風急天高猿嘯哀
渚清沙白鳥飛回
無邊落木簫簫下
不盡長江滾滾来
萬里悲秋常作客
百年多病獨登台
艱難苦恨繁霜鬢
潦倒新停濁酒杯

Up the Mountain                    Du Fu (712-770)         江紹倫譯

High sky and swift winds send gibbons wearily cry
O’er white sand in the clear river birds recurrently fly
In the boundless wood trees shed their leaves like showers
From the long river torrents roll forgetful of the hour
Ten thousand li from home I grieve this autumn my plight
Surviving lengthy illness I alone climb up this platform high
Through hard times my hair is turning white
Battling poverty I now must give up wine

細草微風岸
危檣獨夜舟
星捶平野闊
月湧大江流

名豈文章著
官因老病休
飄飄何所似
天地一沙鷗

Reflections In An Inn          Du Fu (712-770)         江紹倫譯

Short grass thrive on riverbanks cooled by breezes
Alone a tall mass stands on a boat in darkness
A sky decorated by low stars sets the plain wide
The moon bright heaves up the river’s rolling tide

My fame is not built by my writings at will
Retirement from public office is natural when old and ill
How free it feels doing little I wonder
Like a water bird between sky and land hovers

乘爾亦已久
天寒關塞深
塵中老盡力
歲晚病傷心
毛骨豈殊衆
馴良猶至今
物微意不淺
感動一沈吟
 

To My Ailing Horse   Du Fu (712-770)          江紹倫譯

You have followed my rein for so many years
Through snow and deep mountain passes we cheered
You have always trotted in good form where’er we go
Seeing you ill in your aging days I feel sorrow
Your coat and frame are not different from others your kind
‘Tis your loyalty to me that shines
This little gesture of appreciation is definitely not shallow
I’m moved to sing you my praise from my soul

清秋望不極
迢遞起曾陰
遠水兼天淨
孤城隱霧深
葉稀風更落
山迥日初沈
獨鶴歸何晚
昏鴉已滿林

Watching the Wilderness       Du Fu (712-770)          江紹倫譯

On this autumn day I see a boundless view
Layers of hills and trees loom in vivid hues
At a distance clean are the water and the sky
Hidden in deep mist a lone town stays from behind
Lingering leafs easily fall when swept by winds
Toward the mountain ranges a retiring sun plummets in
Why should a solitary crane returns to its nest late
When black craws have thronged the woods in haste