Wei Yingwu: Road to Chang’an

Road to Chang’an

长 安 道

汉 家 宫 殿 含 云 烟
两 宫 十 里 相 连 延。
晨 霞 出 没 弄 丹 阙
春 雨 依 微 自 甘 泉。

春 雨 依 微 春 尚 早
长 安 贵 游 爱 芳 草。
宝 马 横 来 下 建 章
香 车 却 转 避 驰 道。

贵 游 谁 最 贵 ？
卫 霍 世 难 比。
何 能 蒙 主 恩
幸 遇 边 尘 起 。

归 来 甲 第 拱 皇 居
朱 门 峨 峨 临 九 衢。
中 有 流 苏 合 欢 之 宝 帐
一 白 二 十 凤 凰 罗 列 含 明 珠。

下 有 锦 铺 翠 被 之 粲 烂
博 山 吐 香 五 云 散。
丽 人 绮 阁 情 飘 飘
头 上 鸳 鸯 双 翠 翘。

低 鬟 曳 袖 回 春 雪
聚 黛 一 声 愁 碧 霄。                                                                                            山 珍 海 错 弃 藩 篱
烹 犊 庖 羔 如 折 葵。

既 请 列 侯 封 部 曲
还 将 金 印 授 庐 儿。
欢 荣 若 此 何 所 苦
但 苦 白 西 南 驰。

Chang’an Dao

Han jia gong dian han yun yan
Liang gong shi li xiang lian yan.
Chen xia chu mo nong dan que
Chun you you wei zi gan quan.

Chun you yi wei chun shang zao
Chang an gui you ai fang cao.
Bao ma heng lai xia jian zhang
Xiang che que zhuan bi chi dao.

Gui you shei zui gui?
Wei huo shi nan bi.
He neng meng zhu en
Xing yu bian chen qi.

Gui lai jia di gong huang ju
Zhu men e lin jiu qu.
Zhong you liu su he huan zhi bao zhang
Yi bai er shi feng huang luo lie han ming zhu.

Xia you jin pu cui bei zhi can lan
Bo shan tu xiang wu yun san.
Li ren qi yi qing piao piao
Tou shang yuan yang shuang cui qiao.

Di huan ye xiu hui chun xue
Ju dai yi sheng chou bi xiao.                                                                                                   Shan zhen hai cuo qi fan li                                                                                                 Peng du pao gao ru she kui.

Ji qing lie hou feng bu qu
Huan jiang qin yin shou lu er.
Huan rong ruo ci he suo ku
Dan ku bai ri xi nan chi.

Road to Chang’an: A Melody

Han dynasty imperial officials within mist and smoke
Inside palace after palace for three miles.
Morning glow, they mingle in and out of red palace watchtowers
Spring rain, they frequent remote imperial hot spring spas.

Spring rain, any sign of spring sends them outside in the morning
Extended palace clan loves the new and fragrant grasses.
From east to west fancy attired horses, large imperial shrines
Even the fragrant lady’s carriages trespass onto the emperor’s private road.

Among the idle rich, who is the most decadent?
No mortal can compare with the gifts of Wei and his cousins.
What can they do to repay these kindnesses
The people’s good fortune that a growing insurgency required them to fight.

But after a minor skirmish, they were awarded ostentatious houses near the palace.
With vermillion gates towering over palace roads.
Curtain and canopies with embroidered flowers and ornate, tasseled fringes
A total of a hundred and twenty sewn phoenixes.

Males and females lined up, holding bright pearls
Overly colorful brocade bedspreads burn the eyes.
Nine-level incense burners emit five different fragrant layers of scattered clouds
Beautiful people in their thin damask clothes, inside pavilion emotions.

On, and to the side of their heads, duck feathers and green jade
Low hair buns, sleeves drag on the spring snow.                                          Connected eyebrows, one melancholy sound reaches the bluish-green sky
Mountain and ocean delicacies, leftovers thrown over the fence.

Palace chef cooks veal and tender lamb, chosen like big-flowered plants
Right away they and their retinues lifted up into the titled nobility.
Golden seals even for the servants
With such joy and prosperity, who can suffer
Only those galloping into battle off to the southwest.

Notes:

Chang’an was the ancient capital of China during Wei Yingwu’s life, the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and during much of China’s ancient history.  The words literally mean “long peace”.

Han Dynasty: (206 BC-220 AD)

Commentary:

This poem is a very detailed description of palace life and the nobility.