They tow a boat and upstream wade
Between two shores alive with trade.
Under the heat pants buffalo.
O think what pain it is to tow!
The water's muddy and can not
Be drunk:thick silt fills half the pot.
When tow-men sing their song's refrain.
With broken heart,tears fall like rain.
Ten thousand quarry-men would groan
To haul to riverside rough stone.
If rocky mountains could have ears,
Would they not melt into sad tears?
云阳上征去，两岸饶商贾。
吴牛喘月时，拖船一何苦。
水浊不可饮，壶浆半成土。
一唱都护歌，心摧泪如雨。
万人凿盘石，无由达江浒。
君看石芒砀，掩泪悲千古。
By Li Bai (Li Po)
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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