Member Poem

By Liu Yong (987-1053), Translated by Frank Watson
 
 
Clouds above the mountain top,
About the river of night and day;
Looking out at the meadow crop,
Her face arrayed in the misty spray.
 
A thousand autumns pass,
Leaving my eyes in a frozen state;
Looking to go home, at last,
I feel our life’s divided fate.
 
I gaze, but letters no longer console—
Their perfumed scent has faded;
I fly alone, without a soul,
A wild goose, unaided.
 
Landing on an islet, exposed
By autumn’s sinking tides—
My thoughts compose
Of the days I laid by her side.
 
Our plans were all but hollow
As those happy times together
Would leave us naught to follow,
Adrift like wind-torn feathers.
 
Rain runs wild among the clouds
And I worry about this trip
Beyond the mountains shrouds,
Far past a thousand river slips.
 
The fields have vanished
In the dark, on a day
In which I cannot speak. I'm banished
Inside this tower, to stay.
 
 
 
Original Chinese
 

Traditional	Simplified	Pronunciation
曲玉管	曲玉管	qū yù guǎn
隴首雲飛，	陇首云飞，	lǒng shǒu yún fēi ，
江邊日晚，	江边日晚，	jiāng biān rì wǎn ，
煙波滿目憑闌久。	烟波满目凭阑久。	yān bō mǎn mù píng lán jiǔ 。
立望關河蕭索，	立望关河萧索，	lì wàng guān hé xiāo suǒ ，
千裏清秋。	千里清秋。	qiān lǐ qīng qiū 。
忍凝眸。	忍凝眸。	rěn níng móu 。
杳杳神京，	杳杳神京，	yǎo yǎo shén jīng ，
盈盈仙子，	盈盈仙子，	yíng yíng xiān zǐ ，
別來錦字終難偶。	别来锦字终难偶。	bié lái jǐn zì zhōng nán ǒu 。
斷雁無憑，	断雁无凭，	duàn yàn wú píng ，
冉冉飛下汀洲。	冉冉飞下汀洲。	rǎn rǎn fēi xià tīng zhōu 。
思悠悠。	思悠悠。	sī yōu yōu 。
暗想當初，	暗想当初，	àn xiǎng dāng chū ，
有多少，	有多少，	yǒu duō shǎo ，
幽歡佳會，	幽欢佳会，	yōu huān jiā huì ，
豈知聚散難期，	岂知聚散难期，	qǐ zhī jù sàn nán qī ，
翻成雨恨雲愁。	翻成雨恨云愁。	fān chéng yǔ hèn yún chóu 。
阻追遊。	阻追游。	zǔ zhuī yóu 。
每登山臨水，	每登山临水，	měi dēng shān lín shuǐ ，
惹起平生心事，	惹起平生心事，	rě qǐ píng shēng xīn shì ，
一場消黯，	一场消黯，	yī cháng xiāo àn ，
永日無言，	永日无言，	yǒng rì wú yán ，
卻下層樓。	却下层楼。	què xià céng lóu 。

 
 
Translation Notes
 
 

曲玉管	Tune jade pipe [a type of tune that governs the words, rhyme, meter, etc.]
隴首雲飛，	Mountain head clouds fly
江邊日晚，	River edge sun night
煙波滿目憑闌久。	Fog waves fill eye lean-on hand-rail grow-late [Fog mixing with water, the spaciousness and quiet of the water]
立望關河蕭索，	Stand look-at frontier-pass river sighing-of-wind isolated [Standing a long time, looking at the mountains and rivers, bleak and chilly]
千裏清秋。	Thousand within clear autumn
忍凝眸。	Suffer freeze eye [Can hardly bear to look for a long time]
杳杳神京，	Dark dark spirit capital-city [Far, far away—Bianjing, capital city of the Northern Song Dynasty]
盈盈仙子，	Fill fill immortal child [Light and slender fairy maiden (the woman he misses)]
別來錦字終難偶。	Do-not come brocade letter finally difficult accidentally [Since the time we parted her brocade letters are hard to receive]
斷雁無憑，	Sever wild-goose have-no depend-on [Wild goose, alone, having to fly south, away from his woman]
冉冉飛下汀洲。	Gradually gradually fly down sandbar islet [Small island in water appearing because of the low waters of autumn]
思悠悠。	Missing long long
暗想當初，	Dark consider undertake beginning [Think to oneself about the good old days]
有多少，	Have much less
幽歡佳會，	Tranquil happy good assemble [Romantic and happy times they met together]
豈知聚散難期，	How know assemble scatter difficult period-of-time [How could we know it would be hard to meet and part over time]
翻成雨恨雲愁。	Flip-over finished rain hate clouds anxiety
阻追遊。	Impede pursue wander
每登山臨水，	Every climb mountain approach river [Travel and stand by river]
惹起平生心事，	Incite rise flat life heart matter
一場消黯，	One field vanish dark
永日無言，	Eternal sun no words [All through the day]
卻下層樓。	Retreat beneath storied building [Walk down high pavilion]