薛涛·《竹离亭》英译

蓊郁新栽四五行，常将劲节负秋霜。<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

为缘春笋钻墙破，不得垂阴覆玉堂。

Bamboo Separated from a Pavilion

Xue Tao

Exuberant growth, newly planted,

    four or five rows,

Always bearing strong resolve¹

    they brave the autumn frost.

It was because their springtime shoots

    pierced holes through the wall,

They can no longer cast their shade

over the jadelike hall.

1. This line employs a commonplace pun on jie, which means both “resolve” and the “joints” between bamboo segments.

（Stephen Owen 译）