Three Hundred Tang Poems (1-50)

Introduction
The Three Hundred Tang Poems (Tang shi sanbai shou, 唐詩三百首) were compiled by the Qing scholar Sun Zhu 孫洙, also called Hengtang Tuishi 衡塘退士 "Retired Master of Hengtang", and published in 1764. Sun was not very pleased with the poems of the anthology Qianjiashi 千家詩 "A thousand master's poems" (late Southern Song) because of its lack of educational spirit. His own compilation became so popular that it is enclosed in a corpus of books that are found in almost every household still today. Sun's intention was to elect poems that serve to cultivate the character of the reader. Today, there exist some new compositions of three hundred Tang poems containing different opera, because the Qing time attitude to poetry as educational instrument has changed until today. Sun Zhu has divided his anthology into six different styles, comprising old style poems (gushi, 古詩), regular poems (lüshi 律詩) and short poems (jueju, 絕句), both with five and seven syllable verses. Between the particular sections, poems in the style of the old Han Music Bureau (yuefu, 樂府) are inserted that were still in use during the Tang Dynasty but gradually lost their original character and disappeared during the latter half of Tang.

In Chinese literature, the Tang period (618-907) is considered the golden age of Chinese poetry. Tang Shi San Bai Shou [300 Tang Poems] is a compilation of poems from this period made around 1763 by Heng-tang-tui-shi [Sun Zhu] of the Qing dynasty. Sun's motivation for compiling the collection sprang from his dissatisfaction with the then popular textbook, the Qian Jia Shi [Poems by A Thousand Poets], an earlier collection from the Tang and Sung (960-1279) periods . Sun made his own selection of Tang poems based on their popularity and effectiveness in cultivating character. Because it represented equally well each of the classical poetic forms and because it represented the best works by the most prominent Tang poets, Sun's collection became a "best seller" soon after its publication. It has been used for centuries since to teach elementary students to read and write, and also in cultivating character. Sun's collection is still a classic today, its popularity undiminished. Nearly every Chinese household owns a copy of Tang Shi and poems from it are still included in textbooks and to be memorized by students. We would like to make this World Wide Web version of the poems as a testimony to its compiler's intent : " Learning Tang poems three hundred by heart, you can chant poems though you know not the art ."

001
五言古詩
張九齡
感遇其一
孤鴻海上來， 池潢不敢顧； 側見雙翠鳥， 巢在三珠樹。 矯矯珍木巔， 得無金丸懼？ 美服患人指， 高明逼神惡。 今我遊冥冥， 弋者何所慕？

Five-character-ancient-verse
Zhang Jiuling
THOUGHTS I
A lonely swan from the sea flies, To alight on puddles it does not deign. Nesting in the poplar of pearls It spies and questions green birds twain: "Don't you fear the threat of slings, Perched on top of branches so high? Nice clothes invite pointing fingers, High climbers god's good will defy. Bird-hunters will crave me in vain, For I roam the limitless sky."

002
五言古詩
張九齡
感遇其二
蘭葉春葳蕤， 桂華秋皎潔； 欣欣此生意， 自爾為佳節。 誰知林棲者？ 聞風坐相悅， 草木有本心， 何求美人折？

Five-character-ancient-verse
Zhang Jiuling
ORCHID AND ORANGE I
Tender orchid-leaves in spring And cinnamon- blossoms bright in autumn Are as self- contained as life is, Which conforms them to the seasons. Yet why will you think that a forest-hermit, Allured by sweet winds and contented with beauty, Would no more ask to-be transplanted THan Would any other natural flower?

003
五言古詩
張九齡
感遇其三
幽人歸獨臥， 滯慮洗孤清， 持此謝高鳥， 因之傳遠情。 日夕懷空意， 人誰感至精？ 飛沈理自隔， 何所慰吾誠？

Five-character-ancient-verse
Zhang Jiuling
THOUGHTS III
The hermit in his lone abode Nurses his thoughts cleansed of care, Them he projects to the wild goose For it to his distant Sovereign to bear. Who will be moved by the sincerity Of my vain day-and-night prayer? What comfort is for my loyalty When fliers and sinkers can compare?

004
五言古詩
張九齡
感遇其四
江南有丹橘， 經冬猶綠林； 豈伊地氣暖？ 自有歲寒心。 可以薦嘉客， 奈何阻重深？ 運命惟所遇， 循環不可尋。 徒言樹桃李， 此木豈無陰？

Five-character-ancient-verse
Zhang Jiuling
ORCHID AND ORANGE II
Here, south of the Yangzi, grows a red orangetree. All winter long its leaves are green, Not because of a warmer soil, But because its' nature is used to the cold. Though it might serve your honourable guests, You leave it here, far below mountain and river. Circumstance governs destiny. Cause and effect are an infinite cycle. You plant your peach-trees and your plums, You forget the shade from this other tree.

005
五言古詩
李白
下終南山過斛斯山人宿置酒
暮從碧山下， 山月隨人歸； 卻顧所來徑， 蒼蒼橫翠微。 相攜及田家， 童稚開荊扉； 綠竹入幽徑， 青蘿拂行衣。 歡言得所憩， 美酒聊共揮； 長歌吟松風， 曲盡河星稀。 我醉君復樂， 陶然共忘機。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Li Bai
DOWN ZHONGNAN MOUNTAIN TO THE KIND PILLOW AND BOWL OF HUSI
Down the blue mountain in the evening, Moonlight was my homeward escort. Looking back, I saw my path Lie in levels of deep shadow.... I was passing the farm-house of a friend, When his children called from a gate of thorn And led me twining through jade bamboos Where green vines caught and held my clothes. And I was glad of a chance to rest And glad of a chance to drink with my friend.... We sang to the tune of the wind in the pines; And we finished our songs as the stars went down, When, I being drunk and my friend more than happy, Between us we forgot the world.

006
五言古詩
李白
月下獨酌
花間一壺酒， 獨酌無相親； 舉杯邀明月， 對影成三人。 月既不解飲， 影徒隨我身； 暫伴月將影， 行樂須及春。 我歌月徘徊， 我舞影零亂； 醒時同交歡， 醉後各分散。 永結無情遊， 相期邈雲漢。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Li Bai
DRINKING ALONE WITH THE MOON
From a pot of wine among the flowers I drank alone. There was no one with me -- Till, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon To bring me my shadow and make us three. Alas, the moon was unable to drink And my shadow tagged me vacantly; But still for a while I had these friends To cheer me through the end of spring.... I sang. The moon encouraged me. I danced. My shadow tumbled after. As long as I knew, we were boon companions. And then I was drunk, and we lost one another. ...Shall goodwill ever be secure? I watch the long road of the River of Stars.

007
五言古詩
李白
春思
燕草如碧絲， 秦桑低綠枝； 當君懷歸日， 是妾斷腸時。 春風不相識， 何事入羅幃？

Five-character-ancient-verse
Li Bai
IN SPRING
Your grasses up north are as blue as jade, Our mulberries here curve green-threaded branches; And at last you think of returning home, Now when my heart is almost broken.... O breeze of the spring, since I dare not know you, Why part the silk curtains by my bed?

008
五言古詩
杜甫
望嶽
岱宗夫如何？ 齊魯青未了。 造化鍾神秀， 陰陽割昏曉。 盪胸生層雲， 決眥入歸鳥。 會當凌絕頂， 一覽眾山小。
又作岳

Five-character-ancient-verse
Du Fu
A VIEW OF TAISHAN
What shall I say of the Great Peak? -- The ancient dukedoms are everywhere green, Inspired and stirred by the breath of creation, With the Twin Forces balancing day and night. ...I bare my breast toward opening clouds, I strain my sight after birds flying home. When shall I reach the top and hold All mountains in a single glance?

009
五言古詩
杜甫
贈衛八處士
人生不相見， 動如參與商， 今夕復何夕？ 共此燈燭光。 少壯能幾時？ 鬢髮各已蒼。 訪舊半為鬼， 驚呼熱中腸。 焉知二十載， 重上君子堂。 昔別君未婚， 兒女忽成行； 怡然敬父執， 問我來何方。 問答乃未已， 驅兒羅酒漿。 夜雨剪春韭， 新炊間黃粱。 主稱會面難， 一舉累十觴； 十觴亦不醉， 感子故意長。 明日隔山岳， 世事兩茫茫。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Du Fu
TO MY RETIRED FRIEND WEI
It is almost as hard for friends to meet As for the morning and evening stars. Tonight then is a rare event, Joining, in the candlelight, Two men who were young not long ago But now are turning grey at the temples. ...To find that half our friends are dead Shocks us, burns our hearts with grief. We little guessed it would be twenty years Before I could visit you again. When I went away, you were still unmarried; But now these boys and girls in a row Are very kind to their father's old friend. They ask me where I have been on my journey; And then, when we have talked awhile, They bring and show me wines and dishes, Spring chives cut in the night-rain And brown rice cooked freshly a special way. ...My host proclaims it a festival, He urges me to drink ten cups -- But what ten cups could make me as drunk As I always am with your love in my heart? ...Tomorrow the mountains will separate us; After tomorrow-who can say?

010
五言古詩
杜甫
佳人
絕代有佳人， 幽居在空谷； 自云良家子， 零落依草木。 關中昔喪亂， 兄弟遭殺戮； 官高何足論？ 不得收骨肉。 世情惡衰歇， 萬事隨轉燭。 夫婿輕薄兒， 新人美如玉。 合昏尚知時， 鴛鴦不獨宿； 但見新人笑， 那聞舊人哭？ 在山泉水清， 出山泉水濁。 侍婢賣珠迴， 牽蘿補茅屋。 摘花不插髮， 采柏動盈掬。 天寒翠袖薄， 日暮倚修竹。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Du Fu
ALONE IN HER BEAUTY
Who is lovelier than she? Yet she lives alone in an empty valley. She tells me she came from a good family Which is humbled now into the dust. ...When trouble arose in the Kuan district, Her brothers and close kin were killed. What use were their high offices, Not even shielding their own lives? -- The world has but scorn for adversity; Hope goes out, like the light of a candle. Her husband, with a vagrant heart, Seeks a new face like a new piece of jade; And when morning-glories furl at night And mandarin-ducks lie side by side, All he can see is the smile of the new love, While the old love weeps unheard. The brook was pure in its mountain source, But away from the mountain its waters darken. ...Waiting for her maid to come from selling pearls For straw to cover the roof again, She picks a few flowers, no longer for her hair, And lets pine-needles fall through her fingers, And, forgetting her thin silk sleeve and the cold, She leans in the sunset by a tall bamboo.

011
五言古詩
杜甫
夢李白之一
死別已吞聲， 生別常惻惻。 江南瘴癘地， 逐客無消息。 故人入我夢， 明我長相憶； 君今在羅網， 何以有羽翼？ 恐非平生魂， 路遠不可測。 魂來楓林青， 魂返關塞黑； 落月滿屋梁， 猶疑照顏色。 水深波浪闊， 無使蛟龍得。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Du Fu
SEEING Li Bai IN A DREAM I
There are sobs when death is the cause of parting; But life has its partings again and again. ...From the poisonous damps of the southern river You had sent me not one sign from your exile -- Till you came to me last night in a dream, Because I am always thinking of you. I wondered if it were really you, Venturing so long a journey. You came to me through the green of a forest, You disappeared by a shadowy fortress.... Yet out of the midmost mesh of your snare, How could you lift your wings and use them? ...I woke, and the low moon's glimmer on a rafter Seemed to be your face, still floating in the air. ...There were waters to cross, they were wild and tossing; If you fell, there were dragons and rivermonsters.

012
五言古詩
杜甫
夢李白之二
浮雲終日行， 遊子久不至； 三夜頻夢君， 情親見君意。 告歸常局促， 苦道來不易。 江湖多風波， 舟楫恐失墜。 出門搔白首， 若負平生志。 冠蓋滿京華， 斯人獨憔悴。 孰云網恢恢？ 將老身反累！ 千秋萬歲名， 寂寞身後事。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Du Fu
SEEING Li Bai IN A DREAM II
This cloud, that has drifted all day through the sky, May, like a wanderer, never come back.... Three nights now I have dreamed of you -- As tender, intimate and real as though I were awake. And then, abruptly rising to go, You told me the perils of adventure By river and lake-the storms, the wrecks, The fears that are borne on a little boat; And, here in my doorway, you rubbed your white head As if there were something puzzling you. ...Our capital teems with officious people, While you are alone and helpless and poor. Who says that the heavenly net never fails? It has brought you ill fortune, old as you are. ...A thousand years' fame, ten thousand years' fame- What good, when you are dead and gone.

013
五言古詩
王維
送別
下馬飲君酒， 問君何所之？ 君言不得意， 歸臥南山陲。 但去莫復聞， 白雲無盡時。
又作問

Five-character-quatrain
Wang Wei
AT PARTING
I dismount from my horse and I offer you wine, And I ask you where you are going and why. And you answer: "I am discontent And would rest at the foot of the southern mountain. So give me leave and ask me no questions. White clouds pass there without end."

014
五言古詩
王維
送綦毋潛落第還鄉
聖代無隱者， 英靈盡來歸， 遂令東山客， 不得顧採薇。 既至金門遠， 孰云吾道非？ 江淮度寒食， 京洛縫春衣。 置酒長安道， 同心與我違； 行當浮桂棹， 未幾拂荊扉。 遠樹帶行客， 孤城當落暉。 吾謀適不用， 勿謂知音稀？

Five-character-quatrain
Wang Wei
TO QIWU QIAN BOUND HOMEAFTER FAILING IN AN EXAMINATION
In a happy reign there should be no hermits; The wise and able should consult together.... So you, a man of the eastern mountains, Gave up your life of picking herbs And came all the way to the Gate of Gold -- But you found your devotion unavailing. ...To spend the Day of No Fire on one of the southern rivers, You have mended your spring clothes here in these northern cities. I pour you the farewell wine as you set out from the capital -- Soon I shall be left behind here by my bosomfriend. In your sail-boat of sweet cinnamon-wood You will float again toward your own thatch door, Led along by distant trees To a sunset shining on a far-away town. ...What though your purpose happened to fail, Doubt not that some of us can hear high music.

015
五言古詩
王維
青谿
言入黃花川， 每逐青谿水； 隨山將萬轉， 趣途無百里。 聲喧亂石中， 色靜深松裡； 漾漾汎菱荇， 澄澄映葭葦。 我心素已閒， 清川澹如此。 請留盤石上， 垂釣將已矣！

Five-character-quatrain
Wang Wei
A GREEN STREAM
I have sailed the River of Yellow Flowers, Borne by the channel of a green stream, Rounding ten thousand turns through the mountains On a journey of less than thirty miles.... Rapids hum over heaped rocks; But where light grows dim in the thick pines, The surface of an inlet sways with nut-horns And weeds are lush along the banks. ...Down in my heart I have always been as pure As this limpid water is.... Oh, to remain on a broad flat rock And to cast a fishing-line forever!

016
五言古詩
王維
渭川田家
斜光照墟落， 窮巷牛羊歸。 野老念牧童， 倚杖候荊扉。 雉雊麥苗秀， 蠶眠桑葉稀。 田夫荷鋤立， 相見語依依。 即此羨閒逸， 悵然吟式微。
又作至

Five-character-quatrain
Wang Wei
A FARM-HOUSE ON THE WEI RIVER
In the slant of the sun on the country-side, Cattle and sheep trail home along the lane; And a rugged old man in a thatch door Leans on a staff and thinks of his son, the herdboy. There are whirring pheasants? full wheat-ears, Silk-worms asleep, pared mulberry-leaves. And the farmers, returning with hoes on their shoulders, Hail one another familiarly. ...No wonder I long for the simple life And am sighing the old song, Oh, to go Back Again!

017
五言古詩
王維
西施詠
艷色天下重， 西施寧久微？ 朝為越溪女， 暮作吳宮妃。 賤日豈殊眾？ 貴來方悟稀。 邀人傅脂粉， 不自著羅衣， 君寵益嬌態， 君憐無是非。 當時浣紗伴， 莫得同車歸。 持謝鄰家子， 效顰安可希？

Five-character-quatrain
Wang Wei
THE BEAUTIFUL XI SHI
Since beauty is honoured all over the Empire, How could Xi Shi remain humbly at home? -- Washing clothes at dawn by a southern lake -- And that evening a great lady in a palace of the north: Lowly one day, no different from the others, The next day exalted, everyone praising her. No more would her own hands powder her face Or arrange on her shoulders a silken robe. And the more the King loved her, the lovelier she looked, Blinding him away from wisdom. ...Girls who had once washed silk beside her Were kept at a distance from her chariot. And none of the girls in her neighbours' houses By pursing their brows could copy her beauty.

018
五言古詩
孟浩然
秋登蘭山寄張五
北山白雲裡， 隱者自怡悅； 相望始登高， 心隨雁飛滅。 愁因薄暮起， 興是清秋發。 時見歸村人， 沙行渡頭歇。 天邊樹若薺， 江畔洲如月。 何當載酒來， 共醉重陽節。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Meng Haoran
ON CLIMBING ORCHID MOUNTAIN IN THE AUTUMN TO ZHANG
On a northern peak among white clouds You have found your hermitage of peace; And now, as I climb this mountain to see you, High with the wildgeese flies my heart. The quiet dusk might seem a little sad If this autumn weather were not so brisk and clear; I look down at the river bank, with homeward-bound villagers Resting on the sand till the ferry returns; There are trees at the horizon like a row of grasses And against the river's rim an island like the moon I hope that you will come and meet me, bringing a basket of wine -- And we'll celebrate together the Mountain Holiday.

019
五言古詩
孟浩然
夏日南亭懷辛大
山光忽西落， 池月漸東上。 散髮乘夜涼， 開軒臥閑敞。 荷風送香氣， 竹露滴清響。 欲取鳴琴彈， 恨無知音賞。 感此懷故人， 中宵勞夢想。
Five-character-ancient-verse
Meng Haoran
IN SUMMER AT THE SOUTH PAVILION THINKING OF XING
The mountain-light suddenly fails in the west, In the east from the lake the slow moon rises. I loosen my hair to enjoy the evening coolness And open my window and lie down in peace. The wind brings me odours of lotuses, And bamboo-leaves drip with a music of dew.... I would take up my lute and I would play, But, alas, who here would understand? And so I think of you, old friend, O troubler of my midnight dreams !

020
五言古詩
孟浩然
宿業師山房待丁大不至
夕陽度西嶺， 群壑倏已暝； 松月生夜涼， 風泉滿清聽。 樵人歸欲盡， 煙鳥棲初定。 之子期宿來， 孤琴候蘿徑。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Meng Haoran
AT THE MOUNTAIN-LODGE OF THE BUDDHIST PRIEST YE WAITING IN VAIN FOR MY FRIEND DING
Now that the sun has set beyond the western range, Valley after valley is shadowy and dim.... And now through pine-trees come the moon and the chill of evening, And my ears feel pure with the sound of wind and water Nearly all the woodsmen have reached home, Birds have settled on their perches in the quiet mist.... And still -- because you promised -- I am waiting for you, waiting, Playing lute under a wayside vine.

021
五言古詩
王昌齡
同從弟南齋翫月憶山陰崔少府
高臥南齋時， 開帷月初吐； 清輝淡水木， 演漾在窗戶。 苒苒幾盈虛？ 澄澄變今古。 美人清江畔， 是夜越吟苦。 千
Five-character-ancient-verse
Wang Changling
WITH MY BROTHER AT THE SOUTH STUDY THINKING IN THE MOONLIGHT OF VICE-PREFECT CUI IN SHANYIN
Lying on a high seat in the south study, We have lifted the curtain-and we see the rising moon Brighten with pure light the water and the grove And flow like a wave on our window and our door. It will move through the cycle, full moon and then crescent again, Calmly, beyond our wisdom, altering new to old. ...Our chosen one, our friend, is now by a limpid river -- Singing, perhaps, a plaintive eastern song. He is far, far away from us, three hundred miles away. And yet a breath of orchids comes along the wind.

022
五言古詩
邱為
尋西山隱者不遇
絕頂一茅茨， 直上三十里； 扣關無僮僕， 窺室惟案几。 若非巾柴車？ 應是釣秋水。 差池不相見， 黽勉空仰止。 草色新雨中， 松聲晚窗裡； 及茲契幽絕， 自足蕩心耳。 雖無賓主意， 頗得清淨理。 興盡方下山， 何必待之子。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Qiu Wei
AFTER MISSING THE RECLUSE ON THE WESTERN MOUNTAIN
To your hermitage here on the top of the mountain I have climbed, without stopping, these ten miles. I have knocked at your door, and no one answered; I have peeped into your room, at your seat beside the table. Perhaps you are out riding in your canopied chair, Or fishing, more likely, in some autumn pool. Sorry though I am to be missing you, You have become my meditation -- The beauty of your grasses, fresh with rain, And close beside your window the music of your pines. I take into my being all that I see and hear, Soothing my senses, quieting my heart; And though there be neither host nor guest, Have I not reasoned a visit complete? ...After enough, I have gone down the mountain. Why should I wait for you any longer?

023
五言古詩
綦毋潛
春泛若耶溪
幽意無斷絕， 此去隨所偶； 晚風吹行舟， 花路入溪口。 際夜轉西壑， 隔山望南斗。 潭煙飛溶溶， 林月低向後。 生事且瀰漫， 願為持竿叟。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Qiwu Qian
A BOAT IN SPRING ON RUOYA LAKE
Thoughtful elation has no end: Onward I bear it to whatever come. And my boat and I, before the evening breeze Passing flowers, entering the lake, Turn at nightfall toward the western valley, Where I watch the south star over the mountain And a mist that rises, hovering soft, And the low moon slanting through the trees; And I choose to put away from me every worldly matter And only to be an old man with a fishing-pole.

024
五言古詩
常建
宿王昌齡隱居
清溪深不測， 隱處唯孤雲； 松際露微月， 清光猶為君。 茅亭宿花影， 藥院滋苔紋。 余亦謝時去， 西山鸞鶴群。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Chang Jian
AT WANG CHANGLIN' S RETREAT
Here, beside a clear deep lake, You live accompanied by clouds; Or soft through the pine the moon arrives To be your own pure-hearted friend. You rest under thatch in the shadow of your flowers, Your dewy herbs flourish in their bed of moss. Let me leave the world. Let me alight, like you, On your western mountain with phoenixes and cranes.

025
五言古詩
岑參
與高適薛據登慈恩寺浮圖
塔勢如湧出， 孤高聳天宮； 登臨出世界， 磴道盤虛空。 突兀壓神州， 崢嶸如鬼工； 四角礙白日， 七層摩蒼穹。 下窺指高鳥， 俯聽聞驚風。 連山若波濤， 奔湊如朝東。 青槐夾馳道， 宮館何玲瓏？ 秋色從西來， 蒼然滿關中。 五陵北原上， 萬古青濛濛。 淨理了可悟， 勝因夙所宗。 誓將挂冠去， 覺道資無窮。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Cen Can
ASCENDING THE PAGODA AT THE TEMPLE OF KIND FAVOUR WITH GAO SHI AND XUE JU
The pagoda, rising abruptly from earth, Reaches to the very Palace of Heaven.... Climbing, we seem to have left the world behind us, With the steps we look down on hung from space. It overtops a holy land And can only have been built by toil of the spirit. Its four sides darken the bright sun, Its seven stories cut the grey clouds; Birds fly down beyond our sight, And the rapid wind below our hearing; Mountain-ranges, toward the east, Appear to be curving and flowing like rivers; Far green locust-trees line broad roads Toward clustered palaces and mansions; Colours of autumn, out of the west, Enter advancing through the city; And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass, Those who know life's final meaning Which all humankind must learn. ...Henceforth I put my official hat aside. To find the Eternal Way is the only happiness.

026
五言古詩
元結
賊退示官吏并序
癸卯歲，西原賊入道州，焚燒殺掠，幾盡而 去。明年，賊又攻永州，破邵，不犯此州邊 鄙而退，豈力能制敵歟？蓋蒙其傷憐而已！ 諸史何為忍苦徵歛！故作詩一篇以示官吏。
昔歲逢太平， 山林二十年。 泉源在庭戶， 洞壑當門前。 井稅有常期， 日晏猶得眠。 忽然遭時變， 數歲親戎旃。 今來典斯郡， 山夷又紛然。 城小賊不屠， 人貧傷可憐。 是以陷鄰境， 此州獨見全。 使臣將王命， 豈不如賊焉？ 令彼徵歛者， 迫之如火煎。 誰能絕人命？ 以作時世賢。 思欲委符節， 引竿自刺船， 將家就魚麥， 歸老江湖邊。
又作宴
又作世

Five-character-ancient-verse
Yuan Jie
TO THE TAX-COLLECTORS AFTER THE BANDITS RETREAT
In the year Kuimao the bandits from Xiyuan entered Daozhou, set fire, raided, killed, and looted. The whole district was almost ruined. The next year the bandits came again and, attacking the neighbouring prefecture, Yong, passed this one by. It was not because we were strong enough to defend ourselves, but, probably, because they pitied us. And how now can these commissioners bear to impose extra taxes? I have written this poem for the collectors' information.
I still remember those days of peace -- Twenty years among mountains and forests, The pure stream running past my yard, The caves and valleys at my door. Taxes were light and regular then, And I could sleep soundly and late in the morning- Till suddenly came a sorry change. ...For years now I have been serving in the army. When I began here as an official, The mountain bandits were rising again; But the town was so small it was spared by the thieves, And the people so poor and so pitiable That all other districts were looted And this one this time let alone. ...Do you imperial commissioners Mean to be less kind than bandits? The people you force to pay the poll Are like creatures frying over a fire. And how can you sacrifice human lives, Just to be known as able collectors? -- ...Oh, let me fling down my official seal, Let me be a lone fisherman in a small boat And support my family on fish and wheat And content my old age with rivers and lakes!

027
五言古詩
韋應物
郡齋雨中與諸文士燕集
兵衛森畫戟， 宴寢凝清香。 海上風雨至， 逍遙池閣涼。 煩痾近消散， 嘉賓復滿堂。 自慚居處崇， 未睹斯民康。 理會是非遣， 性達形跡忘。 鮮肥屬時禁， 蔬果幸見嘗。 俯飲一杯酒， 仰聆金玉章。 神歡體自輕， 意欲淩風翔。 吳中盛文史， 群彥今汪洋。 方知大蕃地， 豈曰財賦強？

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu
ENTERTAINING LITERARY MEN IN MY OFFICIAL RESIDENCE ON A RAINY DAY
Outside are insignia, shown in state; But here are sweet incense-clouds, quietly ours. Wind and rain, coming in from sea, Have cooled this pavilion above the lake And driven the feverish heat away From where my eminent guests are gathered. ...Ashamed though I am of my high position While people lead unhappy lives, Let us reasonably banish care And just be friends, enjoying nature. Though we have to go without fish and meat, There are fruits and vegetables aplenty. ...We bow, we take our cups of wine, We give our attention to beautiful poems. When the mind is exalted, the body is lightened And feels as if it could float in the wind. ...Suzhou is famed as a centre of letters; And all you writers, coming here, Prove that the name of a great land Is made by better things than wealth.

028
五言古詩
韋應物
初發揚子寄元大校書
悽悽去親愛， 泛泛入煙霧； 歸棹洛陽人， 殘鐘廣陵樹。 今朝為此別， 何處還相遇？ 世事波上舟， 沿洄安得住。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu
SETTING SAIL ON THE YANGZI TO SECRETARY YUAN
Wistful, away from my friends and kin, Through mist and fog I float and float With the sail that bears me toward Loyang. In Yangzhou trees linger bell-notes of evening, Marking the day and the place of our parting.... When shall we meet again and where? ...Destiny is a boat on the waves, Borne to and fro, beyond our will.

029
五言古詩
韋應物
寄全椒山中道士
今朝郡齋冷， 忽念山中客； 澗底束荊薪， 歸來煮白石。 欲持一瓢酒， 遠慰風雨夕； 落葉滿空山， 何處尋行跡。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu
A POEM TO A TAOIST HERMIT CHUANJIAO MOUNTAIN
My office has grown cold today; And I suddenly think of my mountain friend Gathering firewood down in the valley Or boiling white stones for potatoes in his hut.... I wish I might take him a cup of wine To cheer him through the evening storm; But in fallen leaves that have heaped the bare slopes, How should I ever find his footprints!

030
五言古詩
韋應物
長安遇馮著
客從東方來， 衣上灞陵雨。 問客何為來？ 采山因買斧。 冥冥花正開， 颺颺燕新乳。 昨別今已春， 鬢絲生幾縷。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu
ON MEETING MY FRIEND FENG ZHU IN THE CAPITAL
Out of the east you visit me, With the rain of Baling still on your clothes, I ask you what you have come here for; You say: "To buy an ax for cutting wood in the mountains" ...Hidden deep in a haze of blossom, Swallow fledglings chirp at ease As they did when we parted, a year ago.... How grey our temples have grown since them!

031
五言古詩
韋應物
夕次盱眙縣
落帆逗淮鎮， 停舫臨孤驛。 浩浩風起波， 冥冥日沈夕。 人歸山郭暗， 雁下蘆洲白。 獨夜憶秦關， 聽鐘未眠客。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu
MOORING AT TWILIGHT IN YUYI DISTRICT
Furling my sail near the town of Huai, I find for harbour a little cove Where a sudden breeze whips up the waves. The sun is growing dim now and sinks in the dusk. People are coming home. The bright mountain-peak darkens. Wildgeese fly down to an island of white weeds. ...At midnight I think of a northern city-gate, And I hear a bell tolling between me and sleep.

032
五言古詩
韋應物
東郊
吏舍跼終年， 出郊曠清曙。 楊柳散和風， 青山澹吾慮。 依叢適自憩， 緣澗還復去。 微雨靄芳原， 春鳩鳴何處？ 樂幽心屢止， 遵事跡猶遽； 終罷斯結廬， 慕陶真可庶。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu
EAST OF THE TOWN
From office confinement all year long, I have come out of town to be free this morning Where willows harmonize the wind And green hills lighten the cares of the world. I lean by a tree and rest myself Or wander up and down a stream. ...Mists have wet the fragrant meadows; A spring dove calls from some hidden place. ...With quiet surroundings, the mind is at peace, But beset with affairs, it grows restless again.... Here I shall finally build me a cabin, As Tao Qian built one long ago.

033
五言古詩
韋應物
送楊氏女
永日方慼慼， 出行復悠悠。 女子今有行， 大江泝輕舟。 爾輩苦無恃， 撫念益慈柔； 幼為長所育， 兩別泣不休。 對此結中腸， 義往難復留。 自小闕內訓， 事姑貽我憂； 賴茲託令門， 仁卹庶無尤。 貧儉誠所尚， 資從豈待周！ 孝恭遵婦道， 容止順其猷。 別離在今晨， 見爾當何秋？ 居閑始自遣， 臨感忽難收。 歸來視幼女， 零淚緣纓流。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Wei Yingwu
TO MY DAUGHTER ON HER MARRIAGE INTO THE YANG FAMILY
My heart has been heavy all day long Because you have so far to go. The marriage of a girl, away from her parents, Is the launching of a little boat on a great river. ...You were very young when your mother died, Which made me the more tender of you. Your elder sister has looked out for you, And now you are both crying and cannot part. This makes my grief the harder to bear; Yet it is right that you should go. ...Having had from childhood no mother to guide you, How will you honour your mother-in-law? It's an excellent family; they will be kind to you, They will forgive you your mistakes -- Although ours has been so pure and poor That you can take them no great dowry. Be gentle and respectful, as a woman should be, Careful of word and look, observant of good example. ...After this morning we separate, There's no knowing for how long.... I always try to hide my feelings -- They are suddenly too much for me, When I turn and see my younger daughter With the tears running down her cheek.

034
五言古詩
柳宗元
晨詣超師院讀禪經
汲井漱寒齒， 清心拂塵服， 閒持貝葉書， 步出東齋讀。 真源了無取， 忘跡世所逐； 遺言冀可冥， 繕性何由熟？ 道人庭宇靜， 苔色連深竹； 日出霧露餘， 青松如膏沐。 澹然離言說， 悟悅心自足。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Liu Zongyuan
READING BUDDHIST CLASSICS WITH ZHAO AT HIS TEMPLE IN THE EARLY MORNING
I clean my teeth in water drawn from a cold well; And while I brush my clothes, I purify my mind; Then, slowly turning pages in the Tree-Leaf Book, I recite, along the path to the eastern shelter. ...The world has forgotten the true fountain of this teaching And people enslave themselves to miracles and fables. Under the given words I want the essential meaning, I look for the simplest way to sow and reap my nature. Here in the quiet of the priest's templecourtyard, Mosses add their climbing colour to the thick bamboo; And now comes the sun, out of mist and fog, And pines that seem to be new-bathed; And everything is gone from me, speech goes, and reading, Leaving the single unison.

035
五言古詩
柳宗元
溪居
久為簪組累， 幸此南夷謫。 閑依農圃鄰， 偶似山林客。 曉耕翻露草， 夜榜響溪石， 來往不逢人， 長歌楚天碧。

Five-character-ancient-verse
Liu Zongyuan
DWELLING BY A STREAM
I had so long been troubled by official hat and robe That I am glad to be an exile here in this wild southland. I am a neighbour now of planters and reapers. I am a guest of the mountains and woods. I plough in the morning, turning dewy grasses, And at evening tie my fisher-boat, breaking the quiet stream. Back and forth I go, scarcely meeting anyone, And sing a long poem and gaze at the blue sky.

036
樂府
王昌齡
塞上曲
蟬鳴空桑林， 八月蕭關道； 出塞復入塞， 處處黃蘆草。 從來幽并客， 皆向沙場老； 莫學遊俠兒， 矜誇紫騮好。
又作共塵沙

Folk-song-styled-verse
Wang Changling
AT A BORDER-FORTRESS
Cicadas complain of thin mulberry-trees In the Eighth-month chill at the frontier pass. Through the gate and back again, all along the road, There is nothing anywhere but yellow reeds and grasses And the bones of soldiers from You and from Bing Who have buried their lives in the dusty sand. ...Let never a cavalier stir you to envy With boasts of his horse and his horsemanship

037
樂府
王昌齡
塞下曲
飲馬渡秋水， 水寒風似刀。 平沙日未沒， 黯黯見臨洮。 昔日長城戰， 咸言意氣高； 黃塵足今古， 白骨亂蓬蒿。

Folk-song-styled-verse
Wang Changling
UNDER A BORDER-FORTRESS
Drink, my horse, while we cross the autumn water!- The stream is cold and the wind like a sword, As we watch against the sunset on the sandy plain, Far, far away, shadowy Lingtao. Old battles, waged by those long walls, Once were proud on all men's tongues. But antiquity now is a yellow dust, Confusing in the grasses its ruins and white bones.

038
樂府
李白
關山月
明月出天山， 蒼茫雲海間； 長風幾萬里， 吹度玉門關。 漢下白登道， 胡窺青海灣。 由來征戰地， 不見有人還。 戍客望邊色， 思歸多苦顏； 高樓當此夜， 歎息未應閑。

Folk-song-styled-verse
Li Bai
THE MOON AT THE FORTIFIED PASS
The bright moon lifts from the Mountain of Heaven In an infinite haze of cloud and sea, And the wind, that has come a thousand miles, Beats at the Jade Pass battlements.... China marches its men down Baideng Road While Tartar troops peer across blue waters of the bay.... And since not one battle famous in history Sent all its fighters back again, The soldiers turn round, looking toward the border, And think of home, with wistful eyes, And of those tonight in the upper chambers Who toss and sigh and cannot rest.

039
樂府
李白
子夜四時歌 春歌
秦地羅敷女， 采桑綠水邊。 素手青條上， 紅妝白日鮮。 蠶飢妾欲去， 五馬莫留連。

Folk-song-styled-verse
Li Bai
BALLADS OF FOUR SEASONS: SPRING
The lovely Lo Fo of the western land Plucks mulberry leaves by the waterside. Across the green boughs stretches out her white hand; In golden sunshine her rosy robe is dyed. "my silkworms are hungry, I cannot stay. Tarry not with your five-horse cab, I pray."

040
樂府
李白
子夜四時歌 夏歌
鏡湖三百里， 菡萏發荷花。 五月西施采， 人看隘若耶。 回舟不待月， 歸去越王家。

Folk-song-styled-verse
Li Bai
BALLADS OF FOUR SEASONS: SUMMER
On Mirror Lake outspread for miles and miles, The lotus lilies in full blossom teem. In fifth moon Xi Shi gathers them with smiles, Watchers o'erwhelm the bank of Yuoye Stream. Her boat turns back without waiting moonrise To yoyal house amid amorous sighs.

041
樂府
李白
子夜四時歌 秋歌
長安一片月， 萬戶擣衣聲； 秋風吹不盡， 總是玉關情。 何日平胡虜？ 良人罷遠征。

Folk-song-styled-verse
Li Bai
A SONG OF AN AUTUMN MIDNIGHT
A slip of the moon hangs over the capital; Ten thousand washing-mallets are pounding; And the autumn wind is blowing my heart For ever and ever toward the Jade Pass.... Oh, when will the Tartar troops be conquered, And my husband come back from the long campaign!

042
樂府
李白
子夜四時歌 冬歌
明朝驛使發， 一夜絮征袍。 素手抽鍼冷， 那堪把剪刀。 裁縫寄遠道， 幾日到臨洮。

Folk-song-styled-verse
Li Bai
BALLADS OF FOUR SEASONS: WINTER
The courier will depart next day, she's told. She sews a warrior's gown all night. Her fingers feel the needle cold. How can she hold the scissors tight? The work is done, she sends it far away. When will it reach the town where warriors stay?

043
樂府
李白
長干行
妾髮初覆額， 折花門前劇； 郎騎竹馬來， 遶床弄青梅。 同居長干里， 兩小無嫌猜。 十四為君婦， 羞顏未嘗開； 低頭向暗壁， 千喚不一回， 十五始展眉， 願同塵與灰； 常存抱柱信， 豈上望夫臺？ 十六君遠行， 瞿塘灩澦堆； 五月不可觸， 猿鳴天上哀。 門前遲行跡， 一一生綠苔； 苔深不能掃， 落葉秋風早。 八月蝴蝶來， 雙飛西園草。 感此傷妾心， 坐愁紅顏老。 早晚下三巴， 預將書報家； 相迎不道遠， 直至長風沙。
又作聲
又作黃

Folk-song-styled-verse
Li Bai
A SONG OF CHANGGAN
My hair had hardly covered my forehead. I was picking flowers, paying by my door, When you, my lover, on a bamboo horse, Came trotting in circles and throwing green plums. We lived near together on a lane in Ch'ang-kan, Both of us young and happy-hearted. ...At fourteen I became your wife, So bashful that I dared not smile, And I lowered my head toward a dark corner And would not turn to your thousand calls; But at fifteen I straightened my brows and laughed, Learning that no dust could ever seal our love, That even unto death I would await you by my post And would never lose heart in the tower of silent watching. ...Then when I was sixteen, you left on a long journey Through the Gorges of Ch'u-t'ang, of rock and whirling water. And then came the Fifth-month, more than I could bear, And I tried to hear the monkeys in your lofty far-off sky. Your footprints by our door, where I had watched you go, Were hidden, every one of them, under green moss, Hidden under moss too deep to sweep away. And the first autumn wind added fallen leaves. And now, in the Eighth-month, yellowing butterflies Hover, two by two, in our west-garden grasses And, because of all this, my heart is breaking And I fear for my bright cheeks, lest they fade. ...Oh, at last, when you return through the three Pa districts, Send me a message home ahead! And I will come and meet you and will never mind the distance, All the way to Chang-feng Sha.

044
樂府
孟郊
烈女操
梧桐相待老， 鴛鴦會雙死； 貞婦貴殉夫， 捨生亦如此。 波瀾誓不起， 妾心井中水。

Folk-song-styled-verse
Meng Jiao
A SONG OF A PURE-HEARTED GIRL
Lakka-trees ripen two by two And mandarin-ducks die side by side. If a true-hearted girl will love only her husband, In a life as faithfully lived as theirs, What troubling wave can arrive to vex A spirit like water in a timeless well?

045
樂府
孟郊
遊子吟
慈母手中線， 遊子身上衣； 臨行密密縫， 意恐遲遲歸。 誰言寸草心， 報得三春輝？

Folk-song-styled-verse
Meng Jiao
A TRAVELLER'S SONG
The thread in the hands of a fond-hearted mother Makes clothes for the body of her wayward boy; Carefully she sews and thoroughly she mends, Dreading the delays that will keep him late from home. But how much love has the inch-long grass For three spring months of the light of the sun?

046
七言古詩
陳子昂
登幽州臺歌
前不見古人， 後不見來者； 念天地之悠悠， 獨愴然而涕下。

Seven-character-ancient-verse
Chen Ziang
ON A GATE-TOWER AT YUZHOU
Where, before me, are the ages that have gone? And where, behind me, are the coming generations? I think of heaven and earth, without limit, without end, And I am all alone and my tears fall down.

047
七言古詩
李頎
古意
男兒事長征， 少小幽燕客， 賭勝馬蹄下， 由來輕七尺； 殺人莫敢前， 鬚如蝟毛磔。 黃雲隴底白雪飛， 未得報恩不能歸。 遼東小婦年十五， 慣彈琵琶解歌舞， 今為羌笛出塞聲， 使我三軍淚如雨。

Seven-character-ancient-verse
Li Qi
AN OLD AIR
There once was a man, sent on military missions, A wanderer, from youth, on the You and Yan frontiers. Under the horses' hoofs he would meet his foes And, recklessly risking his seven-foot body, Would slay whoever dared confront Those moustaches that bristled like porcupinequills. ...There were dark clouds below the hills, there were white clouds above them, But before a man has served full time, how can he go back? In eastern Liao a girl was waiting, a girl of fifteen years, Deft with a guitar, expert in dance and song. ...She seems to be fluting, even now, a reed-song of home, Filling every soldier's eyes with homesick tears.

048
七言古詩
李頎
送陳章甫
四月南風大麥黃， 棗花未落桐葉長。 青山朝別暮還見， 嘶馬出門思故鄉。 陳侯立身何坦蕩？ 虯鬚虎眉仍大顙。 腹中貯書一萬卷， 不肯低頭在草莽。 東門酤酒飲我曹， 心輕萬事皆鴻毛， 醉臥不知白日暮， 有時空望孤雲高。 長河浪頭連天黑， 津口停舟渡不得； 鄭國遊人未及家， 洛陽行子空嘆息。 聞道故林相識多， 罷官昨日今如何。

Seven-character-ancient-verse
Li Qi
A FAREWELL TO MY FRIEND CHEN ZHANGFU
In the Fourth-month the south wind blows plains of yellow barley, Date-flowers have not faded yet and lakka-leaves are long. The green peak that we left at dawn we still can see at evening, While our horses whinny on the road, eager to turn homeward. ...Chen, my friend, you have always been a great and good man, With your dragon's moustache, tiger's eyebrows and your massive forehead. In your bosom you have shelved away ten thousand volumes. You have held your head high, never bowed it in the dust. ...After buying us wine and pledging us, here at the eastern gate, And taking things as lightly as a wildgoose feather, Flat you lie, tipsy, forgetting the white sun; But now and then you open your eyes and gaze at a high lone cloud. ...The tide-head of the lone river joins the darkening sky. The ferryman beaches his boat. It has grown too late to sail. And people on their way from Cheng cannot go home, And people from Loyang sigh with disappointment. ...I have heard about the many friends around your wood land dwelling. Yesterday you were dismissed. Are they your friends today?

049
七言古詩
李頎
琴歌
主人有酒歡今夕， 請奏鳴琴廣陵客。 月照城頭烏半飛， 霜淒萬樹風入衣； 銅鑪華燭燭增輝， 初彈淥水後楚妃。 一聲已動物皆靜， 四座無言星欲稀。 清淮奉使千餘里， 敢告雲山從此始。

Seven-character-ancient-verse
Li Qi
A LUTE SONG
Our host, providing abundant wine to make the night mellow, Asks his guest from Yangzhou to play for us on the lute. Toward the moon that whitens the city-wall, black crows are flying, Frost is on ten thousand trees, and the wind blows through our clothes; But a copper stove has added its light to that of flowery candles, And the lute plays The Green Water, and then The Queen of Chu. Once it has begun to play, there is no other sound: A spell is on the banquet, while the stars grow thin.... But three hundred miles from here, in Huai, official duties await him, And so it's farewell, and the road again, under cloudy mountains.

050
七言古詩
李頎
聽董大彈胡笳聲兼寄語弄房給事
蔡女昔造胡笳聲， 一彈一十有八拍。 胡人落淚沾邊草， 漢使斷腸對歸客。 古戍蒼蒼烽火寒， 大荒沈沈飛雪白。 先拂聲絃後角羽， 四郊秋葉驚摵摵。 董夫子，通神明， 深山竊聽來妖精。 言遲更速皆應手， 將往復旋如有情。 空山百鳥散還合， 萬里浮雲陰且晴。 嘶酸雛雁失群夜， 斷絕胡兒戀母聲。 川為靜其波， 鳥亦罷其鳴； 烏孫部落家鄉遠， 邏娑沙塵哀怨生。 幽音變調忽飄灑， 長風吹林雨墮瓦； 迸泉颯颯飛木末， 野鹿呦呦走堂下。 長安城連東掖垣， 鳳凰池對青瑣門， 高才脫略名與利， 日夕望君抱琴至。

Seven-character-ancient-verse
Li Qi
ON HEARING DONG PLAY THE FLAGEOLET A POEM TO PALACE-ATTENDANT FANG
When this melody for the flageolet was made by Lady Cai, When long ago one by one she sang its eighteen stanzas, Even the Tartars were shedding tears into the border grasses, And the envoy of China was heart-broken, turning back home with his escort. ...Cold fires now of old battles are grey on ancient forts, And the wilderness is shadowed with white new-flying snow. ...When the player first brushes the Shang string and the Jue and then the Yu, Autumn-leaves in all four quarters are shaken with a murmur. Dong, the master, Must have been taught in heaven. Demons come from the deep pine-wood and stealthily listen To music slow, then quick, following his hand, Now far away, now near again, according to his heart. A hundred birds from an empty mountain scatter and return; Three thousand miles of floating clouds darken and lighten; A wildgoose fledgling, left behind, cries for its flock, And a Tartar child for the mother he loves. Then river waves are calmed And birds are mute that were singing, And Wuzu tribes are homesick for their distant land, And out of the dust of Siberian steppes rises a plaintive sorrow. ...Suddenly the low sound leaps to a freer tune, Like a long wind swaying a forest, a downpour breaking tiles, A cascade through the air, flying over tree-tops. ...A wild deer calls to his fellows. He is running among the mansions In the corner of the capital by the Eastern Palace wall.... Phoenix Lake lies opposite the Gate of Green Jade; But how can fame and profit concern a man of genius? Day and night I long for him to bring his lute again.