Fan Zhongyan Poetry 

 


To th Tune of Su mu zhe


Blue cloudy sky

Yellow leave ground

Autumnal waves

Under cold blue mist.

Hills cathch the setting sun, sky and water emerge.

Unfeeling, fragrant grasses grow

On and on past the setting sun.

 

Unhappy homesick soul

Obsessed with travel cares—

Night brings no relief

Except when pleasant dreams prolong the sleep.

Don’t look out alone when the moon shines—

The wine in your melancholy heart

Will turn to tears of longing.

 

***

To the Tune of Ti yin deng

By Fan Zhongyan

Last night I was reading the Chronicle of the Shu

And laughed at Cao Cao, Sun Quan, Liu Bei.

They tried every stratagem,

Used up their heart’s strength,

And all any one got was a third of the country.

Tote it up on your finger, reflect—

Was it worth one drink with Liu Ling?

 

Human life never lasts a hundred years.

Young, you are too foolish;

Old, you get decrepit.

There’s only few good years in between.

How can you stand to tie them to any empty them?

The highest rank, a thousand of gold—

Ask your white hair,

Can it make them retreat?

Chinese text