白居易诗

Poems of Bai Juyi


Index

涧底松

Ravine-Bottom Pine


有松百尺大十围
生在涧底寒且卑

A pine tree one hundred feet tall, ten in girth,
Was born, cold and low, in a deep ravine.

涧深山险人路绝
老死不逢工度之

In a deep ravine on a rugged hill, far from any road.
It died, very old, never meeting a woodcutter.

天子明堂欠梁木
此求彼有两不知

The emperor's bright hall is missing a ridgepole.
And why this is so no one knows.

谁喻苍苍造物意
但与之材不与地

One who can explain the ways of heaven
Are more clever than us down on earth.

金张世禄原宪贫
牛衣寒贱貂蝉贵

Jin Zhang's great wealth started out as dirt.
Dressed in just a cowhide, Diao Chan kept her worth.

貂蝉与牛衣
高下虽有殊
高者未必贤
下者未必愚

Diao Chan is wearing cow's skin
And still she's very pretty.
The rich aren't always noble.
The poor aren't always stupid.

君不见沉沉
海底生珊瑚
历历天上种白榆

Our gentlemen don't see very deeply.
But coral is born on the ocean floor.
Which explains why white trees grow in heaven.

-- 白居易


废话

This is one of Bai Juyi's New Lyric Poems from 809. It is subtitled "Thinking of Poor Talent" (念寒俊也). I think this poem was meant for public consumption. The way the lyrics wander could mean this is based on a popular song. If so, then Bai Juyi has definitely slanted it in favor of the common man. Pines are symbols of integrity, tenacity, and uprightness. Coral sometimes represents desire and sometimes, from its intricate nature, mastery. I can't find a convincing meaning for white trees in heaven. White tree peonies are a symbol of feminine nature or of sensuality. Diao Chan was one of the Four Great Beauties. That's all we know about her: she was a hottie. Jin Zhang's identity eludes me. I need a Chinese biographical dictionary.


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