Bai Juyi: Writings and Pictures of the True Past (Looking At a Previous Self-Portrait)

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Writings and Pictures of the True Past (Looking At a Previous Self-Portrait)

题 旧 写 真 图
我 昔 三 十 六
写 貌 在 丹 青。
我 今 四 十 六
衰 悴 卧 江 城。
岂 止 十 年 老
曾 与 众 苦 并。
一 照 旧 图 画
无 复 昔 仪 形。
形 影 默 相 顾
曦 和 鞭 日 走。
形 骸 属 日 月
老 去 何 足 惊。
所 恨 凌 烟 阁
不 得 画 功 名。
Ti Jiu Xie Zhen Tu

Wo xi san shi liu
Xie mao zai dan qing.
Wo jin si shi liu
Shuai cui wo jiang cheng.

Qi zhi shi nian lao
Ceng yu zhong ku bing.
Yi zhao jiu tu hua
Wu fu xi yi xing.

Xing ying mo xiang gu
Ru di dui lao xiong.
Kuang shi ta ren jian
Neng bu mei ping sheng?

Xi he bian ri zou
Bu wei wo shao ting.
Xing hai zhu ri yue
Lao qu he zu jing.
Suo hen ling yan ge
Bu de hua dong ming.

 

Writings and Pictures of the True Past (Looking At a Previous Self-Portrait)

In the past when I was thirty-six years old
Drew myself with several colors.
Today I am forty-six years old
Ill and emaciated I lie down here in Jiangzhou.

This man looks at least ten years older
During the passage of time experienced a combination of human sufferings.
Compare this picture of the past with today
My former appearance and form no longer exists.

Within the silent shadows, turned around to see what I am
Currently look like this man’s older brother.
If people could see me then and now
Perhaps not able to tell that I am the same person?

Xi He daily whips and drives himself across the sky
I cannot make him stop this journey.
One’s body cannot be separated from the movements of sun and moon
Who can be startled with their changes during the aging process.
The Tang Dynasty made the Ling Yan pavilion to honor their heroes
My likeness will not be there to share in the fame.

 

Notes:

Jiangzhou: In ancient times, a prefecture within Jiangxi Province.

Xi He:  A mythological solar deity who garnered one sun bird to accompany his drive in a carriage across the sky.

Ling Yan Pavilion:  A small tower near one of the palaces in the capital city of Chang’an (Xi’an). In 643, Emperor Taizong had the portraits of twenty-four nobles done, and then mounted inside to honor their service for emperor and country.

 

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