SUNSET AND MOONRISE ON THE RIVER

Bai Juyi

(772-846, Tang Dynasty)


The departing sunbeams pave a way on the river;

Half of its waves turn red and the other half shiver.

How I love the third night of the ninth moon aglow!

The dewdrops look like pearls; the crescent like a bow.


暮江吟 

唐 白居易

一道残阳铺水中,半江瑟瑟半江红。

可怜九月初三夜,露似真珠月似弓。


About the translator

Xu Yuanchong, a renowned Chinese translator who was born in 1921 and has been engaged in literary translation for more than 60 years. He has been the pioneer to introduce the three beautifulization concept to translation theory, in which he believed that a translated verse should be as beautiful as the original in sense, in sound and in form when comparing to the original text.

About the poet 

Bai Juyi, a renowned Chinese Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet who is known for his realistic art style. Many of Bai's works concern his career or relating to his observations about the everyday life.

About the book 

300 Tang Poems / Translated by Xu Yuanchong(1921-2021) / Published by China Intercontinental Press.

Chinese translator Xu Yuanchong Photo: VCG