Letter to Han Jianyi
寄韓諫議注 · Three Hundred Tang Poems
Letter to Han Jianyi
Now I am not joyful, and I think of Yueyang,
I wish to soar aloft, yet I lie sick in bed.
A fair one, graceful and lovely, is separated from me by autumn waters,
Washing her feet in the Dongting Lake, gazing toward the eight horizons.
Wild geese fly far into the dim distance, the sun and moon are white,
Green maple leaves turn crimson, frost falls from the sky.
The assembled lords of the Jade Capital gather at the Big Dijk,
Some ride unicorns, some screen themselves with phoenixes.
Lotus banners and pennants descend through mist and haze,
Their reflections stir and sway across the Xiao and Xiang rivers.
The star palace lord drinks his jade nectar,
Scarce are the feathered immortals, not standing nearby.
It seems I heard of Chisongzi in recent times,
Perhaps it is Han dynasty's Han Zhangliang.
In the old days he followed the Liu house to pacify Chang'an,
His strategy unchanged, yet his spirit is deeply wounded.
How dare I presume upon the success or failure of the state?
He scorns foul corruption and eats maple fragrance instead.
Lingering south of Zhou—this was lamented even in ancient times,
The Old Man of the Southern Pole should enjoy long life and prosperity.
Why is the fair one separated from me by autumn waters?
How can I present her to the Jade Hall?
寄韓諫議注
今我不樂思岳陽，身欲奮飛病在床。
美人娟娟隔秋水，濯足洞庭望八荒。
鴻飛冥冥日月白，青楓葉赤天雨霜。
玉京群帝集北斗，或騎麒麟翳鳳凰。
芙蓉旌旗煙霧落，影動倒景搖瀟湘。
星宮之君醉瓊漿，羽人稀少不在旁。
似聞昨者赤松子，恐是漢代韓張良。
昔隨劉氏定長安，帷幄未改神慘傷。
國家成敗吾豈敢，色難腥腐餐楓香。
周南留滯古所惜，南極老人應壽昌。
美人胡為隔秋水？焉得置之貢玉堂。