Song on His Reverence Li’s Screen with Pines
In the clear dawn this old fellow was combing his white hair,
a Daoist from Dark Metropolis Lodge came to pay me a visit.
I wrung[1] out my hair, called my boy and invited him in the door,
in his hand he held a new painting, a screen with green pines.
The pine forest on the screen was tranquil, faint and dark,
as I leaned on the rail it suddenly seemed that this was no painting at all.
Shadowy slopes, drawing back, received trunks of frost and snow,
from leafy canopies rushed away bough[2]-forms of serpents and dragons.
All my life this old fellow has loved rare and ancient things,
facing this, my elation joins me to the hosts of ethereal[3] spirits.
I already knew that my immortal guest was like-minded,
I further realized how the fine artisan had used singular effort here.
The men under the pines wear the same turbans and sandals,
sitting in pairs they seem to be the old men of Mount Shang.
Sadly gazing, I’ll sing for the while the song “Purple Mushrooms,”
the times are troubled and gloomily there comes a mournful wind.
单词释义
[1] wring [rɪŋ] v. 拧,绞,拧出,绞出;
[2] bough [baʊ] n. 大树枝;
[3] ethereal [iˈθɪəriəl] adj. 缥缈的; 轻飘的; 优雅的; 超凡的;