Meditations on Ancient Sites: No. 4
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
崩年亦在永安宫。
翠华想像空山里，
玉殿虚无野寺中。
古庙杉松巢水鹤，
岁时伏腊走村翁。
武侯祠屋常邻近，
一体君臣祭祀同。
English translation
The lord of Shu, moving on Wu, came to the Three Gorges, the year of his death was also passed in Yong'an Palace.
The kingfisher banners are imagined among the empty hills, the jade halls have vanished, within a country temple.
In the ancient shrine, firs and pines nest the water cranes, at the seasonal offerings the village elders come and go.
The shrine of the Marquis stands always close beside, sovereign and minister, one body, worshipped together.
Meaning
Liu Bei marched out against Wu and encamped in the Three Gorges; defeated, he came back and died in the Yong'an Palace. In former days his green banners streamed through the empty hills in proud array; now the Yong'an Palace lies lost amid these ruined shrines in the wilderness. In the ancient temple storks have nested in the firs and pines, and at each season grand sacrifices are still offered. The Prime Minister's shrine stands close beside the temple of the former king; ruler and minister share alike in the rites and offerings.
Background
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These poems sing of ancient sites and commemorate men of old, and thereby give voice to the poet's own feelings. In 766, the first year of the Dali era of Emperor Daizong of Tang, the poet left Kuizhou, passed through the Three Gorges, and reached Jiangling, visiting in turn the house of Song Yu, the old dwelling of Yu Xin, Zhaojun Village, Yong'an Palace, the Temple of the Late Lord, and the Temple of the Marquis of Wu. Profoundly reverent toward the men of talent, the great beauties, the heroes, and the famous ministers of antiquity, he wrote the five poems "Meditations on Ancient Sites" to express his feelings. This poem is one of them.