A Chanted Poem Upon a River
(《 江上吟 》)
Translation
Original Chinese
English Translation
1. 木蘭之枻沙棠舟,
The fragrant Mulan Magnolia (木蘭, 1) planks rest on two sides (枻, 2) of a Shatang wood (沙棠, 3) boat,
2. 玉簫金管坐兩頭.
All the luxurious wind instruments (玉簫金管, 4) lie on the two ends afloat.
3. 美酒尊中置千斛,
Jars hold thousands of cups (千斛, 5) of fantastic wines,
4. 載妓隨波任去留.
With the ladies of Song and Dance (妓, 6), I follow the waves to wherever the boat finds.
5. 仙人有待乘黃鶴,
While the Transcended (仙人, 7) still rely (待, 8) on riding a yellow crane (黃鶴, 9) to soar,
6. 海客無心隨白鷗.
I, wandering all over the world (海客, 10), have no intention of following the ivory gulls (白鷗) at all.
7. 屈平辭賦懸日月,
8. 楚王臺榭空山丘.
9. 興酣落筆搖五嶽,
10. 詩成笑傲凌滄洲.
11. 功名富貴若長在,
12. 漢水亦應西北流.
(translated by KS Vincent POON, November 2024)
FOR FURTHER TRANSLATION AND CORRECTIONS TO COMMON MISINTERPRETATIONS, REMARKS, AND FOOTNOTES, PLEASE SEE :
The Correct Interpretations and English Translations of Tang Poems and Song Lyrical Poems - Accompanied with Calligraphy and Vernacular Chinese
唐宋詩詞正解並英譯 附書法白話 NEW
by KS Vincent POON & Kwok Kin POON (May. 2025)
ISBN 978-1-989485-39-2
This book provides concise and correct translations of several popular Tang poems (唐詩) and Song lyrical poems (宋詞), including those by Li Bai (李白, 701-762 AD), Bai Juyi (白居易,772-846 AD), Xue Ying (薛瑩, ?-? AD), Su Shi (蘇軾, 1037-1101 AD), Li Qingzhao (李清照, 1084 - 1151 AD), and Lu You (陸游, 1125-1210 AD). Annotated line-by-line translations are presented in neat and simple words that are easy to understand, with each line's true meaning revealed by extensive research. Vernacular Chinese translations are also given. In addition, every poem is accompanied by Chinese calligraphy to enhance readers' appreciation of traditional Chinese culture.
Tang poems and Song lyrical poems are known for their elegant and straightforward language. Yet, Chinese interpretations often contain critical mistakes. Most English translations additionally suffer from excessive fancy language that is hard to follow. This book aims to fix all these maladies of arbitrariness, which is relatively common in both Eastern and Western academia.
WorldCat/Library: Coming Soon.
Jump to: Poetry and Others
Jump to: Works in Standard Script