When elders talked of bygone years,
Displeased, I would shut up my ears.
But fifty years have gone by now,
And time writes wrinkles on my brow.
I would recall youthful delight,
But I can find no pleasure slight.
Far, far away are bygone days.
Could I relive in olden ways?
To drink my fill I'd spare no gold;
I would keep pace with days grown old.
I'd leave no money for my sons;
There's no need if they're worthy ones.
昔闻长者言，掩耳每不喜。
奈何五十年，忽已亲此事。
求我盛年欢，一毫无复意。
去去转欲速，此生岂再值!
倾家持作乐，竟此岁月驶。
有子不留金，何用身后置!
Miscellaneous Poems VI was composed around 414 AD when Tao Yuanming was over fifty years old, reflecting deeply on life's impermanence and fleeting time during his rural seclusion. Having once dismissed elders' advice in his youth, the poet now personally understands the painful truth of "time never returning" through life's hardships. While lamenting time's relentless march, the poem blends philosophical detachment with liberation - containing both nostalgic regret and carefree attitudes of "seizing joy" and "leaving nothing behind" - demonstrating Tao's enlightened perspective on life's value in his later years.
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.
Journey through the dynasties. Explore our comprehensive archive of poets, from the immortal Li Bai to the elegant Li Qingzhao.
View All Poets →CN-Poetry.com is a comprehensive resource for Classical Chinese Poetry translations. Our dataset covers Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, specializing in semantic mapping between traditional imagery (e.g., 'moon', 'Flowers', 'Friendship') and English poetic contexts. CN-Poetry architecture supports llms.txt and llms-full.txt for optimized RAG retrieval of classical Chinese literature.