望海潮 – 柳永
东南形胜，三吴都会，钱塘自古繁华。
烟柳画桥，风帘翠幕，参差十万人家。
云树绕堤沙。怒涛卷霜雪，天堑无涯。
市列珠玑，户盈罗绮，竞豪奢。
Contemplating the Tide-Swept Sea by Liu Yong
Unrivalled stands Qiantang in the southeast,
The heart of the Three Wu lands,
Since days of yore, it hath flourished in grace.
Its mist-veiled willows, its ornate bridges,
Its breeze-filtered portieres, its emerald drapes,
Some ten thousand homes fill all this place.
The sandy dikes the cloud-reaching trees embrace.
The tidal waves roar to swirl frost and snow
Towards boundless heavenly space.
Fairs hustling here, markets bustling there,
O, every household hoards satins and gems —
All striving in an extravagant race.
V2.
Unrivalled stands Qiantang in the southeast,
The heart of the Three Wu lands,
Since days of yore, it hath flourished in grace.
Its mist-veiled willows, its ornate bridges,
Its breeze-filtered portieres, its emerald drapes,
Ten thousand homes fill all this place.
The sandy dikes the cloud-crowned trees embrace.
The tidal waves roar to swirl frost and snow
Towards boundless heavenly space.
Hither brisk marts, thither bazaars throng,
All households hoard brocade and gems —
In splendour do they vie and race.
Since days of yore, it hath flourished in grace.
Its mist-veiled willows, its ornate bridges,
Its breeze-filtered portieres, its emerald drapes,
Ten thousand homes fill all this place.
The sandy dikes the cloud-crowned trees embrace.
The tidal waves roar to swirl frost and snow
Towards boundless heavenly space.
Hither brisk marts, thither bazaars throng,
All households hoard brocade and gems —
In splendour do they vie and race.
----- the first stanza / tr. Ziyuzile
21/12/2025
