Su Dongpo: Travel to Gold Mountain Temple

Travel to Gold Mountain Temple

游 金 山 寺

我 家 江 水 初 发 源
宦 游 直 送 江 入 海。
闻 道 湖 头 一 丈 高
天 寒 尚 有 沙 痕 在。

中 泠 南 畔 石 盘 陀
古 来 出 没 随 涛 波。
试 登 绝 顶 望 乡 国
江 南 江 北 青 山 多。

羁 愁 畏 晚 寻 归 楫
山 僧 苦 留 看 落 日。
微 风 万 顷 靴 文 细。
断 霞 半 空 鱼 尾 赤。

是 时 江 月 初 生 魄
二 更 月 落 天 深 黑。
江 心 似 有 炬 火 明
飞 焰 照 山 栖 鸟 惊。

怅 然 归 卧 心 莫 识
非 鬼 非 人 竟 何 物？
江 山 如 此 不 归 山
江 神 见 怪 警 我 顽。
我 谢 江 神 岂 得 已
有 田 不 归 如 江 水。

You Jin Shan Si

Wo jia jiang shui chu fa yuan
Huan you zhi song jiang ru hai.
Wen dao chao tou yi zhang gao
Tian dong shang you sha hen zai.

Zhong ling nan pan shi pan tuo
Gu mu chu mei sui tao bo.
Shi deng jue ding wang xiang guo
Jiang nan jiang bei qing shan duo.

Ji chou wei wan xun gui ji
Shan seng ku liu kan luo ri.
Wei feng wan qing xue wen xi
Duan xia ban kong yu wei chi.

Shi shi jiang yue chu sheng po
Er geng yue luo tian shen hei.
Jiang xin si you ju huo ming
Fei yan zhao shan qi niao jing.

Chang ran gui wo xin mo shi
Fei gui fei ren jing he wu?
Jiang shan ru ci be gui shan
Jiang shen jian guai jing wo wan.
Wo xie jiang shen qi de yi
You tian bu gui ru jiang shui.

Traveling to Gold Mountain Temple

My hometown is at the headwaters of the Changjiang
Official travel takes me to where the river enters the ocean.
Famous stories about ten foot high tidal bore waves
Sky cold, high water marks still remain.

On the southern shore, a springhead emerges on a giant boulder shaped like a millstone
From ancient times it has been carved by the big and fast river.
Finish my ascent to the peak, gaze into the distance to my hometown
In Jiangnan to the north, many rivers and green mountains.

Traveling by horse and boat, fearful of the oncoming night and the search for a boat
Mountain Buddhist monks want me to stay and watch the sunset.
Light breeze, river water of ten thousand wrinkled waves
Half water, half sky, sunset clouds red like fish scales.

This time of month, the crescent moon on the river
By ten o’clock its descent turns the sky a deep black.
Mountains appear illuminated and on fire, startling the perched birds.
Return to the temple bedroom, disappointment no one can know.

Can no ghosts, no people complete what is the essence?
In rivers and mountains I cannot find rural seclusion.
River spirits warning me not to be foolish and stubborn
I thank them for trying to stop me from working outside.
I will tend to my fields back home someday, but this very hard
Like this river water flowing back upstream.

Notes:

Changjiang: Also known as the Yangzi River.

Jiangnan: South of the river.  The area in Zhejiang Province south of the Changjiang’s mouth.

The last line of this poem is a variation of a line from Tao Yuanming, where it is the wind that travels upstream.