（古詩英譯）望海潮 – 柳永

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.

 

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

21/12/2025