赤壁赋 The Ode to the Red Clif
壬戌之秋，七月既望，苏子与客泛舟游于赤壁之下。清风徐来，水波不兴。In the autumn of the year Renxu, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, Su Zi and his guests were boating beneath the Red Cliff. A gentle breeze blew slowly, and the water was calm.
举酒属客，诵明月之诗，歌窈窕之章。He raised his cup and invited his guests to drink, reciting poems about the bright moon and singing the graceful chapter.
少焉，月出于东山之上，徘徊于斗牛之间。白露横江，水光接天。After a while, the moon rose above the eastern mountain and lingered between the Dipper and the Ox. The white dew spread across the river, and the water merged with the sky.
纵一苇之所如，凌万顷之茫然。浩浩乎如冯虚御风，而不知其所止；飘飘乎如遗世独立，羽化而登仙。(冯 通：凭)They let their boat drift freely as if on a reed across the vast expanse of water. Vastly, it was as if they were riding on the wind in emptiness and didn't know where it would take them; ethereally, it was as if they were detached from the world and had become immortals. (In Chinese, "冯" is the same as "凭".)
于是饮酒乐甚，扣舷而歌之。At this time, they were very happy drinking and tapped on the side of the boat and sang.
歌曰：“桂棹兮兰桨，击空明兮溯流光。渺渺兮予怀，望美人兮天一方。”The song went: "With laurel oars and orchid paddles, we strike the clear water and row against the glimmering moonlight. Vastly, my thoughts are; longing for the beauty in the distance."
客有吹洞箫者，倚歌而和之。Among the guests was one who played the vertical bamboo flute, leaning on the song and accompanying it.
其声呜呜然，如怨如慕，如泣如诉；余音袅袅，不绝如缕。The sound was mournful, like a lament or an admiration, like weeping or complaining. The lingering sound was delicate and continuous like a thread.
舞幽壑之潜蛟，泣孤舟之嫠妇。It could make the hidden dragons in the deep valleys dance and the widowed women on the lonely boats weep.
苏子愀然，正襟危坐而问客曰：“何为其然也？”Su Zi looked solemn. Sitting up straight, he asked the guest, "Why is it so?"
客曰：The guest said:
“‘月明星稀，乌鹊南飞’，此非曹孟德之诗乎？"Isn't 'The moon is bright, the stars are sparse, and the crows fly south' a poem by Cao Mengde?
西望夏口，东望武昌，山川相缪，郁乎苍苍，此非孟德之困于周郎者乎？Looking westward to Xiakou and eastward to Wuchang, the mountains and rivers are intertwined, lush and green. Isn't this where Mengde was trapped by Zhou Lang?
方其破荆州，下江陵，顺流而东也，舳舻千里，旌旗蔽空，酾酒临江，横槊赋诗，固一世之雄也，而今安在哉？When he captured Jingzhou and marched down to Jiangling, sailing eastward along the river, his fleet stretched for thousands of li, and his banners shaded the sky. Standing by the river, pouring wine and composing poems with a lance in hand, he was truly a heroic figure of his time. But where is he now?
况吾与子渔樵于江渚之上，侣鱼虾而友麋鹿，驾一叶之扁舟，举匏樽以相属。Moreover, you and I are fishing and chopping firewood on the islets in the river, accompanied by fish and shrimp and befriending elk. Steering a small boat, we raise our goblets and drink to each other.
寄蜉蝣于天地，渺沧海之一粟。哀吾生之须臾，羡长江之无穷。We are like mayflies in the universe, like a grain in the vast ocean. We lament the brevity of our lives and envy the endlessness of the Yangtze River.
挟飞仙以遨游，抱明月而长终。知不可乎骤得，托遗响于悲风。”We would like to roam with the immortals and hold on to the bright moon forever. Knowing that we cannot obtain this suddenly, we entrust our melancholy to the mournful wind."
苏子曰：Su Zi said:
“客亦知夫水与月乎？逝者如斯，而未尝往也；盈虚者如彼，而卒莫消长也。"Do you also know about water and the moon? Time passes like this water, yet it never really goes away. The fullness and emptiness are like that moon, yet in the end there is no increase or decrease.
盖将自其变者而观之，则天地曾不能以一瞬；自其不变者而观之，则物与我皆无尽也，而又何羡乎！If we look at things from the perspective of their changes, then even heaven and earth cannot last for an instant. But if we look at things from the perspective of their constancy, then everything and I are eternal. So why envy anything?
且夫天地之间，物各有主，苟非吾之所有，虽一毫而莫取。Besides, between heaven and earth, everything has its owner. If it is not what I possess, I should not take even a tiny bit.
惟江上之清风，与山间之明月，耳得之而为声，目遇之而成色，取之无禁，用之不竭。Only the clear breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains, when heard, become sounds; when seen, become colors. We can take them without restraint and use them without exhaustion.
是造物者之无尽藏也，而吾与子之所共适。”(共适 一作：共食)This is the inexhaustible treasure of the Creator, and it is what you and I can enjoy together." (In some versions, "共适" is translated as "共食".)
客喜而笑，洗盏更酌。肴核既尽，杯盘狼籍。相与枕藉乎舟中，不知东方之既白。The guest was pleased and smiled. He washed his cup and refilled it. When the food and fruits were all gone, the cups and plates were in disorder. Lying down on each other in the boat, they didn't know that dawn had already broken in the east.
