English中文
Pure and Peaceful Music: I Cannot Keep You
留人不住，
醉解兰舟去。
一棹碧涛春水路，
过尽晓莺啼处。
I cannot keep you here; drunk, you loose the orchid-wood boat and go. One sweep of the oar along the spring-water way of green waves; you pass all the places where the orioles cry at dawn.
渡头杨柳青青，
枝枝叶叶离情。
此后锦书休寄，
画楼云雨无凭。
At the ferry the willows are green; branch by branch, leaf by leaf, the grief of parting. From this time on, send no more brocaded letters: the cloud and rain of the painted tower are not to be trusted.
Reading notes
一棹碧涛 pictures a boat travelling through green waves. 锦书 means a letter; 云雨, literally “cloud and rain,” is a traditional allusion to romantic intimacy.