Beginning to Enter the Wu Gorge
初 入 巫 峡
钻 火 巴 东 岸
摐 金 峡 口 船。
束 江 崖 欲 合
漱 石 水 多 漩。
桌 午 三 竿 日
中 间 一 罅 天。
违 哉 神 禹 迹
疏 凿 此 山 川。
Chu Ru Wu Xia
Zuan huo ba dong an
Chuang jin xia kou chuan.
Shu jing ya yu he
Shu shi shui duo xuan.
Zhuo wu san gan ri
Zhong jian yi xie tian.
Wei zai shen yu ji
Shu zao ci shan chuan.
Beginning to Enter the Wu Gorge
Spent the Cold Food Days on the eastern riverside
Waiting to catch the next large boat going upriver.
Cliffs of this gorge will then soar up and move closer together
Whirlpools and eddies wash the stones with their river water.
At noon, the tall masts cast only a few shadows
One sky fragment sandwiched in between the heights.
Big alas! The flood god Yu left his footprint here
He helped to mortise and chisel these mountains and river ravines.
Notes:
Cold Food Days: The days leading up to the Qing Ming observances in early April. To honor their ancestors, family members sweep and decorate their gravesides, and do not start fires to cook their food.