'蘇軾 張子野年八十五尚聞買妾述古令作詩 translation: Still One Hears that Zhang Ziye at Eighty-Five Years Old Has Bought a Concubine; A Poem Requested by Shugu (Su Shi)'

This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 張子野年八十五尚聞買妾述古令作詩 (Zhāng Zǐyě Nián Bāshíwǔ Shàng Wén Mǎi Qiè Shùgǔ Lìngzuò Shī), ‘Still One Hears that Zhang Ziye at Eighty-Five Years Old Has Bought a Concubine; A Poem Requested by Shugu’, by the Song Dynasty Chinese poet 蘇軾 (Sū Shì).

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張子野年八十五尚聞買妾述古令作詩

Zhāng Zǐyě Nián Bāshíwǔ Shàng Wén Mǎi Qiè Shùgǔ Lìngzuò Shī [Zhang] [Zi] [Ye] [year] [eight] [ten] [five] [still] [hear] [buy] [concubine] [Shu] [Gu] [order] [write] [poem] Still One Hears that Zhang Ziye at Eighty-Five Years Old Has Bought a Concubine; A Poem Requested by Shugu

錦裡先生自笑狂， Jǐn lǐ xiānshēng zì xiào kuáng, [brocade] [in] [mister][] [self] [laugh] [mad] The gentleman of the capital laughs madly;

莫欺九尺鬢眉蒼。 mò qī jiǔ chǐ bìn méi cāng. [do not] [fool] [nine] [foot] [sideburns] [eyebrow] [grey] do not be fooled by his great stature or grey sideburns and eyebrows.

詩人老去鶯鶯在， Shīrén lǎo qù Yīngyīng zài, [poet] [person] [old] [go] [Ying] [Ying] [at] This poet is getting old but Yingying is still there;

公子歸來燕燕忙。 gōngzǐ guīlái yàn yàn máng. [master][] [return] [come] [swallow] [swallow] [busy] the master returns and his swallows are busy.

柱下相君猶有齒， Zhù xià xiāng jūn yóu yǒu chǐ, [pillar] [under] [minister] [gentleman] [still] [have] [teeth] The Attendant Censor Chancellor still has teeth;

江南刺史已無腸。 jiāngnán cìshǐ yǐ wú cháng. [river] [south] [provincial governor][] [already] [not have] [bowel] the southern Provincial Governor no longer has initiative.

平生謬作安昌客， Píngshēng miù zuò Ānchāng kè, [whole life][] [deceive] [be] [An] [Chang] [guest] All one's life one has wrongly been the guest of Anchang;

略遣彭宣到後堂。 lüè qiǎn bāngxuān dào hòu táng. [rather] [send] [peng?] [announce] [go] [back] [hall] instead I should have been sent to the inner chambers.

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