Su Dongpo: Wrote Poem After Lin Bu

Wrote a Poem After Lin Bu

书 林 逋 诗 后

吴 侬 生 长 湖 山 曲
呼 吸 湖 光 饮 山 绿。
不 论 世 外 隐 君 子
佣 儿 贩 妇 皆 冰 玉。

先 生 可 是 绝 俗 人
神 清 骨 冷 无 由 俗。
我 不 识 君 曾 梦 见
瞳 子 瞭 然 光 可 烛。

遗 篇 妙 字 处 处 有
步 绕 西 湖 看 不 足。
诗 如 东 野 不 言 寒
书 似 留 台 差 少 肉。

平 生 高 节 已 难 继
将 死 微 言 犹 可 录。
自 言 不 作 封 禅 书
更 肯 悲 吟 白 头 曲。

我 笑 吴 人 不 好 事
好 作 祠 堂 傍 修 竹。
不 然 配 食 水 仙 王
一 盏 寒 泉 荐 秋 菊。

Shu Lin Bu Shi Hou

Wu nong sheng chang hu shan qu
Hu xi hu guang yin shan lu.
Bu lun shi wai yin jun zi
Yong er fan fu jie bing yu.

Xian sheng ke shi jue su ren
Shen qing gu leng wu you su.
Wo bu shi jun ceng meng jian
Tong zi liao ran guang ke zhu.

Yi pian miao zi chu chu you
Bu rao xi hu kan bu zu.
Shi ru dong ye bu yan han
Shu yi liu tai cha shao rou.

Ping sheng gao jie yi nan ji
Jiang si wei yan you ke lu.
Zi yan bu zuo feng chan shu
Geng ken bei yin bai tou qu.

Wo xiao wu ren bu hao shi
Hao zuo ci tang bang xiu zhu.
Bu ran pei shi shui xian wang
Yi zhan han quan jian qiu ju.

Wrote a Poem After Lin Bu

You are a Wu person, grew up here with the music of lakes and mountains
Inhale, exhale this bright landscape, drink the greenish mountains.
No need to discuss the outside world, you are secluded and a man of noble character
Servants, children, women vendors all valuable as icy jade.

You do not cut yourself off from secular people
Yet don’t follow those who are vulgar, and not of pure mind and spirit.
Before meeting you, I felt your presence in a dream
From a distance, your eyes shone bright like two candles.

Everywhere you leave behind wonderful words in print and paintings
Walking around West Lake again and again not sufficient.
Your poetry like Meng Jiao’s, not cold or full of fear
Your books resemble Li Jianzhong’s, which are concise and simple.

All one’s life your advanced integrity has continued
Even more impressive, your profound words left before leaving this world.
Yet not praising yourself, not writing what is needed for eternal admiration
Not chanting and going out with a blaze of glory.

I smile that a Wu person that does not require their own stela or memorial
Don’t need a room in the ancestral temple among the bamboo.
Otherwise you should have a place in the Water Immortals temple
Or a small drinking cup for autumn chrysanthemum wine at the cold springhead.

Notes:

Lin Bu: (967-1028) Northern Song Dynasty poet, famous for being a recluse near the West Lake of Hangzhou.

Wu person: Nation of Wu during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Located at the mouth of the Changjiang and the cities of Suzhou and Shanghai.

Meng Jiao: (751-814) Tang Dynasty poet