鱼玄机·《遣怀》英译

闲散身无事，风光独自游。

断云江上月，解缆海中舟。

琴弄萧梁寺，诗吟庾亮楼。

丛篁堪作伴，片石好为俦。

燕雀徒为贵，金银志不求。

满杯春酒绿，对月夜窗幽。

绕砌澄清沼，抽簪映细流。

卧床书册遍，半醉起梳头。

Clearing My Mind

Yu Xuanji

At leisure, free, no duty mine,

I roam the landscape alone:

cutting through the clouds, there shines,

over the river, the moon;

throwing off its moorings,

a boat sails on the sea.

Playing the lute, reciting verse,

groves of bamboo for company,

the rocks are my companions.

To those of humble estate,

honor is simply unreal;

for those without ambition,

money has not appeal.

Filling the goblet, spring wine’s green;

beneath the moon, night music’s serene.

Beyond the flagstone walk

is a pond that’s crystal clear;

in its gentle flow

I see my unkempt hair.

Lying down in my bed,

I find it littered with books,

Though wine has made me

light of head,

I rise and comb my locks.

（Bannie Chow, Thomas Cleary 译）

Telling My Feelings     

Yu Xuanji

Idle, at ease with nothing that I must attend to,

I travel alone through the sweep of the scenery.

Through broken clouds, moonlight shines on the river;

Its moorings unfastened, a boat on the sea.

I play my zither by Xiao-Liang Temple

And sing a poem at Yuliang Tower. ¹

Thickets of bamboo are worthy to be friends,

And pieces of rock serve well as companions.

Swallows and sparrows alone I consider noble,

For gold and silver are not my aim.

I fill a goblet with green spring wine, ²

Face the moon night windows hidden.

Winding steps clear in the transparent water,

I pull out my hairpin it shines in the rippling current.

I lie on the bed, my books spread everywhere,

And then, half-drunk, I rise and comb my hair.

1. Because Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty, whose family name was Xiao, was the greatest early patron of Buddhism in China, Xiao-Liang Temple was a generic name for Buddhist places of worship. Yuliang Tower is the South Tower in Wuchang, Hubei.  

2. Rustic unfiltered wine was greenish in color.  

（Jennifer Carpenter 译）