River Colored Like Fish Scales: Several Dance Steps
三 登 乐
一 碧 鳞 鳞 横 万 里
天 垂 吴 楚。
四 无 人 橹 声 自 语。
向 浮 云 西 下 处
水 村 烟 树。
何 处 系 船
暮 涛 涨 浦。
正 江 南 摇 落 后
好 山 无 数。
对 青 灯，犹 自 叹
一 生 羁 旅。
欹 枕 梦 寒
又 还 夜 雨。
San Deng Yue
Yi bi lin lin, heng wan li
Tian chui wu chu.
Si wu ren, lu sheng zi yu.
Xiang fu yun, xi xia chu
Shui cun yan shu.
He chu ji chuan
Mu tao zhang pu.
Zheng jiang nan yao luo hou
Hao shan wu lou.
Jin cheng liu, xing lai bian qu.
Cun qing deng, you zi tan
Yi sheng ji lu.
Qi zhen meng han
You huan ye yu.
River Colored Like Fish Scales: Several Dance Steps
Hundreds of miles along the Changjiang colored like bluish-green fish scales
Sky hangs down between Wu and Chu areas.
All four directions without people, oar strokes sound like natural words
Floating clouds approach with me traveling to the west.
River villages in misty trees
Not living here, do not need a tied-up boat
At sunset, large vast waves swell up inside Jiangnan
Fallen leaves fill beautiful mountains without number.
Riding the flows, in the mood for an easy arrival
Naturally looking back, praise for the dimming lantern.
Most all my life have lived in alien lands
Dreaming upon cold and slanted pillows
Only to discover the evening’s rainfall.
Notes:
Wu and Chu: Ancient nation states during the Zhou Dynasty.
Jiangnan: Roughly the area of Zhejiang Province.