柳宗元·《钴鉧潭记》英译

钴鉧潭在西山西。其始盖冉水自南奔注，抵山石，屈折东流；其颠委势峻，荡击益暴，啮其涯，故旁广而中深，毕至石乃止。流沫成轮，然后徐行，其清而平者，且十亩，有树环焉，有泉悬焉。 <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

其上有居者，以予之亟游也，一旦款门来告曰：“不胜官租私券之委积，既芟山而更居，愿以潭上田，贸财以缓祸。”

予乐而如其言。则崇其台，延其槛，行其泉，于高者而坠之潭，有声潀然，尤与中秋观月为宜，于以见天之高，气之迥。孰使予乐居夷而忘故土者，非兹潭也欤？

Brazier Lake

Liu Zongyuan

Brazier Lake lies west of the Western Hill. Its source is the Ran which plunges south till, stopped by a mountain boulder, it veers east and races along, pounding against the bank, till now it has eaten away a large tract of land, channeling out the centre down to impermeable rock. After foaming into a whirlpool, it flows slowly into ten mu of calm, clear water, embowered with trees and with fountains cascading into it.

The man who lived above this lake saw how often I visited it. One day he knocked at my door, and told me that because he could not pay his taxes and was deep in debt he had made a clearing in the hills and was moving away. He wanted to sell his property by the lake to try to tide himself over.

I fell in with this gladly. Then I rebuilt his pavilion, extended his balustered walks, and made the fountain there fall into the pool from a height with a deep echoing sound. So now no better spot can be found for enjoying the moon in mid-autumn, for here you can see the sublimity of the sky, the infinity of space. And thanks to this lake I can rest content in these wild parts and forget my home!