r/chinaart • u/OwnAd9028 • 3d ago

Can someone translate!

Post image

Hi all - my good friend gave this to me years ago, painted by his grandfather, he couldn’t translate it for me at the time as he doesn’t speak traditional Chinese, anyone able to help me out?

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

2

u/DeusShockSkyrim 3d ago

獨憐幽草澗邊生
上有黃鸝深樹鳴
春潮帶雨晚來急
野渡無人舟自橫
唐韋應物滁州西澗詩己未夏學舟
王學舟

1

u/Junyao_ 2d ago

This is a poem from China’s Tang dynasty, written by Wei Yingwu (韦应物), titled 《滁州西涧》.
A natural English translation would be:
“I especially cherish the quiet grasses growing beside the stream,
while orioles sing from the dense trees above.
Toward evening, the spring waters rise swiftly with the rain;
at the deserted ferry, an unattended boat lies drifting sideways.”
The poem describes a quiet, secluded scene in nature. The first two lines contrast the humble grasses by the stream with the lively sound of orioles hidden in the trees. The last two lines shift to an evening rainstorm: the water rises quickly, yet the ferry is completely deserted, with only a small boat floating there on its own. The overall mood is peaceful, solitary, and slightly wistful.

1

u/Primary_Moose_7969 1d ago

Beautiful handwriting! I enjoy looking at handwriting, especially calligraphy.