On the Middle of a Boat Reading Yuan Jiu's Poetry

舟中讀元九詩

On the Middle of a Boat  Reading Yuan Jiu's Poetry

白居易

Bai Juyi

Translated by 幽柚

把君詩卷燈前讀，詩盡燈殘天未明。

I take your poem scroll in front of a lamp, after reading your poem and blowing out the lights the sky is not yet bright.

眼痛滅燈猶暗坐，逆風吹浪打船聲。

My eyes hurt after blowing out the lights sitting there quietly, going against the wind the sound of the waves hit the boat.

***I just realized translating "Love in a Fallen City" might take 2 months.......

Mark a Boat to Search a Sword

刻舟求劍

Mark a Boat to Search a Sword

《吕氏春秋. 察今》

Lushi Qunqiu- Cha Jing

Translated by Yoyo

楚人有涉江者，

Of the Chu people there was one who was crossing a river.

其劍自舟中墜於水，

The sword sank into the water from the boat.

遽契其舟曰：

He quickly marked  the boat and said:

「是吾劍之所從墜也。」

This is were my sword sank.

舟止，從其所契者入水求之。

The boat stopped, and from here the one who marked the boat entered the water.

舟已行矣，而劍不行，

The boat moved, but the sword did not.

求劍若此，不亦惑乎？

To retrieve the sword like so, is it also not baffling?