Prosperity cannot last long;
Rise and fall alternate their song.
Lotus flowers bloom after spring,
But autumn will lotus seed bring.
When grass is bitten by hoar frost,
The lotus withers, though not lost.
Sun and moon set and again rise;
None can revive after he dies.
From olden memories awoken,
Oh, how could my mind not be broken!
荣华难久居，盛衰不可量。
昔为三春蕖，今作秋莲房。
严霜结野草，枯悴未遽央。
日月有还周，我去不再阳。
眷眷往昔时，忆此断人肠。
Miscellaneous Poems III was composed in 414 AD when Tao Yuanming was fifty years old. Having long resigned from officialdom and retreated from worldly bustle, he increasingly felt the melancholy of time's passage and life's impermanence amidst his tranquil existence. Observing the flourishing and withering of plants in nature, the poet realized human life resembles blooming and fading flowers - its glory and decline equally unpredictable - expressing profound lament over irretrievable passing youth and life.
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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