XIII
To stay together as one’s closest guest,
With counter aims the other shows his zest.
The one is oft in a drunken state
While the other is sober and awake.
The two of them would laugh with cheers
But never give each other listening ears.
The sober man is foolish in disguise;
The drunken man is proud but much more wise.
Please bring my message to the drinking man:
By candlelight keep drinking while you can.
十三
有客常同止，取舍邈异境。
一士常独醉，一夫终年醒，
醒醉还相笑，发言各不领。
规规一何愚，兀傲差若颖。
寄言酣中客，日没烛当秉。
XIV
My friends who share my hobby drinking wine
Come to me with liquor sweet and fine.
We sit below the pines on faggot grounds
And get a bit drunk after several rounds.
We drink and talk and then come slips of the tongue，
Forgetting manners for the old and young.
When such awareness as of my self is lost,
Why should I care this thing or that will cost?
While profit-seekers follow their design,
I alone enjoy the magic taste of wine!
十四
故人赏我趣，挈壶相与至。
班荆坐松下，数斟已复醉，
父老杂乱言，觞酌失行次，
不觉知有我，安知物为贵，
悠悠迷所留，酒中有深味。
XV
Living in a poor and helpless state,
I see the bushes grow on my estate.
A lot of birds are soaring to the sky,
But seldom do I hear passengers go by.
The natural world is infinite and vast
While human life is brief and soon be passed.
As time and tide flow on without delay,
Before Vm old,my hair has long turned grey.
If I had not got rid of worldly cares，
I would have dropped my purpose unawares.
十五
贫居乏人工，灌木荒余宅。
班班有翔鸟，寂寂无行迹。
宇宙一何悠，人生少至百。
岁月相催逼，鬓边早已白。
若不委穷达，素抱深可惜。
XVI
As I made few friends e，en in my youth,
In ancient classics I did find the truth.
When I was forty years of age or less,
I had in no way yet achieved success.
I，ve stuck to honest poverty sublime
But suffered cold and hunger all the time.
Into my wretched house the wind blows hard
While wild weeds overgrow my wretched yard.
In ragged coats I sit awake all night
And wait for cocks to crow till day is bright.
Without a bosom friend here by my side,
There is no one in whom I can confide.
十六
少年罕人事，游好在六经。
行行向不惑，淹留遂无成。
竟抱固穷节，饥寒饱所更。
敝庐交悲风，荒草没前庭。
披褐守长夜，晨鸡不肯鸣。
孟公不在兹，终以翳吾情。
XVII
The orchids flourish in the yard ahead,
Whose fragrance is yet for the wind to spread.
When a gentle current comes to pass,
The orchids stand unique among rank grass.
As I have in my life search gone astray,
To follow nature is my only way.
It’s time for me to leave now that I know
Lest I be laid by like an idle bow.
十七
幽兰生前庭，含薰待清风。
清风脱然至，见别萧艾中。
行行失故路，任道或能通。
觉悟当念迁，鸟尽废良弓。
XVIII
Yang Xiong the scholar liked the wine the most,
But was too poor to have the wine to boast.
Sometimes he got the wine from men benign,
Who came to learn from him and brought some wine
As soon as he had gladly drained the cup.
He’d answer all the questions that came up.
Sometimes he said that he was not aware，
Because it touched upon the state affair.
A virtuous man is careful about his way.
He knows well when to go and when to stay.
十八
子云性嗜酒，家贫无由得，
时赖好事人，载醪祛所惑。
觞来为之尽，是谘无不塞。
有时不肯言，岂不在伐国。
仁者用其心，何尝失显默。
XIX
As I was underfed all through the year,
I left the countryside for my career.
I failed to nourish my folks,young and old,
And suffered from starvation and from cold.
I was approaching thirty years of age,
My youthful heart was filled with shame and rage.
I thus observed my constant point of view
And came back home to start my life anew.
As constellations move across the sky,
A dozen years of time have now gone by.
The world is vast and men might go astray;
No wonder sages stopped short on the way.
Not rich enough to hold feasts for my friends,
I drink the home-made wine to meet my ends.
十九
畴昔苦长饥，投耒去学仕。
将养不得节，冻馁固缠己。
是时向立年，志意多所耻。
遂尽介然分，拂衣归田里，
冉冉星气流，亭亭复一纪。
世路廓悠悠，杨朱所以止。
虽无挥金事，浊酒聊可恃。
XX
As ancient kings governed in the past,
Their simple ways of life no longer last.
Confucius,shuttling from state to state,
Hoped to bring traditions up to date.
Although he failed to save the world from strife,
He gave rites and music a new lease of life.
Confucian learning ceased to widely spread;
The tyrannous king of Qin made people dread.
For what were poems and classic books to blame
That they were all committed to the flame?
When Qin was overthrown,some old learned men
Worked hard to teach Confucian ways again.
Because of dynastic failures,chaos and war，
Confucian classic books were read no more.
Of all the profit-seekers on the way,
No one cares about the order of the day.
If I do not drink to my heart’s content，
I，a scholar of no worth, shall lament.
I’m sorry for the rubbish I have said;
Please pardon me, a man with drunken head.
二十
羲农去我久，举世少复真。
汲汲鲁中叟，弥缝使其淳。
凤鸟虽不至，礼乐暂得新，
洙泗辍微响，漂流逮狂秦。
诗书复何罪？一朝成灰尘。
区区诸老翁，为事诚殷勤。
如何绝世下，六籍无一亲。
终日驰车走，不见所问津。
若复不快饮，空负头上巾。
但恨多谬误，君当恕醉人。