Lesson 4 Four Ancient Poems

THE SEA (English version)

Cao cao

I come to see the boundless ocean

From Stony Hill on eastern shore

Water rolls in rhythmic motion,

Islands stand amid its roar.

Tress on trees, from peak to peak,

Grass on grass, lush far and night,

Autumn winds blow drear and bleak,

Monstrous billows surge up high.

Sun by day, moon by night

Appear to rise up from the deep.

The Milky Way with stars to sleep.

How happy I feel at this sight!

I sing this poem in sheer delight.

Passing by the Northern Mountains

Wang Wan

My boat goes by green mountains high,

And passes through the river blue.

The water's wide at the full tide;

A sail with ease hangs in soft breeze.

The sun brings light born of last night;

New spring invades old year which fades.

How can I send word to my friend?

Homing wild geese, fly westward please!

On Qiantang Lake in Spring

Bai ju yi

West of Jia Pavilion and north of Lonely Hill,

Lake water levels with the bank and the clouds hanging low.

Disputing for sunny branches, early orioles trill;

Pecking vernal mud in, newly-returned swallows come and go.

A riot of blooms begins to dazzle the eye;

Amid short grass the horse hoofs can barely been seen.

I love best the east of the lake under the sky;

The White Sand Causeway is shaded by willows green.

To the Tune of Tianjingsha

Ma Zhiyuan

Withered vines hanging on old branches,

Returning crows croaking at dusk.

A few houses hidden past a narrow bridge,

And below the bridge a quiet creek running.

Down a worn path, in the west wind,

A lean horse comes plodding.

The sun dips down in the west,

And the lovesick traveler is still at the end of the world.