Three slected poems from the "A Pond in a Jardiniere" series by Han Yu

[snowynight]

Three slected poems from the "A Pond in a Jardiniere" series (translated by Kenneth O. Hansen)

Han Yu (AD768-824) was a Chinese essayist, poet, government official and Confucian scholar. When alive, he was known for his literary talent and experimentation with literary style. His comtemporaries remembered him as politically utilitarian, sometimes frivovolus but loyal to his friends, He was gradually perceived as a model Confucian from around the late 9th century and hailed as a cultural hero in mid-10th century, something neither his comtemporaries' nor him would imagine. 

1.

Old men are like little boys:

I draw water, fill the jardiniere to make a tiny pond.

All night green frogs gabble till dawn,

just like the time I went fishing at Fang-k’ou.
 

 

2.

My ceramic lake in dawn, water settled clear,

numberless tiny bugs -I don’t know what you call them;

suddenly they dart and scatter, not a shadow left;

only a squadron of baby fish advancing.
 

 

3.

Pond shine and sky glow, blue matching blue;

a few bucketfulls of water poured is all that laps these shores.

I`ll wait until the night is cold, the bright moon set,

then count how many stars come swimming here,

Translation from: Growing Old Alive: Poems by Han Yu by Kenneth O. Hanson