Bai Juyi: Buying Flowers

Buying Flowers

买 花

帝 城 春 欲 暮
喧 喧 车 马 度。
共 道 牡 丹 时
相 随 买 花 去。

贵 贱 无 常 价
酬 直 看 花 数。
灼 灼 百 朵 红
戋 戋 五 束 素。

上 张 幄 幕 庇
旁 织 巴 篱 护 。
水 洒 复 泥 封
移 来 色 如 故。

家 家 习 为 俗
人 人 迷 不 悟。
有 一 田 舍 翁
偶 来 买 花 处。

低 头 独 长 叹
此 叹 无 人 谕。
一 丛 深 色 花
十 户 中 人 赋。

Mai Hua

Di cheng chun yu mu
Xuan xuan che ma du.
Gong dao mu dan shi
Xiang sui ma hua qu.

Gui jian wu chang jia
Chou zhi kan hua shu.
Zhuo zhuo bai duo hong
Jian jian wu shu su.

Shang zhang wo mu bi
Pang zhi ba li hu.
Shui sa fu ni feng
Yi lai se ru gu.

Jia jia xi wei su
Ren ren mi bu wu.
You yi tian she weng
Ou lai mai hua chu.

Di tou du chang tan
Ci tan wu ren yu.
Yi cong shen se hua
Shi hu zhong ren fu.

Buying Flowers

Forbidden City during the spring                                                                                    Almost sunset, busy throng of horses and carts going past.                                People talking together at tree peony time                                                    Following each other to go and buy flowers.

Prices not posted, so barter is required
Look over each flower to determine how much to pay.
Take home a hundred fiery red flowers
With five bolts of silk cloth.

Make a protective canopy and a fine-mesh bamboo fence around the edge
Spray water repeatedly until the mud seals up to fix these transplants,  their colors like in the days of old.
Every family used to conducting the old customs
Everyone now indulges in daydreams and fantasies.

One old dirt farmer occasionally comes to buy at the flower stand
He hangs his head and heaves a long sigh.
This sigh no people understand
One cluster of dark-colored flowers equals the taxes of ten
middle class families.

.

Notes:

Bolts of silk: In ancient China these were used as a form of currency.