出塞曲
Photo by Benny Zhang Studio.
冬日隨筆（一）A Winter’s Poem (1)
山中晶瑩雪 春深寂寞林
四時不同景 冷淡總相因
倦遊紅塵久 常懷高士心
默然獨愁予 空谷生白雲
Crystal snow covering the mountains
The thick forests so lonely
While scenes change across every season
The coldness of life remains
Tired of traveling through this human world
How I long to soar far beyond!
Silent I sit here alone with a sorrowful heart
Watching white clouds rising amidst the empty valleys.
Translated by Jennifer Zeng and Gerard Traub
高山流水
伯牙揮手百鳥飛 古調希聲彈與誰
偶遇斯人在草野 聽琴論道樂不歸
指上峨峨山之隈 弦外湯湯水之湄
高山流水彈斷續 人生到此能幾回
逃聲一嘆意未盡 知音不返白雲垂
千載寂寞少同調 絶響傳於後人悲
「逃聲」：伯牙所念，鐘子期必得之。……，曲每奏，鐘子期輒窮其趣。伯牙乃舍琴而嘆曰：「善哉！善哉！子之聽夫！志想像猶吾心也。吾於何逃聲哉？」
桃園故事（調寄念奴嬌）
Photo credit zhaozhitian.artron.net
義結千古， 自桃園一拜， 死生相從。
亂世英雄當用事， 所謂三人成眾。
盡有西南， 三分天下， 看將雄兵勇。
青天蜀道， 江山如畫如夢。
功業何許崢嶸， 西風吹斷， 白帝添高冢。
代有興亡說不盡， 天意誰人能懂。
中土為台， 三國演「義」， 故壘荒煙重。
歌哭青史， 為由何事心動。
定中 In Tranquility / In Ding
Photo credit 699pic.com
天道何盤盤 機深玉宇寒
趺坐白石上 坐久夜正闌
山鳥驚飛去 庭空更蕭然
一念如寂滅 回看小塵寰
The Way of Heaven narrows, squeezing, distant, upward
complexly to an up high, jade-made palace.
I meditate, legs tight on a whitened mountain bollard,
long, through long night’s deep-stretched, empty solace.
Even mountain birds scatter before the palace.
The courtyard desolate. The whole world, dust.
One simple, single thought. Silence. Extinction. No place.
Look backward, only a speck of dust.
Translated by Jennifer Zeng and Damian Robin
讀史記刺客列傳
Photo by Benny Zhang Studio.
千載契闊 我思戰國
燕南趙北 奇節卓犖
載酒天涯 風塵落拓
十步殺人 拂衣自若
混跡屠狗 交遊王侯
士為知己 輕生重諾
五月花開 相逢於陌
短劍長歌 歷歷猶昨
西江月•初冬有懷 My Thoughts in Early Winter
半世異鄉過客，
平生人境為廬。
頻來歸夢總如初。
萬水千山飛度。
莫道有情浮世，
煙霞自在江湖。
偶然何事感躊躇。
隱約白雲深處。
Tune: Xi Jiang Yue(1) (Moon Over the West River)
Wandering through foreign lands
Half of my lifetime has passed
Wherever I go
In this human world
I build another cottage as I cultivate myself
My dream of returning
Always revisiting
As strong as in the beginning
Carrying me over thousands of rivers and mountains.
Don't tell me how wonderful and colorful this world is!
I only care about traveling freely
To rivers and lakes
Amidst mist and evening glow
Yet alas! For what reasons do I sometimes hesitate?
A faint sadness swells in my chest
As I vaguely remember
My real home in the heavens
Hidden beyond the white clouds.
1. Xi Jiang Yue is A qupai, the generic term for a fixed melody used in traditional Chinese music. A qupai (Chinese: 曲牌; pinyin: qǔpái; also called Chinese: 牌子; pinyin: paizi) is the generic term for a fixed melody used in traditional Chinese music. The literal meaning is "named tune," "labeled melody," "titled tune," or "titled song".)
Translated by Jennifer Zeng and Gerard Traub
Photo by Benny Zhang Studio.
蘭亭舒序賦
我聞蘭亭，其曲和雅，其聲泠泠，其境唯妙，其氣至清。寫魏晉之風骨，流觴曲水，若沐風而舞雩，欣然忘形。歌之詠之，諸賢高會。舞之蹈之，暢敘幽情。中有羲之，落墨如蘭，葉勢飛舉，雲萼娉婷。宇宙之妙，運乎其手，萬千變化，存乎一心。千載而下，逸筆無匹，後世仰止，書聖高行。神來之韻，我心向慕，不知其曲耶書耶，人耶蘭耶，長揖仙蹤之既遠，恍隔縹緲之蓬瀛，如是我聞，中心慼然，人間天上，共此一聽。
——夜聽神韻交響樂【蘭亭舒序】感而有賦
The Orchid Pavilion Gathering as depicted in an 18th-century Japanese painting. (Wikipedia)
白蓮歌 Song to the White Lotus
愛彼白蓮花
采得月精華
譬如幽人立
皎皎若明霞
不做芙蓉冠
不生神仙家
我隨清風至
遇爾水之涯
Oh, white lotus, so lovely,
Growing essence of moonlight;
Standing graceful, pure lady,
As sunshine makes clouds bright.
Nature’s crowns, you’ve no need for;
High immortals don't hold you.
With the wind may my wings soar
Passed world's seas to be near you.
Translation by Jennifer Zeng | Rendition into formal English verse by Damian Robin