CHINESE CHINESE
POEMS and LYRICS
CHINESE POEMS translated in English by YK Kwan
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17 poems of Tang Dynasty, 4 lyrics of Tang Dynasty, 6 lyrics of Five Dynasties, and 27 lyrics of Song |
Song of Peach Spring
by Wang Wei
translated by YK Kwan
Note: This lyric is based on the story written by Tao Yuan-ming (364-427)
My fishing boat follows the river and I love the mountain scene,
Peach blossoms are on both banks of this ancient stream.
Admiring the florid bushes, I lost how far I’m bound,
At the end of the stream I see no one around.
The cave ingress that I creep in is dim and narrow,
Then all of a sudden it opens onto a wide meadow.
Into the distance, there are clusters of trees,
Nearer, villages of houses and bamboos, one sees.
From me, villagers only first heard of Han and later times,
Their attires, unchanged, are still of Qin’s kind.
Beyond this spring of Wuling they settled and founded a home,
Tending gardens and fields in a paradise of their own.
With the moon behind the pines, it’s all quiet and calm,
When it shines, the roosters crow and dogs bark in the farm.
Surprised to see this outsider they gather around,
Eager to bring me to their homes,
For tales of my country and hometown.
In daytime they sweep their alleys under the flowers,
Their fishing folks return from the stream in evening hours.
They first deserted their land and villages, war-torn,
Finding this fairyland they never returned.
World affairs changed and they knew not,
Their place was only clouds in the mountains, we thought.
Seeing this paradise I should have stayed behind,
However I couldn’t yet cut my earthly ties.
Back home my thoughts linger on this cave and land,
Bidding my family farewell, I retrace my footsteps again.
I thought I’d been there and should know my way,
But the peaks and ravines look different nowadays.
I only knew, deep into the mountain I hiked,
Passing several streams with a foggy forest in sight.
In springtime peach blossoms and water are everywhere,
Now there is no way for me to find this paradise fair.
Animation of the story 'The Tale of the Peach Blossom Spring' part 1
Animation of the story 'The Tale of the Peach Blossom Spring' part 2
Animation of the story 'The Tale of the Peach Blossom Spring' part 3
桃 源 行 王 維
漁 舟 逐 水 愛 山 春 ,
两 岸 桃 花 夾 古 津。
坐 看 紅 樹 不 知 遠 ,
行 盡 青 溪 不 值 人。
山 口 潛 行 始 隈 隩,
山 開 曠 望 旋 平 陸。
遙 看 一 處 攢 雲 樹,
近 入 千 家 散 花 竹。
樵 客 初 傳 漢 姓 名,
驚 聞 俗 客 争 來 集,
競 引 還 家 問 都 邑。
平 明 閭 巷 掃 花 開,
薄 暮 漁 樵 乘 水 入。
初 因 避 地 去 人 間,
更 問 神 仙 遂 不 還。
峽 里 誰 知 有 人 事,
世 中 遙 望 空 雲 山。
不 疑 靈 境 難 聞 見,
塵 心 未 盡 思 鄉 縣。
出 洞 無 論 隔 水 山,
辭 家 終 擬 長 游 衍。
自 謂 經 過 舊 不 迷,
安 知 峰 壑 今 來 變。
當 時 只 記 入 山 深,
青 溪 幾 度 到 雲 林。
春 來 遍 地 桃 花 水,
不 辨 仙 源 何 處 尋。
by Wang Wei
translated by YK Kwan
Note: This lyric is based on the story written by Tao Yuan-ming (364-427)
My fishing boat follows the river and I love the mountain scene,
Peach blossoms are on both banks of this ancient stream.
Admiring the florid bushes, I lost how far I’m bound,
At the end of the stream I see no one around.
The cave ingress that I creep in is dim and narrow,
Then all of a sudden it opens onto a wide meadow.
Into the distance, there are clusters of trees,
Nearer, villages of houses and bamboos, one sees.
From me, villagers only first heard of Han and later times,
Their attires, unchanged, are still of Qin’s kind.
Beyond this spring of Wuling they settled and founded a home,
Tending gardens and fields in a paradise of their own.
With the moon behind the pines, it’s all quiet and calm,
When it shines, the roosters crow and dogs bark in the farm.
Surprised to see this outsider they gather around,
Eager to bring me to their homes,
For tales of my country and hometown.
In daytime they sweep their alleys under the flowers,
Their fishing folks return from the stream in evening hours.
They first deserted their land and villages, war-torn,
Finding this fairyland they never returned.
World affairs changed and they knew not,
Their place was only clouds in the mountains, we thought.
Seeing this paradise I should have stayed behind,
However I couldn’t yet cut my earthly ties.
Back home my thoughts linger on this cave and land,
Bidding my family farewell, I retrace my footsteps again.
I thought I’d been there and should know my way,
But the peaks and ravines look different nowadays.
I only knew, deep into the mountain I hiked,
Passing several streams with a foggy forest in sight.
In springtime peach blossoms and water are everywhere,
Now there is no way for me to find this paradise fair.
Animation of the story 'The Tale of the Peach Blossom Spring' part 1
Animation of the story 'The Tale of the Peach Blossom Spring' part 2
Animation of the story 'The Tale of the Peach Blossom Spring' part 3
桃 源 行 王 維
漁 舟 逐 水 愛 山 春 ,
两 岸 桃 花 夾 古 津。
坐 看 紅 樹 不 知 遠 ,
行 盡 青 溪 不 值 人。
山 口 潛 行 始 隈 隩,
山 開 曠 望 旋 平 陸。
遙 看 一 處 攢 雲 樹,
近 入 千 家 散 花 竹。
樵 客 初 傳 漢 姓 名,
驚 聞 俗 客 争 來 集,
競 引 還 家 問 都 邑。
平 明 閭 巷 掃 花 開,
薄 暮 漁 樵 乘 水 入。
初 因 避 地 去 人 間,
更 問 神 仙 遂 不 還。
峽 里 誰 知 有 人 事,
世 中 遙 望 空 雲 山。
不 疑 靈 境 難 聞 見,
塵 心 未 盡 思 鄉 縣。
出 洞 無 論 隔 水 山,
辭 家 終 擬 長 游 衍。
自 謂 經 過 舊 不 迷,
安 知 峰 壑 今 來 變。
當 時 只 記 入 山 深,
青 溪 幾 度 到 雲 林。
春 來 遍 地 桃 花 水,
不 辨 仙 源 何 處 尋。
A GLIMPSE OF CHINESE POETRY by YN Yiu Copyright © 2010