《回乡偶书》

作者：贺知章

少小离家老大回，乡音无改鬓毛衰。

儿童相见不相识，笑问客从何处来。

【注解】：

１）鬓毛衰：两鬓的头发已经斑白。

【韵译】：

少年时离乡，到老了才回家来；

口音没改变，双鬓却已经斑白。

儿童们看见了，没有认识我的；

他们笑问：这客人是从哪里来？

【评析】：

这是一首久客异乡，返回故里的感怀诗。全诗抒发了山河依旧，人事不同，人生易老，世事沧桑的感慨。一、二句，诗人置于熟悉而又陌生的故乡环境中，心情难于平静。首句写数十年久客他乡的事实，次句写自己的“老大”之态，暗寓乡情无限。

三、四句虽写自己，却从儿童方面的感觉着笔，极富生活情趣。诗的感情自然、逼真，内容虽平淡，人情味却浓足。语言朴实无华，毫不雕琢，细品诗境，别有一番天地。全诗在有问无答中作结，哀婉备至，动人心弦，千百年来为人传诵，老少皆知。

COMING HOME

Author : He Zhizhang

Literal Translation:

Youth I was when I left my birthplace, Old I am when I returned,

Hometown accent unchanged, my sideburns grey.

Children saw me, no one knew me,

Smiling politely they asked, "Guest, where do you come from?"

Author:

He Zhizhang (659-744), a poet from the Tang dynasty, who came from today's Zhejiang Xiaoshan region in China.

Modern Translation:

The poet left his birthplace when he was young, and returned in his old age. His hometown accent remained unchanged, but his sideburns had already turned grey.The kids in the street saw him, yet no one knew him. Ironically, they smiled and asked where he came from. This poem seems plain, but is rich in meaning. The first two lines talked about the poet’s home-coming. The plain recounting of the event contained unspoken and inexpressible excitement and emotion. The poet found himself in a familiar, yet strange environment. As he walked, he sighed, recalling how he had left in his prime, but returned as an old man.The third and fourth line shifted the attention from an emotion-filled self-portrait to a dramatic scene with the children smiling. To the children, it was just a simple innocent question to ask smilingly,”where do you come from?”. However, that simple question became a heavy strike on the poet, as it stirred up his deep emotions and feelings.The poem ended quietly with that question, yet evoked mournful feelings to the utmost. He was being addressed as "guest" in his own hometown. This simple and short poem managed to express and capture the feelings of every wanderer in just a few lines. This is the reason why this poem has stired the hearts of people for thousands of years.

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《夜思》

作者：李白

床前明月光， 疑是地上霜。

举头望明月， 低头思故乡。

【注解】：

１、举：抬。

【韵译】：

皎洁的月光洒到床前，

迷离中疑是秋霜一片。

仰头观看明月呵明月，

低头乡思连翩呵连翩。

【评析】：

这是写远客思乡之情的诗，诗以明白如话的语言雕琢出明静醉人的秋夜的意境。

它不追求想象的新颖奇特，也摒弃了辞藻的精工华美；它以清新朴素的笔触，抒写了丰富深曲的内容。境是境，情是情，那么逼真，那么动人，百读不厌，耐人寻绎。无怪乎有人赞它是“妙绝古今”。

IN THE QUIET NIGHT

Auther : Li Bai

Literal Translation:

The moon light shines brightly before my bed,

As if cold frost on the ground before me

Raising my eyes to gaze at the moon,

Bowing my head and think of home.

Author:

This poem was written by the famous Tang poet, Li Bai (701-762), who came from the region of China near Tianshui, Gansu province.

Modern Translation:

The poem depicts a quiet night leading to thoughts of homesickness. Using plain simple language in the poem, the poet vividly captures his feeling of homesickness. It illustrates the power of the nature to evoke deep, thought-provoking in people. The poem is very short – it only contains 20 words – yet it manages to depict simply, clearly and naturally time, environment, atmosphere and the subtle action by the character that shows his heartfelt longing... homesickness.

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《咏鹅》

作者：骆宾王

鹅 ， 鹅 ， 鹅

曲 项 向 天 歌

白 毛 浮 绿 水

红 掌 拨 清 波

é 　 é 　 é

qū xiàng xiàng tiān gē

bái máo fú lǜ shuǐ

hōng zhǎng bō qīng bō

Literal Translation:

Goose, Goose, Goose

Bending neck up singing to the sky.

White feathers floating on the greenish water,

Red feet paddling out gentle ripples.

Author:

This poem was written by a Tang dynasty poet called Luo Bin Wang (approx. 640-684), who came from Wuzhou Yiwu, located in today’s Zhejiang region in China. The poet received very fine education from a young age, and had already made a name for himself as a poet during his youth. Together with Wang Bo, Yang Jiong and Lu Zhaolin, they were referred to as the "The Four Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty". It is believed that this little poem was written by the poet when he was only 7 years old!

Modern Translation:

This poem is an appreciation of goose. The repetition of the word “goose” three times in the first line expresses the joy and excitement of children when they first discover the sight of a goose. The last three lines capture vividly the poise, manner and special air of goose. Those white geese swimming leisurely in the lake, making high noises with their necks and heads high up towards the sky, as if they are chit-chatting among themselves, as if they are singing with gusto, and even more so, as if they are singing to the sky. The geese are swimming around in the water, their pure white body contrasting with the greenish water and their red feet gently paddling the water, creating soft ripples.

This poem evokes the picture of a very relaxed, joyful, wholesome, beautiful and carefree atmosphere and describes the world as seen in the eyes of children. This is the way innocent and carefree children first get to know about life and the world - full of joy of discovery and optimism… just like the bird dashing towards the big nature… lively and elated. This poem up-lifts our spirit by drawing us away for a moment to forget the heavy responsibility as an adult, and experience the heart and carefreeness of a child, which allows the child to have the simple ability to focus its interest in the appreciation of geese.

http://youtu.be/mw8oVeUOwe o

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《草》

作者：白居易

离离原上草， 一岁一枯荣。

野火烧不尽， 春风吹又生。

远芳侵古道， 晴翠接荒城。

又送王孙去， 萋萋满别情。

【注解】：

１）离离：历历，分明的样子。

２）远芳：伸展到远处的草。

３）萋萋：茂盛的样子。

【韵译】：

古原上的野草乱生乱长，

每年春来茂盛秋来枯黄。

任凭野火焚烧不尽不灭，

春风一吹依旧蓬勃生长。

远处芳草掩没古老驿道，

延至荒城一片翠绿清朗。

春绿草长又送游子远去，

萋萋乱草可比满腹离伤。

【评析】：

这是咏物诗，也可作为寓言诗看。有人认为是讥刺小人的。从全诗看，原上草虽有所指，但喻意并无确定。“野火烧不尽，春风吹又生，”却作为一种“韧劲”而有口皆碑，成为传之千古的绝唱。

GRASSES

Author : Bai Juyi

Literal Translation:

Boundless grasses over the plain

Come and go with every season;

Wildfire never quite consumes them --

They are tall once more in the spring wind.

Sweet they press on the old high- road

And reach the crumbling city-gate....

O Prince of Friends, you are gone again....

I hear them sighing after you.

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《登乐游原》

作者：李商隐

向晚意不适， 驱车登古原。

夕阳无限好， 只是近黄昏。


【注解】：

１) 意不适：心情不舒畅。

２) 古原：即乐游原，是长安附近的名胜，在今陕西省长安以南八 百里的地方。

【韵译】：

临近傍晚时分，觉得心情不太舒畅；

驾车登上乐游原，心想把烦恼遣散。

看见夕阳无限美好，一片金光灿烂；

只是将近黄昏，美好时光终究短暂。

【评析】：

这是一首登高望远，即景抒情的诗。首二句写驱车登古原的原因：是“向晚意不适”。后二句写登上古原触景生情，精神上得到一种享受和满足。“夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏”二句，素来人们多解为“晚景虽好，可惜不能久留。”今人周汝昌认为：“只是”二句，“正是诗人的一腔热爱生活，执着人间，坚持理想而心光不灭的一种深情苦志。”这种看法，虽有新意，却不合诗人的身世，也不合诗人当时的情绪。

THE LEYOU TOMBS

 Author : Li Shangyin

Literal Translation:

Feelings of sadness this evening,

Drove to “Deng gu yuan”.

No matter how beautiful sunset is,

It is near dusk.

Author:

This poem was written by a Tang poet, Li Shan Yin (812-858). He specializes in writing Parallel Prose and poetry, the most famous poem “Qilu”.

Modern Translation:

The author was feeling rather melancholic this evening. He drove to Le You Yuan (a place of interest south of Chang An in China during his time, where palaces had been built here during the Western Han dynasty 206 BC–AD 9) for walk. The colour of sunset is very beautiful, but alas this beautiful sight is very short-lived, as it means that the night is near... very soon the sun will set 

and this beautiful sight would dissipate away.

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《登鹳雀楼》

作者：王之涣

白日依山尽， 黄河入海流。

欲穷千里目， 更上一层楼。

【注解】：

１）鹳雀楼：在今山西省蒲县西南，传说鹳雀经常栖息于此。

【韵译】：

夕阳依傍着西山慢慢地沉没，

滔滔黄河朝着东海汹涌奔流。

若想把千里的风光景物看够，

那就要登上更高的一层城楼。

【评析】：

这是一首登高望远诗。寥寥数语，把景色写得浩瀚壮阔，气魄雄浑，放眼宇宙之无限，寓寄哲理之深沉。诗的两联皆用对仗，而且对得顺乎自然，气势充沛，浩大无边，浑然天成。“欲穷千里目，更上一层楼”，被作为追求理想境界的座右铭，遗芳千古。

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《早发白帝城》

作者：李白

朝辞白帝彩云间，  千里江陵一日还。

两岸猿声啼不住，  轻舟已过万重山。

【注解】：

１、白帝：今四川省奉节

２、江陵：今湖北省江宁县。

３、一日还：一天就可以到达。

【韵译】：

清晨，我告别高入云霄的白帝城；

江陵远在千里，船行只一日时间。

两岸猿声，还在耳边不停地啼叫；

不知不觉，轻舟已穿过万重青山。

【评析】：

诗是写景的。唐肃宗乾元二年（７５９），诗人流放夜郎，行至白帝遇赦，乘舟东还江陵时而作此诗。诗意在描摹自白帝至江陵一段长江，水急流速，舟行若飞的情况。首句写白帝城之高；二句写江陵路遥，舟行迅速；三句以山影猿声烘托行舟飞进；四句写行舟轻如无物，点明水势如泻。

全诗锋棱挺拔，一泻直下，快船快意，令人神远。难怪乎明人杨慎赞曰：“惊风雨而泣鬼神矣！”

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