Within the mountain midst, a farewell scene:
I shut my door, the sun begins to set.
In spring next year the grass will turn to green,
But if you’ll come back here, I know not yet.
 
 
 
Chinese
 
送別
 
山中相送罷，
日暮掩柴扉。
春草明年綠，
王孫歸不歸。
 
 
Pronunciation
 
Sòng Bié
 
Shān zhōng xiāng sòng bà，
Rì mù yǎn chái fēi。
Chūn cǎo nián nián lǜ，
Wáng sūn guī bù guī。
 
 
Literal Character Translation

Alone, I sit serene within a bamboo grove,
At ease, I strum the lute and hum a song.
Unknown into the forest deep I’ll rove
Until the shining moon has sung along.
 
 
 
Chinese
 
竹里館
 
獨坐幽篁裡，
彈琴復長嘯。
深林人不知，
明月來相照。
 
 
Pronunciation
 
Zhú Lǐ Guǎn
 
Dú zuò yōu huáng lǐ，
Dàn qín fù cháng xiào。
Shēn lín rén bù zhī，
Míng yuè lái xiāng zhào。
 
 
Literal Character Translation
 

Inside the empty hills I see no men,
The human words I hear are merely echoes.
Returning deep within the woods again,
The light reflects atop, where green moss grows.
 
 
 
Chinese
 
鹿柴
 
空山不見人，
但聞人語響。
返景入深林，
復照青苔上。

 
Pronunciation
 
Lù Chái
 
Kōng shān bù jiàn rén，
Dàn wén rén yǔ xiǎng。
Fǎn jǐng rù shēn lín，
Fù zhào qīng tái shàng。
 
 
Literal Character Translation
 
Deer Woods

Ten years ago I saw you on a beach
Beneath the empty sky, a silhouette
Of sun and sand, a dream within my reach
Beside a patch of dawn-lit grass still wet.
 
But in the great wide distance lies a dream
Mixed in with siren sounds that echo still,
A vow that’s found in clouds that rise from steam,
Like birds set free who sing beyond a hill.