（古詩英譯）望海潮 – 柳永

望海潮 – 柳永

 

東南形勝，三吳都會，錢塘自古繁華。

煙柳畫橋，風簾翠幕，參差十萬人家。

雲樹繞堤沙。

怒濤卷霜雪，天塹無涯。

市列珠璣，戶盈羅綺，競豪奢。

 

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.

 

----- the first stanza / tr. Ziyuzile

21/12/2025