Mountain Songs

Ma the Wave Calmer's Temple at Jia Citadel

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Ma the Wave Calmer's Temple at Jia Citadel

        Nguyen Du (Ruan You)

A sixty year old man
        his vigor on the wane,
Onto the saddle in full armor
        and off he flies.
All he gains at the palace
        is a laugh from the sovereign,
How could he know
        that back in the village
                his brother grieves?
Those bronze pillars
         can fool only Viet girls,
The cart of pearls
         after all
                brought trouble to the family.
It is true that his name
        deserved to be mounted
                on the Cloud Terrace painting,
But requiring that the southern reaches
        pay respect to him each year...

Jiā Chéng Mǎ Fúbō Miào

Ruǎn Yōu (Nguyen Du)

Liùshí lǎorén jīnlì shuāi,
Jù ān bèi jiǎ jí rúfēi.
Diàn tíng zhǐ bó jūnwáng xiào,
Xiānglǐ nìng zhī xiōngdì bēi.
Tóngzhù jǐn néng qī Yuènǚ,
Zhū chē bìjìng lèi jiār.
Xìngmíng héshang yún tái huà,
Yóu xiàng nán zhōng suǒ suìshí.

Translator: Liam Kelley 翻譯者

Notes:
We are not certain about the location of 夾城 Jiacheng. Perhaps Guilin, but could be Nanning...now researching this question. This image is from Fuboshan in Guilin.

Translation from Liam Kelley's great book, Beyond The Bronze Pillars, Envoy Poetry and the Sino-Vietnamese Relationship, U of Hawaii Press.
From Liam Kelley's great book, Beyond The Bronze Pillars, Envoy Poetry and the Sino-Vietnamese Relationship, U of Hawaii Press.