I recently completed reading Three Hundred Poems of the T’ong Dynasty (Taipei, 1965), the traditional anthology of Tang Dynasty poetry compiled by Sun Zhu (孫洙, 1711–1778), who wrote under the name Hengtang Tuishi (蘅塘退士). The English translations in this edition are those associated with Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu, originally published as The Jade Mountain: A Chinese Anthology, Being Three Hundred Poems of the T’ang Dynasty, 618–906.
I have written the original poems that I especially liked below with new machine translations into English. For now, I chose these as my favorite poems from the Three Hundred Poems because they concern themes that repeatedly interested me while reading: individual ability and worth, recognition and failure within institutions, public versus private life, independence, friendship, separation and return, the passage of time, and maintaining personal integrity against adversity.
Next on the poetry reading list is the “Classic of Poetry, also Shijing (詩經) or Shih-ching, translated variously as the Book of Songs, Book of Odes, or simply Odes.”
Taking Leave of Wang Wei – Meng Haoran
留別王維
寂寂竟何待，
朝朝空自歸。
欲尋芳草去，
惜與故人違。
當路誰相假，
知音世所稀。
只應守寂寞，
還掩故園扉。
Translation
Lonely, lonely – what am I waiting for?
Day after day I return home in vain.
I would leave in search of fragrant grass,
Yet I hate to part from an old friend.
Who among those in power will lend me help?
Those who truly understand are rare in this world.
I should simply keep to my solitude
And close again the gate of my old garden.
A note – (“one who knows the music”) – A classical expression meaning someone who truly understands and recognizes another person’s talent or character.
To Qiwu Qian, Bound Home After Failing in an Examination – Wang
送綦毋潛落第還鄉
聖代無隱者，
英靈盡來歸。
遂令東山客，
不得顧採薇。
既至金門遠，
孰云吾道非？
江淮度寒食，
京洛縫春衣。
置酒長安道，
同心與我違。
行當浮桂棹，
未幾拂荊扉。
遠樹帶行客，
孤城當落暉。
吾謀適不用，
勿謂知音稀。
Translation
In a flourishing age there should be no hermits;
All men of talent should come forward to serve.
So you, a recluse of the eastern hills,
Gave up gathering herbs and came away.
You reached the Golden Gate, yet remained far from favor
Who can say that our Way was wrong?
You will cross the Jiang and Huai around the Cold Food Festival,
While spring clothes are being sewn in the northern capitals.
I pour farewell wine on the road from Chang’an,
As a kindred spirit departs from me.
Soon your cassia-wood oar will carry you home,
And before long you will brush open your rustic gate.
Distant trees will accompany the traveler;
A lonely town will meet the setting sun.
Your plans simply happened not to be accepted
Do not think there are none who recognize your music.
Note – a recluse is one who withdraws from government service, contrasts private life with trying to gain official recognition.
My Retreat at Mount Chung-Nan – Wang Wei (p. 396)
終南別業
中歲頗好道，
晚家南山陲。
興來每獨往，
勝事空自知。
行到水窮處，
坐看雲起時。
偶然值林叟，
談笑無還期。
Translation
In middle age I grew fond of the Way;
Later I made my home beside South Mountain.
Whenever the feeling comes, I wander alone,
Enjoying things that I alone understand.
I walk until the stream comes to an end,
Then sit and watch the clouds rise.
By chance I meet an old man in the woods;
We talk and laugh, forgetting the time to return.
Note – (the Way) refers to a Daoist way of life and spiritual outlook.
A Note on a Rainy Night to a Friend in the North – Li Shangyin
夜雨寄北
君問歸期未有期，
巴山夜雨漲秋池。
何當共剪西窗燭，
卻話巴山夜雨時。
Translation
You ask when I will return; there is no date yet.
Night rain on the Ba Mountains fills the autumn pools.
When shall we sit together, trimming the candle by the western window,
And talk again about this night of rain in the Ba Mountains?
Note – Mountainous refers to the region of Sichuan/eastern Chongqing.
A Night Abroad – Du Fu
旅夜書懷
細草微風岸，
危檣獨夜舟。
星垂平野闊，
月湧大江流。
名豈文章著，
官應老病休。
飄飄何所似？
天地一沙鷗。
Translation
Fine grass, a light wind along the bank;
A tall mast, a solitary boat at night.
Stars hang low above the immense plain;
The moon surges with the great river.
Is fame really something won through writing?
An official should retire only from age and illness.
Drifting, drifting-what am I like?
A lone gull between heaven and earth.
At Wang Changling’s Retreat – Chang Jian
宿王昌齡隱居 — 常建
清溪深不測，
隱處惟孤雲。
松際露微月，
清光猶為君。
茅亭宿花影，
藥院滋苔紋。
余亦謝時去，
西山鸞鶴群。
Translation
Beside a clear stream, deep beyond measuring,
You live hidden among solitary clouds.
Between the pines a faint moon appears,
Its pure light seeming especially for you.
Flower shadows rest upon your thatched pavilion;
Moss patterns grow throughout your herb garden.
I too would leave this world behind
And join the phoenixes and cranes of the western mountain.
Note – Luan birds and cranes are traditional symbols of immortals and transcendence.
A Poor Girl – Qin Taoyu
貧女 — 秦韜玉
蓬門未識綺羅香，
擬託良媒益自傷。
誰愛風流高格調？
共憐時世儉梳妝。
敢將十指誇針巧，
不把雙眉鬥畫長。
苦恨年年壓金線，
為他人作嫁衣裳。
Translation
Born behind a humble gate, she has never known the fragrance of fine silk;
She thinks of trusting a good matchmaker, yet this only deepens her sorrow.
Who values graceful character and high refinement?
Everyone admires instead the fashionable painted face.
She could proudly show the skill of her ten fingers with the needle,
But she will not compete by painting her eyebrows long.
Bitterly, year after year, she works the golden thread-
Making bridal gowns for other women.
Notes – Humble gate versus fine silks – the poem contrasts poverty and social status with refinement and ability. And “making wedding clothes for other people” – using one’s skill and labor to benefit others while receiving no reward oneself.
Crossing the Han River – Li Pin
渡漢江 – 李頻
嶺外音書絕，
經冬復歷春。
近鄉情更怯，
不敢問來人。
Translation
Beyond the mountains, all letters and news were cut off;
Winter passed, and spring came again.
The nearer I come to home, the more fearful my heart becomes-
I dare not ask the people coming from there.
A Farewell to Secretary Shu-yun at the Xie Tiao Tower in Xuanzhou – Li Bai
宣州謝朓樓餞別校書叔雲 – 李白
棄我去者，昨日之日不可留；
亂我心者，今日之日多煩憂。
長風萬里送秋雁，
對此可以酣高樓。
蓬萊文章建安骨，
中間小謝又清發。
俱懷逸興壯思飛，
欲上青天攬明月。
抽刀斷水水更流，
舉杯銷愁愁更愁。
人生在世不稱意，
明朝散髮弄扁舟。
Translation
What has abandoned me is yesterday
Yesterday cannot be kept.
What troubles my heart is today
Today is filled with sorrow.
A great wind escorts the autumn geese for ten thousand li;
Before such a sight we can drink our fill in this high tower.
Your writing has the strength of the old Jian’an masters;
Mine has something of the younger Xie’s clarity and brilliance.
Both of us cherish soaring thoughts and magnificent ambitions,
Longing to rise into the blue sky and embrace the bright moon.
Draw a sword to cut the water-the water flows more strongly;
Raise a cup to banish sorrow-the sorrow grows still greater.
Since life in this world cannot satisfy the heart,
Tomorrow I will loosen my hair and take to a little boat.
Notes – “Penglai” imperial literary world, “Jian’an style” suggests strong, forceful writing, and “Little Xie” refers to the poet Xie Tiao, associated with clarity and elegance. And “loosen my hair and take to a small boat.” – Loosened hair is rejecting official formality and withdrawing from public life; the little boat represents freedom from worldly obligations.
Bringing in the Wine – Li Bai
將進酒 – 李白
君不見黃河之水天上來，
奔流到海不復回？
君不見高堂明鏡悲白髮，
朝如青絲暮成雪？
人生得意須盡歡，
莫使金樽空對月。
天生我材必有用，
千金散盡還復來。
烹羊宰牛且為樂，
會須一飲三百杯。
岑夫子，丹丘生，
將進酒，杯莫停。
與君歌一曲，
請君為我傾耳聽。
鐘鼓饌玉不足貴，
但願長醉不願醒。
古來聖賢皆寂寞，
惟有飲者留其名。
陳王昔時宴平樂，
斗酒十千恣歡謔。
主人何為言少錢？
徑須沽取對君酌。
五花馬，千金裘，
呼兒將出換美酒，
與爾同銷萬古愁。
Translation
Do you not see the waters of the Yellow River coming down from heaven,
Rushing to the sea, never to return?
Do you not see, in the bright mirror of the great hall, sorrow over white hair-
Black silk in the morning, turned to snow by evening?
When life goes well, we must enjoy it to the full;
Never let the golden cup stand empty beneath the moon.
Heaven gave me talents that surely have their use;
A thousand pieces of gold, once spent, will come again.
Cook the sheep, slaughter the ox, and let us be merry;
When we drink, let it be three hundred cups at a time.
Master Cen! Danqiu, my friend!
Bring in the wine-do not let the cups stop.
I will sing you a song;
Please incline your ears and listen.
Bells and drums, fine food and treasures are not worth valuing;
I only wish to remain drunk and never wake.
From ancient times, sages and worthy men have all been lonely;
Only the great drinkers have left their names behind.
Long ago the Prince of Chen feasted at Pingle,
Spending ten thousand on wine in extravagant delight.
Host, why say that money is short?
Go at once and buy wine for us.
The five-flowered horse, the coat worth a thousand gold-
Call the boy to take them out and exchange them for fine wine,
And together with you I will dissolve the sorrow of ten thousand ages.
Notes – 鐘鼓饌玉 – “bells and drums, delicacies and jade” may be shorthand for wealth, luxury, and high social status. 萬古愁 – “the sorrow of ten thousand ages” is the universal sorrow of mortality, frustration, and the passing of time.