamboo grove is silent.
There is no one--I shut my door.
IN THE PROVINCE OF LU, TO THE EAST OF THE STONE GATE MOUNTAIN, TAKING
LEAVE OF TU FU
BY LI T'AI-PO
When drunk, we were divided; but we have been together again for
several days.
We have climbed everywhere, to every pool and ledge.
When, on the Stone Gate Road,
Shall we pour from the golden flagon again?
The Autumn leaves drop into the Four Waters,
The Ch'u Mountain is brightly reflected in the colour of the lake.
We are flying like thistledown, each to a different distance;
Pending this, we drain the cups in our hands.
THE MOON OVER THE MOUNTAIN PASS
BY LI T'AI-PO
The bright moon rises behind the Heaven-high Mountain,
A sea of clouds blows along the pale, wide sky.
The far-off wind has come from nearly ten thousand _li_,
It has blown across the Jade Gate Pass.
Down the Po Têng Road went the people of Han
To waylay the men of Hu beside the Bright Green Bay.
From the beginning, of those who go into battle,
Not one man is seen returning.
The exiled Official gazes at the frontier town,
He thinks of his return home, and his face is very bitter.
Surely to-night, in the distant cupola,
He sighs, and draws heavy breaths. How then can rest be his?
THE TAKING-UP OF ARMS
BY LI T'AI-PO
A hundred battles, the sandy fields of battles, armour broken into
fragments.
To the South of the city they are already shut in and surrounded by
many layers of men.
They rush out from their cantonments. They shoot and kill the
General of the Barbarians.
A single officer leads the routed soldiers of the "Thousand
Horsemen" returning whence they came.
A SONG OF THE REST-HOUSE OF DEEP TROUBLE
BY LI T'AI-PO
At Chin Ling, the tavern where travellers part is called the
Rest-House of Deep Trouble.
The creeping grass spreads far, far, from the roadside where it
started.
There is no end to the ancient sorrow, as water flows to the East.
Grief is in the wind of this place, burning grief in the white aspen.
Like K'ang Lo I climb on board the dull travelling boat.
I hum softly "On the Clear Streams Flies the Night Frost. "
It is said that, long ago, on the Ox Island Hill, songs were sung
which blended the five colours.
Now do I not equal Hsieh, and the youth of the House of Yüan?
The bitter bamboos make a cold sound, swaying in the Autumn moonlight.
I pass the night alone, desolate behind the reed-blinds, and dream
of returning to my distant home.
THE "LOOKING-FOR-HUSBAND" ROCK
BY LI T'AI-PO
In the attitude, and with the manner, of the woman of old,
Full of grief, she stands in the glorious morning light.
The dew is like the tears of to-day;
The mosses like the garments of years ago.
Her resentment is that of the Woman of the Hsiang River;
Her silence that of the concubine of the King of Ch'u.
Still and solitary in the sweet-scented mist,
As if waiting for her husband's return.
AFTER BEING SEPARATED FOR A LONG TIME
BY LI T'AI-PO
How many Springs have we been apart? You do not come home.
Five times have I seen the cherry-blossoms from the jade window,
Besides there are the "embroidered character letters. "
You must sigh as you break the seals.
When this happens, the agony of my longing must stop your heart.
I have ceased to wear the cloud head-dress. I have stopped combing
and dressing the green-black hair on my temples.
My sorrow is like a whirling gale--like a flurry of white snow.
Last year I sent a letter to the Hill of the Bright Ledge telling
you these things;
The letter I send this year will again implore you.
East wind--Oh-h-h-h!
East wind, blow for me.
Make the floating cloud come Westward.
I wait his coming, and he does not come.
The fallen flower lies quietly, quietly, thrown upon the green moss.
BITTER JEALOUSY IN THE PALACE OF THE HIGH GATE
BY LI T'AI-PO
I
The Heavens have revolved. The "Northern Measure" hangs above the
Western wing.
In the Gold House, there is no one; fireflies flit to and fro.
Moonlight seeks to enter the Palace of the High Gate,
To one in the centre of the Palace it brings an added grief.
II
Unending grief in the Cassia Hall. Spring is forgotten.
Autumn dust rises up on the four sides of the Yellow Gold House.
At night, the bright mirror hangs against a dark sky;
It shines upon the solitary one in the Palace of the High Gate.
ETERNALLY THINKING OF EACH OTHER
BY LI T'AI-PO
(_The Woman Speaks_)
The colour of the day is over; flowers hold the mist in their lips.
The bright moon is like glistening silk. I cannot sleep for grief.
The tones of the Chao psaltery begin and end on the bridge of the
silver-crested love-pheasant.
I wish I could play my Shu table-lute on the mandarin duck strings.
The meaning of this music--there is no one to receive it.
I desire my thoughts to follow the Spring wind, even to the Swallow
Mountains.
I think of my Lord far, far away, remote as the Green Heaven.
In old days, my eyes were like horizontal waves;
Now they flow, a spring of tears.
If you do not believe that the bowels of your Unworthy One are torn
and severed,
Return and take up the bright mirror I was wont to use.
(_The Man Speaks_)
We think of each other eternally.
My thoughts are at Ch'ang An.
The Autumn cricket chirps beside the railing of the Golden Well;
The light frost is chilly, chilly; the colour of the bamboo sleeping
mat is cold.
The neglected lamp does not burn brightly. My thoughts seem broken
off.
I roll up the long curtain and look at the moon--it is useless, I
sigh continually.
The Beautiful, Flower-like One is as far from me as the distance of
the clouds.
Above is the brilliant darkness of a high sky,
Below is the rippling surface of the clear water.
Heaven is far and the road to it is long; it is difficult for a
man's soul to compass it in flight.
Even in a dream my spirit cannot cross the grievous barrier of hills.
We think of each other eternally.
My heart and my liver are snapped in two.
PASSIONATE GRIEF
BY LI T'AI-PO
Beautiful is this woman who rolls up the pearl-reed blind.
She sits in an inner chamber,
And her eyebrows, delicate as a moth's antennæ,
Are drawn with grief.
One sees only the wet lines of tears.
For whom does she suffer this misery?
We do not know.
SUNG TO THE AIR: "THE MANTZŬ LIKE AN IDOL"
BY LI T'AI-PO
The trees in the level forest stand in rows and rows,
The mist weaves through them.
The jade-green of the cold hillside country hurts one's heart.
Night colour drifts into the high cupola.
In the cupola, a man grieves.
I stand--stand--on the jade steps, doing nothing.
The birds are flying quickly to roost.
There is the road I should follow if I were going home.
Instead, for me, the "long" rest-houses alternate with the "short"
rest-houses.
AT THE YELLOW CRANE TOWER, TAKING LEAVE OF MÊNG HAO JAN ON HIS DEPARTURE
TO KUANG LING
BY LI T'AI-PO
I take leave of my dear old friend at the Yellow Crane Tower.
In the flower-smelling mist of the Third Month he will arrive at
Yang Chou.
The single sail is shining far off--it is extinguished in the
jade-coloured distance,
I see only the long river flowing to the edge of Heaven.
IN DEEP THOUGHT, GAZING AT THE MOON
BY LI T'AI-PO
The clear spring reflects the thin, wide-spreading pine-tree--
And for how many thousand, thousand years?
No one knows.
The late Autumn moon shivers along the little water ripples,
The brilliance of it flows in through the window.
Before it I sit for a long time absent-mindedly chanting,
Thinking of my friend--
What deep thoughts!
There is no way to see him. How then can we speak together?
Joy is dead. Sorrow is the heart of man.
THOUGHTS FROM A THOUSAND LI
BY LI T'AI-PO
Li Ling is buried in the sands of Hu.
Su Wu has returned to the homes of Han.
Far, far, the Five Spring Pass,
Sorrowful to see the flower-like snow.
He is gone, separated, by a distant country,
But his thoughts return,
Long sighing in grief.
Toward the Northwest
Wild geese are flying.
If I sent a letter--so--to the edge of Heaven.
WORD-PATTERN
BY LI T'AI-PO
The Autumn wind is fresh and clear;
The Autumn moon is bright.
Fallen leaves whirl together and scatter.
The jackdaws, who have gone to roost, are startled again.
We are thinking of each other, but when shall we see each other?
Now, to-night, I suffer, because of my passion.
THE HEAVEN'S GATE MOUNTAINS
BY LI T'AI-PO
In the far distance, the mountains seem to rise out of the river;
Two peaks, standing opposite each other, make a natural gateway.
The cold colour of the pines is reflected between the river-banks,
Stones divide the current and shiver the wave-flowers to fragments.
Far off, at the border of Heaven, is the uneven line of
mountain-pinnacles;
Beyond, the bright sky is a blur of rose-tinted clouds.
The sun sets, and the boat goes on and on--
As I turn my head, the mountains sink down into the brilliance of
the cloud-covered sky.
POEM SENT ON HEARING THAT WANG CH'ANG-LING HAD BEEN EXILED TO LUNG PIAO
BY LI T'AI-PO
In Yang Chou, the blossoms are dropping. The night-jar calls.
I hear it said that you are going to Lung Piao--that you will cross
the Five Streams.
I fling the grief of my heart up to the bright moon
That it may follow the wind and arrive, straight as eyesight, to the
West of Yeh Lang.
A PARTING GIFT TO WANG LUN
BY LI T'AI-PO
Li Po gets into a small boat--he is on the point of starting.
Suddenly he hears footsteps on the bank and the sound of singing.
The Peach-Flower Pool is a thousand feet deep,
Yet it is not greater than the emotion of Wang Lun as he takes leave
of me.
SAYING GOOD-BYE TO A FRIEND WHO IS GOING ON AN EXCURSION TO THE
PLUM-FLOWER LAKE
BY LI T'AI-PO
I bid you good-bye, my friend, as you are going on an excursion to
the Plum-Flower Lake.
You should see the plum-blossoms open;
It is understood that you hire a person to bring me some.
You must not permit the rose-red fragrance to fade.
You will only be at the New Forest Reach a little time,
Since we have agreed to drink at the City of the Golden Mound at
full moon.
Nevertheless you must not omit the wild-goose letter,
Or else our knowledge of each other will be as the dust of Hu to the
dust of Yüeh.
A POEM SENT TO TU FU FROM SHA CH'IU CH'ÊNG
BY LI T'AI-PO
After all, what have I come here to do?
To lie and meditate at Sha Ch'iu Ch'êng.
Near the city are ancient trees,
And day and night are continuous with Autumn noises.
One cannot get drunk on Lu wine,
The songs of Ch'i have no power to excite emotion.
I think of my friend, and my thoughts are like the Wên River,
Mightily moving, directed toward the South.
BIDDING GOOD-BYE TO YIN SHU
BY LI T'AI-PO
Before the White Heron Island--the moon.
At dawn to-morrow I shall bid good-bye to the returning traveller.
The sky is growing bright,
The sun is behind the Green Dragon Hill;
Head high it pushes out of the sea clouds and appears.
Flowing water runs without emotions,
The sail which will carry him away meets the wind and fills.
We watch it together. We cannot bear to be separated.
Again we pledge each other from the cups we hold in our hands.
A DESULTORY VISIT TO THE FÊNG HSIEN TEMPLE AT THE DRAGON'S GATE
BY TU FU
I had already wandered away from the People's Temple,
But I was obliged to sleep within the temple precincts.
The dark ravine was full of the music of silence,
The moon scattered bright shadows through the forest.
The Great Gate against the sky seemed to impinge upon the paths of
the planets.
Sleeping among the clouds, my upper garments, my lower garments,
were cold.
Wishing to wake, I heard the sunrise bell
Commanding men to come forth and examine themselves in meditation.
THE THATCHED HOUSE UNROOFED BY AN AUTUMN GALE
BY TU FU
It is the Eighth Month, the very height of Autumn.
The wind rages and roars.
It tears off three layers of my grass-roof.
The thatch flies--it crosses the river--it is scattered about in the
open spaces by the river.
High-flying, it hangs, tangled and floating, from the tops of forest
trees;
Low-flying, it whirls--turns--and sinks into the hollows of the
marsh.
The swarm of small boys from the South Village laugh at me because I
am old and feeble.
How dare they act like thieves and robbers before my face,
Openly seizing my thatch and running into my bamboo grove?
My lips are scorched, my mouth dry, I scream at them, but to no
purpose.
I return, leaning on my staff. I sigh and breathe heavily.
Presently, of a sudden, the wind ceases. The clouds are the colour
of ink.
The Autumn sky is endless--endless--stretching toward dusk and
night.
My old cotton quilt is as cold as iron;
My restless son sleeps a troubled sleep, his moving foot tears the
quilt.
Over the head of the bed is a leak. Not a place is dry.
The rain streams and stands like hemp--there is no break in its
falling.
Since this misery and confusion, I have scarcely slept or dozed.
All the long night, I am soaking wet. When will the light begin to
sift in?
If one could have a great house of one thousand, ten thousand
rooms--
A great shelter where all the Empire's shivering scholars could have
happy faces--
Not moved by wind or rain, solid as a mountain--
Alas! When shall I see that house standing before my eyes?
Then, although my own hut were destroyed, although I might freeze
and die, I should be satisfied.
THE RIVER VILLAGE
BY TU FU
The river makes a bend and encircles the village with its current.
All the long Summer, the affairs and occupations of the river
village are quiet and simple.
The swallows who nest in the beams go and come as they please.
The gulls in the middle of the river enjoy one another, they crowd
together and touch one another.
My old wife paints a chess-board on paper.
My little sons hammer needles to make fish-hooks.
I have many illnesses, therefore my only necessities are medicines;
Besides these, what more can so humble a man as I ask?
THE EXCURSION
A NUMBER OF YOUNG GENTLEMEN OF RANK, ACCOMPANIED BY SINGING-GIRLS, GO
OUT TO ENJOY THE COOL OF EVENING. THEY ENCOUNTER A SHOWER OF RAIN
BY TU FU
I
How delightful, at sunset, to loosen the boat!
A light wind is slow to raise waves.
Deep in the bamboo grove, the guests linger;
The lotus-flowers are pure and bright in the cool evening air.
The young nobles stir the ice-water;
The Beautiful Ones wash the lotus-roots, whose fibres are like silk
threads.
A layer of clouds above our heads is black.
It will certainly rain, which impels me to write this poem.
II
The rain comes, soaking the mats upon which we are sitting.
A hurrying wind strikes the bow of the boat.
The rose-red rouge of the ladies from Yüeh is wet;
The Yen beauties are anxious about their kingfisher-eyebrows.
We throw out a rope and draw in to the sloping bank. We tie the boat
to the willow-trees.
We roll up the curtains and watch the floating wave-flowers.
Our return is different from our setting out. The wind whistles and
blows in great gusts.
By the time we reach the shore, it seems as though the Fifth Month
were Autumn.
THE RECRUITING OFFICERS AT THE VILLAGE OF THE STONE MOAT
BY TU FU
I sought a lodging for the night, at sunset, in the Stone Moat
Village.
Recruiting Officers, who seize people by night, were there.
A venerable old man climbed over the wall and fled.
An old woman came out of the door and peered.
What rage in the shouts of the Recruiting Officers!
What bitterness in the weeping of the old woman!
I heard the words of the woman as she pled her cause before them:
"My three sons are with the frontier guard at Yeh Ch'êng.
From one son I have received a letter.
A little while ago, two sons died in battle.
He who remains has stolen a temporary lease of life;
The dead are finished forever.
In the house, there is still no grown man,
Only my grandson at the breast.
The mother of my grandson has not gone,
Going out, coming in, she has not a single whole skirt.
I am an old, old woman, and my strength is failing,
But I beg to go with the Recruiting Officers when they return this
night.
I will eagerly agree to act as a servant at Ho Yang;
I am still able to prepare the early morning meal. "
The sound of words ceased in the long night,
It was as though I heard the darkness choke with tears.
At daybreak, I went on my way,
Only the venerable old man was left.
CROSSING THE FRONTIER
BY TU FU
I
When bows are bent, they should be bent strongly;
When arrows are used, they should be long.
The bow-men should first shoot the horses.
In taking the enemy prisoner, the Leader should first be taken;
There should be no limit to the killing of men.
In making a kingdom, there must naturally be a boundary.
If it were possible to regulate usurpation,
Would so many be killed and wounded?
CROSSING THE FRONTIER
BY TU FU
II
At dawn, the conscripted soldiers enter the camp outside the Eastern
Gate.
At sunset, they cross the bridge of Ho Yang.
The setting sunlight is reflected on the great flags.
Horses neigh. The wind whines--whines--
Ten thousand tents are spread along the level sand.
Officers instruct their companies.
The bright moon hangs in the middle of the sky.
The written orders are strict that the night shall be still and empty.
Sadness everywhere. A few sounds from a Mongol flageolet jar the air.
The strong soldiers are no longer proud, they quiver with sadness.
May one ask who is their General?
Perhaps it is Ho P'iao Yao.
THE SORCERESS GORGE
BY TU FU
Jade dew lies upon the withered and wounded forest of maple-trees.
On the Sorceress Hill, over the Sorceress Gorge, the mist is
desolate and dark.
The ripples of the river increase into waves and blur with the
rapidly flowing sky.
The wind-clouds at the horizon become confused with the Earth.
Darkness.
The myriad chrysanthemums have bloomed twice. Days to come--tears.
The solitary little boat is moored, but my heart is in the old-time
garden.
Everywhere people are hastening to measure and cut out their Winter
clothes.
At sunset, in the high City of the White Emperor, the hurried
pounding of washed garments.
THINKING OF LI PO ON A SPRING DAY
BY TU FU
The poems of Po are unequalled.
His thoughts are never categorical, but fly high in the wind.
His poems are clear and fresh as those of Yü, the official;
They are fine and easy as those of Pao, the military counsellor.
I am North of the river Wei, looking at the Spring trees;
You are East of the river, watching the sunset clouds.
When shall we meet over a jug of wine?
When shall I have another precious discussion of literature with you?
