Wading into the river, I gather lotus flowers.
Magnolias in the dampness, so many fragrant plants.
I gather them, but who can I send them to?
The one I think of is on a distant road.
Looking back toward the old home village
the long road is vast and limitless
Hearts the same but living apart
Worry hurts and makes us old
--Anonymous. Poem from the Nineteen Old Poems, China, Han dynasty (206 B.C.- 220 A.D).
涉江采芙蓉
蘭澤多芳草。
采之欲遺誰？
所思在遠道。
還顧望舊鄉，
長路漫浩浩。
同心而離居，
憂作以終老！
A jug of wine in the midst of flowers
drinking alone, no family or friends
I raise the cup to toast the bright moon
and my shadow-- that makes three of us.
The moon doesn't know how to drink
and my shadow is my servant
For now I'll take the moon and my shadow
happy until the end of spring
I sing, the moon swings back and forth
I dance, my shadow acts crazy.
When we're sober we're happy together
When drunk we scatter apart
Eternally bonded-- friendlessly wandering
Time together as far away as the clouds and the stars
--Li Bai (李白)(701-762) is probably the most famous of all Chinese poets. After brilliant success at the court of the Tang emperor, he fell into disgrace when he got drunk in the emperor's presence. A powerful eunuch was asked to pull off Li Bai's boots and the eunuch was so furious that he brought about Li Bai's fall from grace. The poet supposedly died while trying to embrace the reflection of the moon in the Yangtze River.
This is one of his most famous poems and there are many, many translations. Here are 43 more versions.
月下獨酌
花間一壺酒
獨酌無相親
舉杯邀明月
對影成三人
月既不解飲
影徒隨我身
暫伴月將影
行樂須及春
我歌月徘徊
我舞影零亂
醒時同交歡
醉後各分散
永結無情游
相期邈雲漢
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. Unnamed is the beginning of heaven and earth. With a name, the mother of all creation.
--from the Dao De Jing (道德經), by Laozi (老子, a half-mythical figure of ancient China)
ming ke ming, fei chang ming. wu ming tian di zhi shi; you ming wan wu zhi mu.
名可名，非常名。無名天地之始；有名萬物之母。
