While worldly matters take their turn,
Ancient, modern, to and fro,
Rivers and mountains are changeless in their glory
And still to be witnessed from this trail.
Where a fisher-boat dips by a waterfall,
Where the air grows colder, deep in the valley,
The monument of Yang remains;
And we have wept, reading the words.
Original Poem:
「与诸子登岘山」
孟浩然
人事有代谢， 往来成古今。
江山留胜迹， 我辈复登临。
水落鱼梁浅， 天寒梦泽深。
羊公碑字在， 读罢泪沾襟。
Interpretation:
This is a poem of sighing for the past. The poet sighs for the monument of Yang Gong in Yan Mountain, and associates his own life with that of Yang Hu.
From the change of dynasties, to the rise and fall of a family, the life and death of people, the sadness and happiness, the cold and the heat, time passes, and the personnel changes constantly.
The author’s sadness comes from today’s ascent. When the poet ascends to the heights, the Yu Liang Zhou shows more water, the vast Yun Meng Ze, which is so endless that it makes people feel far away. The poet is now looking into the distance, the water is falling, the grass and trees are withering, a scene of depression, the poet uses the scene to express his feelings, to emphasize his infinite sadness.
The language of this poem is easy to understand, the feelings are sincere and touching, and it is characterized by plainness and profoundness. At the end of the sentence, the use of canon, apt and natural, full of interest.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Meng Haoran (孟浩然), 689-740 AD, a native of Xiangyang, Hubei, was a famous poet of the Sheng Tang Dynasty. With the exception of one trip to the north when he was in his forties, when he was seeking fame in Chang’an and Luoyang, he spent most of his life in seclusion in his hometown of Lumenshan or roaming around.
