Sunrise over Zhennanguan

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Crossing The Pass

Phung Khac Khoan 1528-1623 Where North and South meet,          speak and go their separate ways, We cross Holding Pass          in our oxcarts and light carriages. As I chant verse,          the wind and clouds gladly gain in strength, As we cross the pass,          the trees and plants happily look upon us. My loyalty penetrates the skies          to the sun above, While propriety will carry me          over myriad peaks. I long for the day          when I will return to this kingdom, The new blossoms and fresh buds          varied in color.

Guòguān

Píng Liàngkuān 1528-1613 Běi nán huì le gè yán hái, Niú jià qīng yáo guò Zhènguān. Yín chù fēng yún xīn délì, Jīng chén cǎomù xǐ kāiyán. Zhōngxīn shàng guàn jiǔxiāo rí, Yìqi gāo líng wàn dié shān. Guīguó yǒu huái qī shìrì, Xīn hóng zǐsè bānbān.

Translator:

Liam Kelley 翻譯者

Notes: This poem was composed as the Vietnamese envoy Phung Khac Khoan was crossing over the South Holding Pass into China on his way to the Chinese court in Peking. From Liam Kelley's fascinating study of Vietnamese envoy poetry, Beyond the Bronze Pillars, Envoy Poetry And The Sino-Vietnamese Relationship, University of Hawaii Press, 2005

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