Southern Gates of Heaven, spring rains time.
Bright mirrors of hoarfrost and snow
Reflect a multitude of clouds above.
With an empty mind, you can grasp it all.
Many remain of these distinguished drunkards,
Old friends all of Shun's sad wife.
In your waning years, you will be rewarded
With a strange period of flourishing power.
南天春雨时，那鉴雪霜姿。
众类亦云茂，虚心能自持。
多留晋贤醉，早伴舜妃悲。
晚岁君能赏，苍苍劲节奇。
As for the poem, the Southern Gates of Heaven were the names of fortified passes on the border. Empty-mindedness was a part of Daoism in China before even the advent of Bodhidharma and his Zen. Shun is the legendary early king. But I am too ignorant to know anything about his wife or her legendary sadness. Xue Tao's guests were probably older men who would be amused to hear they would flourish in a particular way once again, knowing they would not, as biology never runs backwards.
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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