"Autumn Dusk at Hill Residence" in New Style
Based on the Famous Tang Poem by Wang Wei
Written in Chinese and Translated by Yutang Lin
On hills that looked thin in trees due to gradually fallen leaves
A long absent fresh rain had just showered
As dusk permeated everywhere
Autumn chill was even more vividly sensed
Bright moonlight shone through pine groves
Throwing shadows of needles all over the places
Clear spring water streamed over rocks and pebbles
Murmuring sound of water incessantly resounding
Uproar of playful laughter coming from amid bamboo groves
Indicated the returning of girls from laundry
Yet those waving movements amid the lotus leaves
Were startled by launching fishing boats into water
Fragrant grasses of spring had already taken a rest at will
Honorable guests of leisure might as well stay here for a while
What aroused my interests in writing Tang poems in new style, at first, was my fondness of Wang Wei's Wu Yan Lyu Shi (poems that consist of lines with only five characters in each line), especially the first four lines of the original of this poem.
Written in Chinese on January 22, 2009
Translated on September 2, 2009
El Cerrito, California
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