薛濤 Poetry of Xue Tao

風

獵蕙微風遠，飄弦唳一聲。
林梢明淅瀝，松徑夜淒清。

月

魄依鉤樣小，扇逐漢機團。
細影將圓質，人間幾處看。

蟬

露滌音清遠，風吹故葉齊。
聲聲似相接，各在一枝棲。

On Cicadas

Dew-rinsed:
their pure notes
carry far.

Windblown:
as dry, fasting leaves
are blown.

Chirr after chirr,
as if in unison.

But each perches
on its one branch,
alone.

《秋泉》

泠色初澄一帶煙，幽聲遙瀉十絲弦。
長來枕上牽情思，不使愁人半夜眠。

Autumn, Hearing the Headwaters on a Moonlit Night

When that chilly hue strikes clear
the single strand of mist,

a muffled trill slides
far away:
ten silken strings.

It comes, long-drawn, to pillows.
It tugs at hearts and thoughts.

It will not let
at midnight
those who sorrow sleep.

張大千 薛濤詠詩圖

Zhang Daqian, Portrait of Xue Tao Chanting Poetry

《十離詩十首》

「犬離主」

出入朱門四五年，為知人意得人憐。
近緣咬著親知客，不得紅絲毯上眠。

「筆離手」

越管宣毫始稱情，紅箋紙上撒花瓊。
都緣用久鋒頭盡，不得羲之手里擎。

「馬離廄」

雪耳紅毛淺碧蹄，追風曾到日東西。
為驚玉貌郎君墜，不得華軒更一嘶。

「鸚鵡離籠」

隴西獨自一孤身，飛去飛來上錦茵。
都緣出語無方便，不得籠中再喚人。

「燕離巢」

出入朱門未忍拋，主人常愛語交交。
銜泥穢污珊瑚枕，不得梁間更壘巢。

「珠離掌」

皎潔圓明內外通，清光似照水晶宮。
只緣一點玷相穢，不得終宵在掌中。

"Pearl parted from the palm"

White as the moon,
round, bright,
translucent to the core.

Its brilliance seems reflected
from the crystal lunar keep.

Just one fleck:
now it's defiled

and no longer spends the nights
held within his
palm.

「魚離池」

跳躍深池四五秋，常搖朱尾弄綸鉤。
無端擺斷芙蓉朵，不得清波更一游。

"Fish parted from the pond"

She leapt and danced in a deep
lovely pool
through four or five years' falls.

She flicked her ruddy tail
to tease
the silky line,
the hook.

Then by chance she squirmed and broke
a his-face-lily bud,

and where that water ripples clear
no longer takes
her sport.

「鷹離 (革冓)」

爪利如鋒眼似鈴，平原捉兔稱高情。
無端竄向青云外，不得君王臂上擎。

「竹離亭」

蓊郁新栽四五行，常將勁節負秋霜。
為緣春筍鑽牆破，不得垂陰覆玉堂。

「鏡離台」

鑄瀉黃金鏡始開，初生三五月徘徊。
為遭無限塵蒙蔽，不得華堂上玉台。

(English translations by Jeanne Larsen, from Brocade River Poems: Selected Works of the Tang Dynasty Courtesan Xue Tao, Princeton University Press, 1987.)


More on Xue Tao and her writing:
薛濤詩全集
Brocade River Poems: Selected Works of the Tang Dynasty Courtesan Xue Tao
Xue Tao, at Other Women's Voices
Xue Tao short biography on Wikipedia

More on Zhang Daqian and his art:
Zhang Daqian and his Painting Gallery at China Online Museum
Chang Dai-chien in Californa at San Francisco State University
Zhang Daqian at the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao