[updated October 2022]
Written For Paulownia Leaves
题 桐 叶
去 年 桐 落 故 溪 上
把 叶 因 题 归 燕 诗。
江 楼 今 日 送 归 燕
正 是 去 年 题 叶 时。
叶 落 燕 归 真 可 惜
东 流 玄 发 且 无 期。
笑 筵 歌 席 反 惆 怅
朗 月 清 风 见 别 离。
庄 叟 彭 殇 同 在 梦
陶 潜 身 世 两 相 遗。
一 丸 五 色 成 虚 语
石 烂 松 薪 更 莫 疑。
哆 侈 不 劳 文 似 锦
进 趋 何 必 利 如 锥。
钱 神 任 尔 知 无 敌
酒 圣 于 吾 亦 庶 几。
江 畔 秋 关 蟾 阁 镜
槛 前 山 翠 茂 陵 眉。
樽 相 轻 泛 数 枝 菊
檐 影 斜 侵 半 局 棋。
休 指 宦 游 论 巧 拙
只 将 愚 直 祷 神 祗。
三 吴 烟 水 平 生 念
宁 向 闲 人 道 所 之。
Ti Tong Ye
Qu nian tong luo gu xi shang
Ba ye yin ti gui yan shi.
Jiang lou jin ri song gui yan
Zheng shi qu nian ti ye shi.
Ye luo yan gui zhen ke xi
Dong liu xuan fa qie wu qi.
Xiao yan ge xi fan chou chang
Lang yue qing feng jian bie li.
Zhuang sou peng shang tong zai meng
Tao qian shen shi liang xiang yi.
Yi wan wu se cheng xu yu
Shi lan song xin geng mo yi.
Duo chi bu lao wen si jin
Jin qu he bi li ru zhui.
Qian shen ren er zhi wu di
Jiu sheng yu wu yi shu ji.
Jiang pan qiu guan chan ge jing
Jian qian shan cui mao ling mei.
Zun xiang qing fan shu zhi ju
Yan ying xie qin ban ju qi.
Xiu zhi huan you lun qiao zhuo
Zhi jiang yu zhi dao shen zhi.
San wu yan shui ing sheng nian
Ning xiang xian ren dao suo zhi.
Written For Paulownia Leaves
Last year the paulownia leaves fell on the same rising streams
Because of them, I think of the swallows going back to their homes.
Today send off the departing swallows from this river tower
Last year this same time I wrote of these leaves.
Too bad the leaves have fallen and the swallows have returned
Rivers flow east, here I am awaiting a new imperial edict.
Happy banquet songs, my feast is of disappointments and sorrows
Officials and clear winds depart with the moon.
Old sage Zhuangzi had a dream, just like the Penglai immortals who died young and confused
Tao Yuanming left behind the dust of both life and society.
One liver-colored pill produces nothing but empty words
No doubt the pine firewood and rocks appear no more.
With no work, I can write my extravagant and varied poems
Do not need to advance like a pounding sharpened awl.
Realize the active-money deities have no enemies
Cannot drink heavily then write a well-done poem.
From the riverbank an autumn glow, the reflection is a mirror that does not deceive
From a correct perspective, lush green mountains and hills are more beautiful than palace eyebrows.
Wine vessels with nearby relaxed and fragrant chrysanthemum branches
Eave shadows slanting, invade one half of the chessboard.
Do not wag your finger at me, official travels and competent Confucian rituals are awkward.
Isolation brings humility and simplicity, prayers to the sacred deities.
All of one’s life think of the transient and many Wu rivers and mists
Would rather go to the local and idle people to enjoy their calm.
Notes:
Paulownia trees: A fast-growing deciduous tree native to central and western China. Strong and light-weight, it is often used as fodder, firewood, and as soundboards for stringed musical instruments.
Zhuangzi: He famously wrote of a dream where he was a butterfly. This dream was so lucid, that he could not really determine if he was a man dreaming he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was a man.
Tao Yuanming: (365-427) Famous Eastern Jin Dynasty poet. His biography and work can also be found on this website.
Penglai immortals: Penglai is the mythical island off the coast of China, and home to Penglai immortals also have butterfly dreams like master Zhuangzi.
Five-colored pill: Medicine concocted by Daoists in their attempts to obtain immortality. Also referred to and used by the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove to write their poetry, sing their songs, and paint their paintings.