Lamentations Ⅰ ( 七哀诗-其一 )
Wang Can was one of the Seven Scholars of the Jian'an Period and ranked the highest in literary achievements.His poetry a…
Read Translation & Analysis →As the western capital falls to civil strife,
Usurpers grab for power,ruining life.
I'll leave the mid-land for a second time,
Seeking shelter in the southern clime.
Full of sorrow are my kith and kin,
Ready to follow me through thick and thin.
Along the way,nothing may be found,
Nothing but dried bones that dot the ground.
I see a hungry woman on the way
Discard her son amid the grass and hay.
From behind me comes a weep and cry
Of the woman moaning loud her reason why:
"As I myself know not where I shall die,
How are we to keep the maternal tie?"
I gallop past the woman in great haste,
Nor bear nor hear the words of bitter taste.
When I reach the tomb of Emperor Wen,
I look back at abandoned Chang'an again.
With the poem Spring Waters in my mind,
I'm sad for lack of kings so wise and kind.
