Stainless in the clear night;
The moon is silver bright.
Fill my wine cup
Till it brims up!
Why toil with pain
For wealth and fame in vain?
Time flies as a steed white
Passes a gap in flight.
Like a spark in the dark
Or a dream of moonbeam.
Though I can write,
Who thinks I'm right?
why not enjoy
Like a mere boy？
So I would be
A man carefree.
I would be mute before my lute;
Fine before wine;
And proud as cloud.
清夜无尘，月色如银。
酒斟时、须满十分。
浮名浮利，虚苦劳神。
叹隙中驹，石中火，梦中身。
虽抱文章，开口谁亲。
且陶陶、乐尽天真。
几时归去，作个闲人。
对一张琴，一壶酒，一溪云。
The poet compares time to a steed, a spark, a dream, and woud be free, mute and proud.
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.