Translation
Liu Shenxu (~733) | 劉眘虛 |
Untitled | 闕題 |
A road follows, touching the white clouds | 道由 白雲盡 |
In spring, together with a long, green mountain stream. | 春與 青溪長 |
The time has arrived for fallen flowers | 時有 落花至 |
That follow the fragrance of flowing water to the distance. | 遠隨 流水香 |
The fence gate leads to a mountain path | 閑門 向山路 |
And deep among the willow trees there is a study hall. | 深柳 讀書堂 |
It is quiet and remote and reflects the bright sun | 幽映 每白日 |
To shine its pure brilliance on my clothes. | 清輝 照衣裳 |
Commentary
The author described a study hall hidden deep among the willow trees in a remote setting. It shows the literati’s appreciation of study, nature, and leisure. The use of images is also interesting, illustrating the mountain is high by the path going all the way up into the clouds, showing the time of season being just after when the flowers bloom and start to fall down, and painting a picture of the sun shining through the willow leaves to reflect as light between shade on his clothes.
Original Chinese
Traditional | Simplified | Pronunciation |
劉眘虛 | 刘眘虚 | Liú Shènxū |
闕題 | 阙题 | Què Tí |
道由白雲盡， | 道由白云尽， | Dào yóu bái yún jìn， |
春與青溪長。 | 春与青溪长。 | Chūn yǔ qīng xī cháng。 |
時有落花至， | 时有落花至, | Shí yǒu luò huā zhì， |
遠隨流水香。 | 远随流水香。 | Yuǎn wén liú shuǐ xiāng。 |
閑門向山路， | 闲门向山路， | Xián mén xiàng shān lù， |
深柳讀書堂。 | 深柳读书堂。 | Shēn liǔ dú shū táng。 |
幽映每白日， | 幽映每白日， | Yōu yìng měi bái rì， |
清輝照衣裳。 | 清辉照衣裳。 | Qīng huī zhào yī shang。 |
Literal Notes
劉眘虛 | Kill/destroy ?/Careful Emptiness [= Liu Shenxu (~733)] [The first character of his given name, 眘, did not have a dictionary entry for the meaning, though it did for the pronunciation. In some sources, his name is written as 刘慎虚, which is pronounced the same way and literally means Kill Careful Emptiness. This alternative may be written with the character “慎” because it has the same pronunciation but is less archaic and more accessible to modern readers.] |
闕題 | Deficient Title [Deficient Title = Untitled. The title of this poem has been lost.] |
道由白雲盡， | Road follow white clouds end [i.e., the road extends to the clouds] |
春與青溪長。 | Spring and blue/green mountain-stream/creek long |
時有落花至， | Time/season has fallen flowers arrived |
遠隨流水香。 | Distance/far follow/submit flowing water fragrant |
閑門向山路， | Fence gate toward mountain path |
深柳讀書堂。 | Deep willow-tree read/study book hall [Note: this line means that there is a study hall hidden in the willow grove.] |
幽映每白日， | Quiet/remote/serene/hidden-away reflect-light every white sun [Quiet reflect-light = shady], [every = in spite of] [Note: this line means that even in the day, the study hall is still shady due to tall and dense willows.] |
清輝照衣裳。 | Clear/pure brightness shines clothing clothes [Clear brightness = sunshine] [Note: this line means that only some sunlight passes through the apertures of leaves and shines on people’s clothes.] |
Year:
2012
Reviews
No reviews yet.