The First Ode to the Red Cliff http://hsmaterial.moe.edu.tw/file/chinese/LS23/L23.html / S Sh http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Su_Shi Text: ' ' It was on sixteenth on the seventh month of the lunar calendar, in the autumn of the year on Renxu, that my friends and I went boating along the foot of the Red Cliff. A light breeze was blowing gently without ruffling the calm water. Wine cup in hand, I toasted my companions and recited the first verse of The Moon Rises from The Book of Songs. Presently the moon rose above the eastern

mountain, where it hang between the Dipper and the Cowherd, whist the river, in a white mist, merged with the moonlit sky. I let the boat drift freely as it continued its motion across the vast expanse the river. How might this was! I felt like one windblown over infinite waves, not knowing where to land. And how light-hearted I was! I was beyond worldly caves, and, like a fairy, was taking flight to the sky. We drank our wine in good cheer. I beat a rhythm on the side of the boat and began to sing: Ah! Ours made of cinnamon wood and rudder made of magnolia wood! You are striking the crystal clear water lit by the bright moon and pushing our boat ahead against the shimmering currents. How deep my feelings are, since the person I meet long for is far away on the other side of the earth. The notes of a bamboo flute played by one of my friends accompanied my singing. The flute sounded melancholy, like someone complaining, or yearning, or weeping, or lamenting. The sound persisted long in the air as if it were on endless thin thread of silk. It discomfited the sleeping dragon that lay hidden under the deep water and made the widow on a lonely boat cry. I could not help but be sentimental. Straightening my clothes and my post-dre, I asked the flute player,why does the flute sound so sad? The moon is bright, the few stars are scattered and the crows fly soundward, he quoted, Werent these the words of Cao Mende? The Red Cliff faces Xiakoa in the west and Wuchang in the east and is embraced by mountains and waters. All around is a sea of greenery. Is this not the place where Mengde was defeated by Zhou Yu? After Ca Mengde had seized Jing Zhou and taken Jiangling, he led a naval fleet of warships linked together extending as far as one thousand li and headed eastward down the river. His banners and pennants blotted out sky. Holding a spear in hand, he recited poems, and sprinkled wine into the river as sacrifice. What a hero he was in his time! But where is he now? Now you I are catching fish in the river and cutting fine wood on the sandbank, with fish, prawns, and deers as company. We row a small boat on the water and drink wine from the ground. We are like mayflies enjoying a flicker of life in this world, and as infinitesimal as a grain in the vast sea. I am sorry for the brevity of our existence. And I envy the boundlessness of the

Yangtze River. I wish to cling to a flying fairy and roam about with her in the sky and to be everlasting. With the moon as my companion. I know very well that this dream of mine cannot be realized easily; therefore, I can only express my sorrow by playing the flute in the chilly autumn wind. To this lament, I dissented,Do you know of the water and the moon? The river flows endlessly, day and night, but it seems motionless. The moon waxes and wanes, yet it never grows bigger or smaller. Therefore, seem through the eyes of change, everything is this world changes in an instant shorter than the twinkling of an eye. But when seen through the eyes of stability, everything in the world, including humanity, is eternal. Why then should we be envious of things? Everything in the universe has its owner. I will not take even a tiny bit if it does not belong to me. As to the gentle breeze on the river and the bright moon over the mountains, they are a harmonious sound to our ears if we listen to them, and a pleasing sight to our eyes if we watch them. No one can prevent us from possessing them. Their supply is infinite for our use. They are an inexhaustible treasure given to us by Nature, which I may enjoy with you. My fiends, pleased with these words, smiled happily. We rinsed the cups and help ourselves to more wine. When the dishes and fruit had been eaten, the empty wine cups and plates were scattered about in a mess. We then reclined against one another in the boat, without knowing that dawn was breaking.