To cage all wonders in this tower's hold,
I lean on picture-frame balustrade, world unrolled.
Clouds riffle water's amethyst-turquoise sheen,
Sky drinks mountain's cyan-vermilion dream.
Moon of Huainan melts sutra-chants deep,
Sails from beyond catch winds of the endless steep.
My old robe clings to dust of earthly plight,
While mind's eye chases dark geese in flight.
欲收嘉景此楼中，徙倚阑干四望通。
云乱水光浮紫翠，天含山气入青红。
一川钟呗淮南月，万里帆樯海外风。
老去衣衿尘土在，只将心目羡冥鸿。
Composed during Zeng Gong's middle-aged journey through Jiangnan, this work emerges from his ascent of the famed Multi-View Tower in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. Perched on Beigu Mountain's Ganlu Temple, this vantage point had inspired generations of literati. Though weathered by bureaucratic travels and approaching his twilight years, Zeng reveals undimmed ambition through vast riverine vistas—where landscape becomes a canvas for ideals and life reflections.
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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