古柏行 Ballad of the Ancient Cypress

杜甫 Du Fu

孔 明 庙 前 有 老 柏
Before Kongming's shrine stands an ancient cypress,
kǒng míng miào qián yǒu lǎo bǎi
柯 如 青 铜 根 如 石
Its branches are like green bronze, its roots just like stone.
kē rú qīng tóng gēn rú shí
霜 皮 溜 雨 四 十 围
The frosted bark, slippery with rain, is forty spans around,
shuāng pí liū yǔ sì shí wéi
黛 色 参 天 二 千 尺
Its blackness blends into the sky two thousand feet above.
dài sè cān tiān èr qiān chǐ
君 臣 已 与 时 际 会
Master and servant have each already reached their time's end,
jūn chén yǐ yǔ shí jì huì
树 木 犹 为 人 爱 惜
The tree, however, still remains, receiving men's devotion.
shù mù yóu wèi rén ài xī
云 来 气 接 巫 峡 长
Clouds come and bring the air of Wuxia gorge's vastness,
yún lái qì jiē wū xiá zhǎng
月 出 寒 通 雪 山 白
The moon comes out, along with the cold of snowy mountain whiteness.
yuè chū hán tōng xuě shān bái
忆 昨 路 绕 锦 亭 东
I think back to the winding road, east of Brocade Pavilion,
yì zuó lù rào jǐn tíng dōng
先 主 武 侯 同 閟 宫
Where the military master and his lord of old share a hidden temple.
xiān zhǔ wǔ hóu tóng bì gōng
崔 嵬 枝 干 郊 原 古
Towering that trunk, those branches, on the ancient plain,
cuī wéi zhī gàn jiāo yuán gǔ
窈 窕 丹 青 户 牖 空
Hidden paintings, red and black, doors and windows empty.
yǎo tiǎo dān qīng hù yǒu kōng
落 落 盘 踞 虽 得 地
Spreading wide, coiling down, though it holds the earth,
luò luò pán jù suī dé de
冥 冥 孤 高 多 烈 风
In the dim and distant heights are many violent winds.
míng míng gū gāo duō liè fēng
扶 持 自 是 神 明 力
That which gives it its support must be heaven's strength,
fú chí zì shì shén míng lì
正 直 原 因 造 化 功
The reason for its uprightness, the creator's skill.
zhèng zhí yuán yīn zào huà gōng
大 厦 如 倾 要 梁 栋
If a great hall should teeter, wanting rafters and beams,
dà shà rú qīng yào liáng dòng
万 牛 回 首 丘 山 重
Ten thousand oxen would turn their heads towards its mountain's weight.
wàn niú huí shǒu qiū shān zhòng
不 露 文 章 世 已 惊
Its potential unrevealed, the world's already amazed,
bù lù wén zhāng shì yǐ jīng
未 辞 剪 伐 谁 能 送
Nothing would stop it being felled, but what man could handle it?
wèi cí jiǎn fá shuí néng sòng
苦 心 岂 免 容 蝼 蚁
Its bitter heart cannot avoid the entry of the ants,
kǔ xīn qǐ miǎn róng lóu yǐ
香 叶 终 经 宿 鸾 凤
Its fragrant leaves have always given shelter to the phoenix.
xiāng yè zhōng jīng sù luán fèng
志 士 幽 人 莫 怨 嗟
Ambitious scholars, reclusive hermits- neither needs to sigh;
zhì shì yōu rén mò yuàn jiē
古 来 材 大 难 为 用
Always it's the greatest timber that's hardest to put to use.
gǔ lái cái dà nán wèi yòng

There are no comments yet for this text.

You need to log in to leave a comment.