CAO ZHI (192-232)
曹植
七步詩

煮豆燃豆萁，豆在釜中泣。本是同根生，相煎何太急。

For my Brother, a Poem Completed in a Walk of Seven Steps

To cook beans, they use beanstalks as fuel.
Beans in the pot weep at an act so cruel.
“We grow from the same roots,” they plead,
“Why fry us in such haste like a duel?”


LUO YIN (833-909)
羅隱

蜂
不論平地與山尖，無限風光盡被占。採得百花成蜜後，為誰辛苦為誰甜？
Honey Bees
Either at the peak or on the level soil,
Their invasion of our boundless nature we cannot foil.
After gathering honey from a hundred flowers,
For whose sweet tooth is their toil?

CHENG HAO (1032-1085)
程顥

春日偶成

雲淡風輕近午天，傍花隨柳過前川。時人不識余 心樂，將謂偸閒學少年。

A Casual Verse on a Spring Day

With thin clouds and light winds, near midday,
By bloom and willow, I cross the front stream on my way.
Bystanders know not my heartfelt joy.
That I slack off like a juvenile, they will say.


SU SHI (1037-1101)
蘇軾

冬景
荷盡已無擎雨蓋，菊殘猶有傲霜枝。一年好景君須記，最是橙黃橘綠時。
A Winter Scene
Already gone are lotus leaves that held rain.
Frosted stalks of wilted chrysanthemums proudly remain.
You should note that the year’s best views are seen
When golden yellow and green oranges ripe in a chain.

MENG JIAO (751-814)
孟郊

登科後
昔日齷齪不足誇，今朝放蕩思無涯。春風得意馬蹄疾，一日看盡長安花。
After Passing the Imperial Examination
I can boast of nothing about my unworthy past.
Today, my boundless thoughts run free at last.
I have seen all the capital’s flowers in a day,
With my wishes met, in the spring wind, galloping fast.