Presented to Wei Ji, Vice-Director of the Left
The Left Aide is often an empty position,
this year they got a scholar of the old school.
Of minister families the Wei clan survives,
for skill in the Classics, Han officials employed.
Current opinion attributes this to fine forebears[1],
I regret that your natural kin could not join you.
On the plain of the wagtail[2], last year’s plants run wild,
the Phoenix Pool connects with the broad concourse[3]./
You have a client, though content with his lot,
aging appearance, hardly a man in his prime.
Family members worry about armrest and staff,
through many cycles, mixed with muddy roads.
I won’t claim to boast that I have surplus[4] energy,
but I still come to pay my respects to the greater shaman[5].
In the cold of the year I still enjoy your regard,
at day’s end I pause expectantly a while./
The old steed longs to go a thousand leagues,
the starving hawk waits for just one call.
If you can be even faintly stirred,
it is still enough to console one in weeds and scrub.
单词释义
[1]forebear [ˈfɔːbeə(r)] n. 祖先; 祖宗;
[2]wagtail [ˈwæɡteɪl] n. 鹡鸰(走动时长尾上下摆动);
[3]concourse [ˈkɒŋkɔːs] n. (尤指机场或火车站的) 大厅,广场;
[4]surplus [ˈsɜːpləs] adj. 过剩的; 剩余的; 多余的;
[5]shaman [ˈʃeɪmən] n. 萨满(据信能和善恶神灵沟通,能治病的人);