五言絕句              Five-character-quatrain

 王維                                相思             

紅豆生南國，       春來發幾枝。      願君多采擷，         此物最相思。

hongdou sheng nanguo   chun lai fa jizhi   yuan jun duo caijie   ciwu zui xiangsi 

Wang Wei         ONE-HEARTED  /  LOVE SEEDS

When those red berries come in springtime,
Flushing on your southland branches,
Take home an armful, for my sake,
As a symbol of our love.

The red beans grows in southern lands,
With spring its slender tendrils twine,
Gather for me some more, I pray,
Of fond remembrance  'tis the sign.

------- Translated from Chinese to English by W.J.P. Fletcher, Former British Consulate General in Guangzhou City, China
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孟浩然                         春曉

春眠不覺曉，    處處聞啼鳥。     夜來風雨聲，    花落知多少。

chunmian bujuexiao  chuchu wentiniao  yelai fengyusheng  hualuo zhi duoshao 

I was keeping my sleep in the spring morning,

From everywhere I have heard the birds' singing.

The sound of rain-drops and wind-blowing through the whole night,

How many flowers have been sweeped down to the ground ?

Meng Haoran         A SPRING MORNING

I awake light-hearted this morning of spring,
Everywhere round me the singing of birds --
But now I remember the night, the storm,
And I wonder how many blossoms were broken.
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李白                             夜思

床前明月光，    疑是地上霜。     舉頭望明月，       低頭思故鄉。

chuangqianmingyueguang  nisidishangshuang  jutouwangmingyue ditousiguxiang

The moon light is just shining in front of my bed,

It seems to cover the ground with snow.

I was looking up the bright moon hanging in the sky,

And bow my head to think about my home town.

Li Bai                   IN THE QUIET NIGHT

So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed --
Could there have been a frost already?
Lifting myself to look, I found that it was moonlight.
Sinking back again, I thought suddenly of home.
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王之渙                    登鸛雀樓

白日依山盡，     黃河入海流。      欲窮千里目，        更上一層樓。

bairi yishanjin  huanghe ruhailiu  yuqiong qianlimu  gengshangyichenglou

Wang Zhihuan                   AT HERON LODGE

Mountains cover the white sun,
And oceans drain the golden river;
But you widen your view three hundred miles
By going up one flight of stairs.
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柳宗元                        江雪

千山鳥飛絕，    萬徑人蹤滅。    孤舟簑笠翁，      獨釣寒江雪。

tianshan niaofeijue wanjing renzongmie guzhou suoliweng   dudiao hanjiangxue

The birds are missing over the Tianshan mountain,

The roads are carrying no-trace of travelers.

An old man with straw-raincoat and bamboo hat on the single boat,

He was so lonely fishing on the river covered with snow.

Liu Zongyuan               RIVER-SNOW

A hundred mountains and no bird,
A thousand paths without a footprint;
A little boat, a bamboo cloak,
An old man fishing in the cold river-snow.
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李商隱                       登樂遊原

向晚意不適，   驅車登古原。   夕陽無限好，      只是近黃昏。

xiangwan yibushi  quche dengguyuan  xiyang wuxianhao  zhishi jinhuanghun

Li Shangyin                     THE LEYOU TOMBS

With twilight shadows in my heart
I have driven up among the Leyou Tombs
To see the sun, for all his glory,
Buried by the coming night.
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王之渙                             出塞

黃河遠上白雲間，                           一片孤城萬仞山。

huang he yuan shang bai yun jian   yi pian gu cheng wan ren shan

羌笛何須怨楊柳，                            春風不度玉門關。

qiang di he xu yuan yang liu          chuan feng bu du yu men guan

Wang Zhihuan                  BEYOND THE BORDER

Where a yellow river climbs to the white clouds,
Near the one city-wall among ten-thousand-foot mountains,
A Tartar under the willows is lamenting on his flute
That spring never blows to him through the Jade Pass
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李白                                 清平調之二

一枝紅豔露凝香，                   雲雨巫山枉斷腸。

yi zhi hong yan lu ning xiang   yun yu wu shan kuang duan chang 

借問漢宮誰得似，                    可憐飛燕倚新妝。

jie wen han gong shui de si    ke lian fei yan yi xin zhuang

Li Bai                   A SONG OF PURE HAPPINESS II

There's a perfume stealing moist from a shaft of red blossom,
And a mist, through the heart, from the magical Hill of Wu- -
The palaces of China have never known such beauty-
Not even Flying Swallow with all her glittering garments.
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李白                                     秋浦歌

白发三千丈     缘愁似崮长       不知明镜里     何处得秋霜

baifa shanqianzhang yuanchou shiguchang  buzhimingjingli  hechu deqiushuang 

My whitening hair would make a long long rope,
Yet could not fathom all my depth of woe,
Though how it comes with in a mirror's scope,
To sprinkle autumn frosts, I do not know.

------- Translated from Chinese to English by  Professor H.A. Giles, Cambridge University,United Kingdom

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