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Fēng Lào Tíng Yóu ChūnSpring Outing at Fengle Pavilion 丰乐亭游春

Ouyang Xiu (欧阳修, also known as Zuiweng)｜Northern Song｜seven-character quatrain

Ouyang Xiu at a pavilion in late spring; birds sing, flowers dance, the governor is drunk.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

绿树交加山鸟啼
lǜ shù jiāo jiā shān niǎo tí

晴风荡漾落花飞
qíng fēng dàng yàng luò huā fēi

鸟歌花舞太守醉
niǎo gē huā wǔ tài shǒu zuì

明日酒醒春已归
míng rì jiǔ xǐng chūn yǐ guī

Simplified characters; traditional title: 豐樂亭遊春.

Green trees intertwine, the mountain birds sing;

the sunny breeze ripples, and fallen petals fly.

Birds singing, flowers dancing, the governor is drunk —

tomorrow, when he sobers up, spring will be gone.

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

绿树交加山鸟啼 · lǜ shù jiāo jiā shān niǎo tí — Green trees intertwine, the mountain birds sing;

晴风荡漾落花飞 · qíng fēng dàng yàng luò huā fēi — the sunny breeze ripples, and fallen petals fly.

鸟歌花舞太守醉 · niǎo gē huā wǔ tài shǒu zuì — Birds singing, flowers dancing, the governor is drunk —

明日酒醒春已归 · míng rì jiǔ xǐng chūn yǐ guī — tomorrow, when he sobers up, spring will be gone.

Ouyang Xiu at a pavilion in late spring; birds sing, flowers dance, the governor is drunk. The scene stays with you.

Ouyang Xiu at a pavilion in late spring; birds sing, flowers dance, the governor is drunk.

Ouyang Xiu led the Northern Song classical-prose revival and left accomplished poetry and ci.

Lifetime: 1007–1072. Other famous works: The Thrush (画眉鸟); Spring Outing at Fengle Pavilion (丰乐亭游春); Picking Mulberries (采桑子).