312
乐府
王维
渭城曲

渭城朝雨邑轻尘, 客舍青青柳色新。
劝君更尽一杯酒, 西出阳关无故人。


Folk-song-styled-verse
Wang Wei
A SONG AT WEICHENG

A morning-rain has settled the dust in Weicheng;
Willows are green again in the tavern dooryard....
Wait till we empty one more cup --
West of Yang Gate there'll be no old friends.



313
乐府
王维
秋夜曲

桂魄初生秋露微, 轻罗已薄未更衣。
银筝夜久殷勤弄, 心怯空房不忍归。


Folk-song-styled-verse
Wang Wei
A SONG OF AN AUTUMN NIGHT

Under the crescent moon a light autumn dew
Has chilled the robe she will not change --
And she touches a silver lute all night,
Afraid to go back to her empty room.



314
乐府
王昌龄
长信怨

奉帚平明金殿开, 且将团扇共徘徊。
玉颜不及寒鸦色, 犹带昭阳日影来。


Folk-song-styled-verse
Wang Changling
A SIGH IN THE COURT OF PERPETUAL FAITH

She brings a broom at dawn to the Golden Palace doorway
And dusts the hall from end to end with her round fan,
And, for all her jade-whiteness, she envies a crow
Whose cold wings are kindled in the Court of the Bright Sun.



315
乐府
王昌龄
出塞

秦时明月汉时关, 万里长征人未还。
但使龙城飞将在, 不教胡马渡阴山。


Folk-song-styled-verse
Wang Changling
OVER THE BORDER

The moon goes back to the time of Qin, the wall to the time of Han,
And the road our troops are travelling goes back three hundred miles....
Oh, for the Winged General at the Dragon City --
That never a Tartar horseman might cross the Yin Mountains!



316
乐府
王之涣
出塞

黄河远上白云间, 一片孤城万仞山。
羌笛何须怨杨柳, 春风不度玉门关。


Folk-song-styled-verse
Wang Zhihuan
BEYOND THE BORDER

Where a yellow river climbs to the white clouds,
Near the one city-wall among ten-thousand-foot mountains,
A Tartar under the willows is lamenting on his flute
That spring never blows to him through the Jade Pass



317
乐府
李白
清平调之一

云想衣裳花想容, 春风拂槛露华浓。
若非群玉山头见, 会向瑶台月下逢。


Folk-song-styled-verse
Li Bai
A SONG OF PURE HAPPINESS I

Her robe is a cloud, her face a flower;
Her balcony, glimmering with the bright spring dew,
Is either the tip of earth's Jade Mountain
Or a moon- edged roof of paradise.



318
乐府
李白
清平调之二

一枝红艳露凝香, 云雨巫山枉断肠。
借问汉宫谁得似, 可怜飞燕倚新妆。


Folk-song-styled-verse
Li Bai
A SONG OF PURE HAPPINESS II

There's a perfume stealing moist from a shaft of red blossom,
And a mist, through the heart, from the magical Hill of Wu- -
The palaces of China have never known such beauty-
Not even Flying Swallow with all her glittering garments.



319
乐府
李白
清平调之三

名花倾国两相欢, 常得君王带笑看。
解释春风无限恨, 沈香亭北倚阑干。


Folk-song-styled-verse
Li Bai
A SONG OF PURE HAPPINESS III

Lovely now together, his lady and his flowers
Lighten for ever the Emperor's eye,
As he listens to the sighing of the far spring wind
Where she leans on a railing in the Aloe Pavilion.



320
乐府
杜秋娘
金缕衣

劝君莫惜金缕衣, 劝君惜取少年时。
花开堪折直须折, 莫待无花空折枝。


Folk-song-styled-verse
Du Qiuniang
THE GOLD-THREADED ROBE

Covet not a gold-threaded robe,
Cherish only your young days!
If a bud open, gather it --
Lest you but wait for an empty bough.