前赤壁赋 The First Rhapsody on the Red Cliff

壬戌之秋，七月既望，苏子与客泛舟游于赤壁之下。 rén xū zhī qiū, qī yuè jì wàng, sū zǐ yǔ kè fàn zhōu yóu yú chì bì zhī xià.
In the autumn of the year renxu, just after the full moon of the seventh month, Master Su and his guests went boating beneath the Red Cliff.

清风徐来，水波不兴。 qīng fēng xú lái, shuǐ bō bù xīng.
A clear breeze came gently; the water raised no waves.

举酒属客，诵《明月》之诗，歌《窈窕》之章。 jǔ jiǔ zhǔ kè, sòng《míng yuè》zhī shī, gē《yǎo tiǎo》zhī zhāng.
He raised his cup to his guests, recited the poem of the bright moon and sang the stanza about the graceful maiden.

少焉，月出于东山之上，徘徊于斗牛之间。 shǎo yān, yuè chū yú dōng shān zhī shàng, pái huái yú dǒu niú zhī jiān.
Before long the moon rose over the eastern hills and lingered between the Dipper and the Ox.

白露横江，水光接天。 bái lù héng jiāng, shuǐ guāng jiē tiān.
White mist lay across the river; the light on the water met the sky.

纵一苇之所如，凌万顷之茫然。 zòng yī wěi zhī suǒ rú, líng wàn qǐng zhī máng rán.
We let our boat, a single reed, go where it would, riding over ten thousand acres of boundless water.

浩浩乎如冯虚御风，而不知其所止； hào hào hū rú píng xū yù fēng, ér bù zhī qí suǒ zhǐ;
So vast it was, as if we were riding the wind through empty space with no idea where we would stop;

飘飘乎如遗世独立，羽化而登仙。 piāo piāo hū rú yí shì dú lì, yǔ huà ér dēng xiān.
so light, as if we had left the world behind to stand alone, grown wings and risen as immortals.

于是饮酒乐甚，扣舷而歌之。 yú shì yǐn jiǔ lè shèn, kòu xián ér gē zhī.
At that we drank and were very happy, and beat time on the side of the boat and sang.

歌曰：“桂棹兮兰桨，击空明兮溯流光。 gē yuē: “guì zhào xī lán jiǎng, jī kōng míng xī sù liú guāng.
The song went: “Oars of cassia and sweeps of orchid wood strike the moonlit clearness and row up the stream of light.

渺渺兮予怀，望美人兮天一方。” miǎo miǎo xī yú huái, wàng měi rén xī tiān yī fāng.”
Far, far away my thoughts go, gazing for the fair one at the other end of the sky.”

客有吹洞箫者，倚歌而和之。 kè yǒu chuī dòng xiāo zhě, yǐ gē ér hè zhī.
One of the guests played the vertical flute and followed the song with it.

其声呜呜然，如怨如慕，如泣如诉，余音袅袅，不绝如缕，舞幽壑之潜蛟，泣孤舟之嫠妇。 qí shēng wū wū rán, rú yuàn rú mù, rú qì rú sù, yú yīn niǎo niǎo, bù jué rú lǚ, wǔ yōu hè zhī qián jiāo, qì gū zhōu zhī lí fù.
Its sound was a low wailing, like resentment and like longing, like weeping and like pleading; the lingering notes trailed on, thin as a thread that would not break, enough to set a hidden dragon dancing in its dark gorge and to make a widow weep in her lonely boat.

苏子愀然，正襟危坐而问客曰：“何为其然也？” sū zǐ qiǎo rán, zhèng jīn wēi zuò ér wèn kè yuē: “hé wèi qí rán yě?”
Master Su’s face fell. He straightened his robe, sat up and asked the guest, “Why does it sound like that?”

客曰：“‘月明星稀，乌鹊南飞’，此非曹孟德之诗乎？ kè yuē: “‘yuè míng xīng xī, wū què nán fēi’, cǐ fēi cáo mèng dé zhī shī hū?
The guest said, “‘The moon is bright, the stars are few, the crows fly south’: is that not Cao Mengde’s poem?

西望夏口，东望武昌，山川相缪，郁乎苍苍，此非孟德之困于周郎者乎？ xī wàng xià kǒu, dōng wàng wǔ chāng, shān chuān xiāng liáo, yù hū cāng cāng, cǐ fēi mèng dé zhī kùn yú zhōu láng zhě hū?
Westward lies Xiakou, eastward Wuchang, hills and river winding into one another, dense and dark green: is this not where Mengde was trapped by young Zhou?

方其破荆州，下江陵，顺流而东也，舳舻千里，旌旗蔽空，酾酒临江，横槊赋诗，固一世之雄也，而今安在哉？ fāng qí pò jīng zhōu, xià jiāng líng, shùn liú ér dōng yě, zhú lú qiān lǐ, jīng qí bì kōng, shī jiǔ lín jiāng, héng shuò fù shī, gù yī shì zhī xióng yě, ér jīn ān zài zāi?
When he had taken Jingzhou and Jiangling and was coming east with the current, his ships stretched a thousand li and his banners hid the sky; he poured wine facing the river and composed poems with his lance held crosswise. He was the hero of his age. And where is he now?

况吾与子渔樵于江渚之上，侣鱼虾而友麋鹿，驾一叶之扁舟，举匏樽以相属。 kuàng wú yǔ zǐ yú qiáo yú jiāng zhǔ zhī shàng, lǚ yú xiā ér yǒu mí lù, jià yī yè zhī piān zhōu, jǔ páo zūn yǐ xiāng zhǔ.
And what of you and me, who fish and gather firewood on the river islets, who keep company with fish and shrimp and befriend the deer, who ride a boat as small as a leaf and raise gourd cups to each other.

寄蜉蝣于天地，渺沧海之一粟，哀吾生之须臾，羡长江之无穷。 jì fú yóu yú tiān dì, miǎo cāng hǎi zhī yī sù, āi wú shēng zhī xū yú, xiàn cháng jiāng zhī wú qióng.
We are mayflies lodged between heaven and earth, a grain of millet in the vast sea. I grieve that our lives last a moment and envy the Yangtze, which has no end.

挟飞仙以遨游，抱明月而长终。 xié fēi xiān yǐ áo yóu, bào míng yuè ér cháng zhōng.
I would take a flying immortal by the arm and roam, hold the bright moon and last for ever.

知不可乎骤得，托遗响于悲风。” zhī bù kě hū zhòu dé, tuō yí xiǎng yú bēi fēng.”
Knowing that cannot be had all at once, I gave these lingering notes to the sad wind.”

苏子曰：“客亦知夫水与月乎？ sū zǐ yuē: “kè yì zhī fú shuǐ yǔ yuè hū?
Master Su said, “Do you know, sir, about the water and the moon?

逝者如斯，而未尝往也； shì zhě rú sī, ér wèi cháng wǎng yě;
What passes is like this river, yet it has never actually gone;

盈虚者如彼，而卒莫消长也。 yíng xū zhě rú bǐ, ér zú mò xiāo zhǎng yě.
what waxes and wanes is like that moon, yet in the end it neither shrinks nor grows.

盖将自其变者而观之，则天地曾不能以一瞬； gài jiāng zì qí biàn zhě ér guān zhī, zé tiān dì zēng bù néng yǐ yī shùn;
If you look at things from the side that changes, heaven and earth cannot hold still for a single blink;

自其不变者而观之，则物与我皆无尽也，而又何羡乎？ zì qí bù biàn zhě ér guān zhī, zé wù yǔ wǒ jiē wú jìn yě, ér yòu hé xiàn hū?
but look from the side that does not change, and things and we alike are without end. So what is there to envy?

且夫天地之间，物各有主，苟非吾之所有，虽一毫而莫取。 qiě fú tiān dì zhī jiān, wù gè yǒu zhǔ, gǒu fēi wú zhī suǒ yǒu, suī yī háo ér mò qǔ.
Besides, everything between heaven and earth has its owner, and if a thing is not mine I will not take so much as a hair of it.

惟江上之清风，与山间之明月，耳得之而为声，目遇之而成色，取之无禁，用之不竭，是造物者之无尽藏也，而吾与子之所共适。” wéi jiāng shàng zhī qīng fēng, yǔ shān jiān zhī míng yuè, ěr dé zhī ér wéi shēng, mù yù zhī ér chéng sè, qǔ zhī wú jìn, yòng zhī bù jié, shì zào wù zhě zhī wú jìn zàng yě, ér wú yǔ zǐ zhī suǒ gòng shì.”
Only the clear breeze on the river and the bright moon over the hills become sound when the ear catches them and colour when the eye meets them. No one forbids us to take them, and they are never used up. They are the endless treasury of the maker of things, and you and I may enjoy them together.”

客喜而笑，洗盏更酌。 kè xǐ ér xiào, xǐ zhǎn gēng zhuó.
The guest was pleased and laughed. We rinsed the cups and poured again.

肴核既尽，杯盘狼藉。 yáo hé jì jìn, bēi pán láng jí.
The dishes and fruit were finished, cups and plates lay scattered.

相与枕藉乎舟中，不知东方之既白。 xiāng yǔ zhěn jiè hū zhōu zhōng, bù zhī dōng fāng zhī jì bái.
We lay down against one another in the boat and did not notice that the east had already grown light.