陸游 遊山西村 translation: Roaming in Mountain West Villages, by Lu You

This is a rough translation and annotation of the poem 遊山西村 (Yóu Shān Xī Cūn), ‘Roaming in Mountain West Villages’, by the Song Dynasty Chinese poet 陸游 (Lù Yóu).

遊山西村 Yóu Shān Xī Cūn [roam] [mountain] [west] [village] Roaming in Mountain West Villages

莫笑農家臘酒渾， mò xiào nóng jiā là jǐu hún [not] [smile] [farm] [house] [twelfth month] [wine] [dirty] Do not laugh at the impurities of the farmhouse Twelfth Month wine;

豐年留客足雞豚。 fēng nián líu kè zú jī tún [abundant] [year] [stay] [guest] [foot] [chickens] [small pig] in a harvest year keeping guests, with plenty of chickens and pigs.

山重水複疑無路， shān chóng shǔi fù yí wú lù [mountain] [layered] [water] [repeat] [doubt] [no] [path] Mountains layered, waters overlapping, uncertain if there is a path;

柳暗花明又一村。 lǐu àn huā míng yòu yī cūn [willow] [dark] [flower] [bright] [again] [one] [village] willows dark and flowers bright; once again a village!

簫鼓追隨春社近， xiāo gǔ zhūi súi chūn shè jìn [pan-pipes] [drum] [pursue] [follow] [spring] [land god] [near] Pipes and drums following, the middle of Spring is near; 春社 is the fifth “fifth day” (out of a cycle of ten) after the first day of Spring. It’s like saying “the fifth Friday of Spring” but with a cycle of ten, so approximately fifty days into Spring. See 第五个戊日如何解释.

衣冠簡樸古風存。 yī guān jiǎn pú gǔ fēng cún [clothes] [cap] [simple] [plain] [old] [style] [save] robes and caps simple and plain, the old styles kept.

從今若許閒乘月， cóng jīn ruò xǔ xián chéng yuè [from] [now] [if] [allow] [idle] [avail] [moon] From today, if allowed, when idle and moon permitting,

拄杖無時夜叩門。 zhǔ zhàng wú shí yè kòu mén [lean on] [cane] [no] [time] [night] [knock] [door] leaning on a cane, untimely, by night knocking at the door.

Links

• 陸游 遊山西村 - WikiSource
• 游山西村 - 百度百科
• A Trip to Mountain West Village