Ballad of the Ancient Cypress
Ballad of the Ancient Cypress
Du Fu
古柏行
孔明廟前有老柏
柯如青銅根如石
霜皮溜雨四十圍
黛色參天二千尺
君臣已與時際會
樹木猶爲人愛惜
雲來氣接巫峽長
月出寒通雪山白
憶昨路繞錦亭東
先主武侯同閟宮
崔嵬枝幹郊原古
窈窕丹青戶牖空
落落盤踞雖得地
冥冥孤高多烈風
扶持自是神明力
正直原因造化功
大廈如傾要樑棟
萬牛回首丘山重
不露文章世已驚
未辭剪伐誰能送
苦心豈免容螻蟻
香葉終經宿鸞鳳
志士幽人莫怨嗟
古來材大難爲用 gǔ bó xíng
kǒng míng miào qián yǒu lǎo bó
kē rú qīng tóng gēn rú shí
shuāng pí liù yǔ sì shí wéi
dài sè cān tiān èr qiān chǐ
jūn chén yǐ yǔ shí jì huì
shù mù yóu wéi rén ài xī
yún lái qì jiē wū xiá cháng
yuè chū hán tōng xuě shān bái
yì zuó lù rào jǐn tíng dōng
xiān zhǔ wǔ hóu tóng bì gōng
cuī wéi zhī gàn jiāo yuán gǔ
yáo tiáo dān qīng hù yǒu kōng
luò luò pán jù suī dé dì
míng míng gū gāo duō liè fēng
fú chí zì shì shén míng lì
zhèng zhí yuán yīn zào huà gōng
dà shà rú qīng yào liáng dòng
wàn niú huí shǒu qiū shān zhòng
bú lù wén zhāng shì yǐ jīng
wèi cí jiǎn fá shuí néng sòng
kǔ xīn qǐ miǎn róng lóu yǐ
xiāng yè zhōng jīng sù luán fèng
zhì shì yōu rén mò yuàn jiē
gǔ lái cái dà nán wéi yòng Kong ming temple before be old cypress
Branch like green bronze root like stone
Frost bark slippery rain 40 spans
Black colour meet sky 2000 feet
Emperor and minister already with time end meet
Tree tree still be man devotion
Cloud come air meet Wu gorge long
Moon out cold with snow mountain white
Remember old road wind brocade pavilion east
Former master war lord together hidden temple
Towering branch trunk open country ancient
Secluded red black door window empty
Spread wide coil entrenched although get earth
Dark far lofty many violent wind
Give support naturally divine strength
Upright reason creator skill
Big hall if upset want rafter beam
10,000 oxen turn head mountain weight
Not reveal hidden meaning world already amazed
Without evade cut down who can send
Bitter heart how avoid contain mole crickets ants
Fragrant leaves all through reside phoenix
Aim scholar secluded person not resent sigh
Always timber big hard to use Before Kongming's shrine stands an ancient cypress,
Its branches are like green bronze, its roots just like stone.
The frosted bark, slippery with rain, is forty spans around,
Its blackness blends into the sky two thousand feet above.
Master and servant have each already reached their time's end,
The tree, however, still remains, receiving men's devotion.
Clouds come and bring the air of Wuxia gorge's vastness,
The moon comes out, along with the cold of snowy mountain whiteness.
I think back to the winding road, east of Brocade Pavilion,
Where the military master and his lord of old share a hidden temple.
Towering that trunk, those branches, on the ancient plain,
Hidden paintings, red and black, doors and windows empty.
Spreading wide, coiling down, though it holds the earth,
In the dim and distant heights are many violent winds.
That which gives it its support must be heaven's strength,
The reason for its uprightness, the creator's skill.
If a great hall should teeter, wanting rafters and beams,
Ten thousand oxen would turn their heads towards its mountain's weight.
Its potential unrevealed, the world's already amazed,
Nothing would stop it being felled, but what man could handle it?
Its bitter heart cannot avoid the entry of the ants,
Its fragrant leaves have always given shelter to the phoenix.
Ambitious scholars, reclusive hermits- neither needs to sigh;
Always it's the greatest timber that's hardest to put to use.
