What can melt away the melancholy of lodging at an inn?
When I open the red notepaper, I see the fine lines of your writing.
Rain sprinkles Penglai all other peaks grow small,
The wind blows in Xie Valley myriad leaves touched by autumn.
In the morning I read word after word, more precious than green jade,
And at night beneath my coverlets I recite page after page.
I’ll pack your poem away in a fragrant casket,
But for now I’ll take it in hand and chant it.
何事能消旅馆愁，红笺开处见银钩。
蓬山雨洒千峰小，嶰谷风吹万叶秋。
字字朝看轻碧玉，篇篇夜诵在衾裯。
欲将香匣收藏却，且惜时吟在手头。
Penglai Mountain, beyond the eastern sea, was the abode of the immortals; the Xie Valley to the remote west was held to be the place of origin of musical pipes.
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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