DRINKING WINE 

Tao Qian 

(365-427, Eastern Jin Dynasty)

In people's haunt I build my cot,

Of wheel's and hoofs noise I hear not.

How can it leave on me no trace?

Secluded heart makes secluded place.

I pick chrysanthemums at will,

Carefree, I see the southern hill.

The mountain air is fresh day and night,

Together birds go home in flight.

What revelation at this view?

Words fail me if I try to tell you.

饮酒 

[东晋]陶潜

结庐在人境,而无车马喧。

问君何能尔,心远地自偏。

采菊东篱下,悠然见南山。

山气日夕佳,飞鸟相与还。

此中有真意,欲辩已忘言。

About the poet

Tao Qian, more widely known by his other name Tao Yuanming, was a Chinese poet and politician of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). The hermit-like poet lived a stoic life, and is known to have enjoyed living in the countryside, farming, reading and drinking wine.

About the translator

Xu Yuanchong won the lifetime Achievement Award in Translation conferred by the Translators Association of China (TAC) in 2010 and won the "Aurora Borealis" Prize for Outstanding Translation of Fiction Literature in 2014. His translations are still highly praised by many students in Chinese colleges and universities today. 

About the book

Golden Treasury of Chinese Poetry in Han, Wei and Six Dynasties/ Translated by Xu Yuanchong (1921-2021) Published by China Intercontinental Press