Crane Soaring to Heaven: Upon the Golden List
Upon the golden notice-board, by ill chance I lost the hope of the topmost name. An enlightened age has for the moment passed over a worthy man — what is one to do? Since the wind and cloud did not favor me, why not give rein to wandering wild? Why speak of winning and losing? A man of talent, a maker of songs, is of himself a minister in plain white cloth.
In the lanes of the flower-world, behind painted screens, happily there is one in my heart, worth seeking out. So let me nestle among the red and lean against the green — the lover's life, the joy of a whole lifetime. Youth lasts only a brief while. I would gladly exchange empty fame for gentle drinking and quiet song.
Reading notes
游狂荡 also appears as 狂荡. 饷 in 一饷 is a form of 晌 and means a brief while. 忍把浮名 voices the willingness to give up worldly fame in exchange for quiet drinking and song; the English follows that direction.