Li Bai: loose translations
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1. Quipu’s long winter makes people desolate. Full of sadness, I hike up Dalou Mountain where I can see the Yangtze in the west. If it remembers me, it will bear my tears to my friends in Yangzhou. 2. Crossing a stream at night I hear the white monkeys wail. My hair has turned white. I’ll die here from all the whiteness. 3. The feathers of the pheasant of Qiupu are like a rainbow brocade. The birds avoid standing water; seeing themselves in a mirror would make them act too proud. 4. The night I came here the monkeys cried, and my hair turned white and thin as silk. 5. The white monkeys in Qiupu fly through the trees like snow. They play in the water with the reflection of the moon. 6. I try to be a good guest here; they take me to see the flowers. They think of only Qiupu, but I think of places that I miss. 7. I can’t drink enough to forget and can sing only sad songs. No one here cares about me. My tears are in vain. 8. In Qiupu are ridge after ridge of rock that’s fallen from the sky and scoured by streams that wash lichen toward the sea. 9. A rock protrudes from the Qingxi River— an ancient scroll with words of moss writing a poem to eternity. 10. Forests of heather and privet, white egrets in the mountains, and wailing monkeys in the streams are enough to break a tourist’s heart. 11. The Jiangzu stone stands so high only birds can see its summit, but fishermen have fastened their weir to it to hold it back from the rapid current. Passenger boats pass by so swiftly that the fragrance of mountain flowers hits them in the face. 12. The surface of Lake Pingtian is like a silken fabric. On a boat at night it’s easy to get intoxicated since you’re riding on the moon. 13. A line of egrets, flying over the lake, interrupts the moon’s reflection. A girl who was picking water chestnuts goes home with a young man, singing. 14. Men sing with flushed faces as they work the smelter at night. Against the fire of the furnace— the bright cold moon. Against the smoke and embers— red stars in a purple sky. Against their song— the cold river flowing. 15. In my misery, it’s hard to distinguish the frost of autumn from my long white hair. 16. A silver pheasant is an old man standing in the water, fishing. Reflected in the bamboo, his old wife has made a net to catch him. 17. Where I step onto the boat, peach trees are blooming. People say goodbye to the monk bowing his heads to the white clouds.
其一 秋浦长似秋,萧条使人愁。 客愁不可度,行上东大楼。 正西望长安,下见江水流。 寄言向江水,汝意忆侬不。 遥传一掬泪,为我达扬州。 其二 秋浦猿夜愁,黄山堪白头。 清溪非陇水,翻作断肠流。 欲去不得去,薄游成久游。 何年是归日,雨泪下孤舟。 其三 秋浦锦驼鸟,人间天上稀。 山鸡羞渌水,不敢照毛衣。 其四 两鬓入秋浦,一朝飒已衰。 猿声催白发,长短尽成丝。 其五 秋浦多白猿,超腾若飞雪。 牵引条上儿,饮弄水中月。 其六 愁作秋浦客,强看秋浦花。 山川如剡县,风日似长沙。 其七 醉上山公马,寒歌宁戚牛。 空吟白石烂,泪满黑貂裘。 其八 秋浦千重岭,水车岭最奇。 天倾欲堕石,水拂寄生枝。 其九 江祖一片石,青天扫画屏。 题诗留万古,绿字锦苔生。 其十 千千石楠树,万万女贞林。 山山白鹭满,涧涧白猿吟。 君莫向秋浦,猿声碎客心。 其十一 逻人横鸟道,江祖出鱼梁。 水急客舟疾,山花拂面香。 其十二 水如一匹练,此地即平天。 耐可乘明月,看花上酒船。 其十三 渌水净素月,月明白鹭飞。 郎听采菱女,一道夜歌归。 其十四 炉火照天地,红星乱紫烟。 赧郎明月夜,歌曲动寒川。 其十五 白发三千丈,缘愁似个长。 不知明镜里,何处得秋霜。 其十六 秋浦田舍翁,采鱼水中宿。 妻子张白鹇,结罝映深竹。 其十七 桃波一步地,了了语声闻。 黯与山僧别,低头礼白云。