The ancient poems of Linjiangxian

Linjiangxian·Rolling waters of the Yangtze River eastward

Ming Dynasty·Yang Shen

The third paragraph of "Twenty-one Historical Tanci" talks about the opening speech of Qin and Han Dynasties

The rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, and the waves wash away the heroes.

Success or failure turns into nothing.

The green mountains are still there, and the sunsets are red several times.

The white-haired fisherman and woodcutter on the Nagisa River are used to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze.

Happy encounter with a pot of wine.

Many things in ancient and modern times are all discussed in a joke.

Translation and annotations

Translation

As the Yangtze River rolls eastward, many heroes disappear like flying waves. Regardless of right and wrong, success or failure (the achievements of heroes of ancient and modern times), it is all in vain until now, and has disappeared with the passage of time. The green mountains (jiangshan) of those days still exist, and the sun still rises and sets.

The white-haired hermit by the river has long been used to seeing the changes of time. I met an old friend once in a while and enjoyed a glass of wine. Many things throughout the ages have been reflected in (people's) talk and laughter.

Notes

To sweep away everything: to clean up everything.

Fishermen and woodcutters: This does not refer to fishermen and woodcutters. It is a verb based on the context of the context: live in seclusion. Here it is used as a noun, referring to a person who lives in seclusion and does not care about worldly affairs.

渚 (zhǔ): the original meaning is a small piece of land in the water, here it means the river bank