To Seven Celestial Stars

Lo, seven radiant Stars on high,

Like the diamonds, dazzling mine eye.

Gem, Light, Shine, O just name a few,

Brilliant, yet too far to come by

《陋室铭》－ 刘禹锡

山不在高，有仙则名。

水不在深，有龙则灵。

斯是陋室，惟吾德馨。

苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青。

谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁。

可以调素琴，阅金经。

无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形。

南阳诸葛庐，西蜀子云亭，

孔子云：何陋之有？ 

Humble House by Liu Yu-xi

A mountain, high or low,
Sans immortals, little fame doth know;
A river, deep or shallow,
Sans dragons, no spirit doth it hallow.
Humble, this house  doth show,
Yet virtue mine doth grace it so;
On its steps, green stains mosses bestow,
Through curtained panes creeps a green glow.
Its visitors, all scholars of minds not narrow,
It admits no wights of benighted marrow.
It oft espies my fingers o’er the zither fly to and fro,
It sometimes lists me chant the sutras slow;
No worldly papers bend me like a bow,
Nor I bear dins of ear-pestering blow.
The Zhuge’s suit it’d fain let me follow,
Or Yang Xiong, well-versed, naught hollow;
If Confucius of some aeon ago
Had seen it, he’d exclaim, “Oh!
Is it Humble? I’d not e’en ween it small though!”

Tr. Ziyuzile

05/04/2026

(revised)