Original Text and Translation of "Red Cliff Ode"#
Author: Su Shi#
Original Text#
In the autumn of the year Renxu, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, Su Zi and his guests floated on a boat and traveled under the Red Cliff. The gentle breeze blew, and the water remained calm. Su Zi raised his wine cup to his guests and recited a poem about the bright moon, singing a graceful chapter. Shortly after, the moon rose above the eastern mountain, lingering between the constellations of the Big Dipper and the Cowherd. The white dew covered the river, and the water reflected the sky. Like a reed floating aimlessly, it traversed the vast expanse. It was as vast as the wind carrying the phoenix, yet it did not know where to stop; it was as ethereal as a solitary existence, transforming into a celestial being. (Feng Tong: relying on)
They joyfully drank and sang, tapping the boat's railings. The song goes: "With cinnamon oars and orchid paddles, striking the clear waves and sailing against the flowing light. My thoughts are vast and far-reaching, gazing at the beauty of a woman as if she were the only one in the world." One of the guests played the dongxiao flute and harmonized with the song. The sound was mournful and longing, as if crying and lamenting; the lingering melody was continuous like a thread. It danced like a hidden dragon in a secluded ravine, and wept like a widow on a lonely boat.
Su Zi became solemn, sitting upright, and asked his guest, "Why is it so?" The guest replied, "'When the moon is sparse and the magpies fly south,' isn't this a poem by Cao Mengde? Looking west, you can see Xiakou; looking east, you can see Wuchang. The mountains and rivers are intertwined, and everything is lush and green. Isn't this the place where Mengde was trapped by Zhou Yu? When he captured Jingzhou and took Jiangling, he sailed eastward with the current. His ships stretched for thousands of miles, their banners covering the sky. He drank wine by the river and composed poems while holding a spear. He was once a hero of his time, but where is he now? Moreover, here we are, fishing and chopping wood on the river, accompanied by fish and shrimp, and friends with deer and elk. We sail on a small boat, raising cups to each other. We are like mayflies in the vastness of heaven and earth, as small as a grain of sand in the boundless sea. Alas, I lament the brevity of our lives and envy the endlessness of the Yangtze River. I wish to travel with immortals and embrace the bright moon until the end. But I know it cannot be achieved suddenly, so I entrust my regrets to the sorrowful wind."
Su Zi said, "Do you also understand the water and the moon? The past is gone, but it has never been there; the full and empty are like that, and they never cease. If we observe things from their changing aspect, even the heavens and the earth cannot exist in an instant; if we observe things from their unchanging aspect, everything is endless, including ourselves. So what is there to envy? Furthermore, between heaven and earth, everything has its master. If it is not something we should possess, even a tiny bit cannot be taken. Only the clear wind on the river and the bright moon in the mountains, when heard, become sound, and when seen, become color. They can be taken without restriction and used without exhaustion. This is the boundless treasure bestowed by the Creator, which we can enjoy together."
The guest smiled happily, rinsed the wine cup and poured again. The dishes and fruits were all consumed, and the cups and plates were in disarray. They lay on the boat, using each other as pillows, unaware that the east had already turned white.
Translation and Annotations#
Translation#
In the autumn of the year Renxu, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, I and my friends floated on a boat and traveled under the Red Cliff. The gentle breeze blew, and the water remained calm. I raised my wine cup to my companions and recited a poem about the bright moon, singing a graceful chapter. Shortly after, the moon rose above the eastern mountain, lingering between the constellations of the Big Dipper and the Cowherd. The white dew covered the river, and the water reflected the sky. Like a reed floating aimlessly, the small boat traversed the vast expanse of the river. It sailed as vast as the wind carrying the phoenix, yet it did not know where to stop; it floated as ethereal as a solitary existence, transforming into a celestial being. (Feng Tong: relying on)
We joyfully drank and sang, tapping the boat's railings. The song goes: "With cinnamon oars and orchid paddles, striking the clear waves and sailing against the flowing light. My thoughts are vast and far-reaching, gazing at the beauty of a woman as if she were the only one in the world." One of the guests played the dongxiao flute and harmonized with the song. The sound of the flute was mournful and longing: it was like crying and lamenting, and the lingering melody was continuous like a thread. It danced like a hidden dragon in a secluded ravine, and wept like a widow on a lonely boat.
I became solemn, sitting upright, and asked my guest, "Why is it so?" The guest replied, "'When the moon is sparse and the magpies fly south,' isn't this a poem by Cao Mengde? Looking west, you can see Xiakou; looking east, you can see Wuchang. The mountains and rivers are intertwined, and everything is lush and green. Isn't this the place where Mengde was trapped by Zhou Yu? When he captured Jingzhou and took Jiangling, he sailed eastward with the current. His ships stretched for thousands of miles, their banners covering the sky. He drank wine by the river and composed poems while holding a spear. He was once a hero of his time, but where is he now? Moreover, here we are, fishing and chopping wood on the river, accompanied by fish and shrimp, and friends with deer and elk. We sail on a small boat, raising cups to each other. We are like mayflies in the vastness of heaven and earth, as small as a grain of sand in the boundless sea. Alas, I lament the brevity of our lives and envy the endlessness of the Yangtze River. I wish to travel with immortals and embrace the bright moon until the end. But I know it cannot be achieved suddenly, so I entrust my regrets to the sorrowful wind."
I said, "Do you also understand the water and the moon? The past is gone, but it has never been there; the full and empty are like that, and they never cease. If we observe things from their changing aspect, even the heavens and the earth cannot exist in an instant; if we observe things from their unchanging aspect, everything is endless, including ourselves. So what is there to envy? Furthermore, between heaven and earth, everything has its master. If it is not something we should possess, even a tiny bit cannot be taken. Only the clear wind on the river and the bright moon in the mountains, when heard, become sound, and when seen, become color. They can be taken without restriction and used without exhaustion. This is the boundless treasure bestowed by the Creator, which we can enjoy together."
The guest smiled happily, rinsed the wine cup and poured again. The dishes and fruits were all consumed, and the cups and plates were in disarray. We lay on the boat, using each other as pillows, unaware that the east had already turned white.
Annotations#
Selected from "Jing Jin Dong Po Wen Ji Shi Lue" Volume One (from the "Four Collections Series"), this prose was written in the fifth year of the Yuanfeng period of Emperor Shen Zong of the Song Dynasty (1082). Prior to this, Su Shi was exiled to Huangzhou (present-day Huanggang, Hubei) due to the Wutai Poetry Case (in the second year of the Yuanfeng period). Because he later wrote another essay with the same title, he referred to this essay as the "Former Red Cliff Ode," and the one written on the fifteenth day of the tenth month as the "Later Red Cliff Ode." The Red Cliff mentioned here is actually Chibi in Huangzhou, not the site of the Red Cliff Battle during the Three Kingdoms period. Su Shi knew this, but he used the wrong name to express his feelings.
Renxu: The fifth year of the Yuanfeng period of Emperor Shen Zong of the Song Dynasty (1082), with the year name Renxu.
Ji Wang: Ji means "passed" or "gone"; Wang means the fifteenth day of the lunar month. "Ji Wang" refers to the sixteenth day of the lunar month.
Xu: Slowly.
Xing: Rise, occur.
Shu Ke: Raise a wine cup to the guests.
Song Ming Yue: Recite a poem about the bright moon.
Ge Yao Yao Zhi: Sing a graceful chapter.
Shao Yan: A short while.
Dong Shan: The eastern mountain.
Dou Niu: The Big Dipper.
Bai Lu: White dew.
Hong Jiang: The river is covered with water reflections. Hong, horizontally.
Zong Yi Wei Su: Like a reed floating aimlessly. Zong, like.
Hao Hao Hu Ru Feng: As vast as the wind carrying the phoenix. Hao Hao, vast.
Piao Piao Yu Wei Du Li: Ethereal, like a solitary existence. Piao Piao, ethereal.
Feng Tong: Relying on.
Kou Xian: Tap the boat's railings.
Gui Zhao Xi Lan Jiang: The song goes: "With cinnamon oars and orchid paddles, striking the clear waves and sailing against the flowing light."
Miao Miao Yu Huai: My thoughts are vast and far-reaching.
Wang Mei Ren: Gazing at the beauty of a woman as if she were the only one in the world.
Chui Dong Xiao Zhe: One of the guests played the dongxiao flute.
Yi Ge: Harmonize with.
Wu Wu Ran: The sound of the flute was mournful and longing.
Ru Yuan Ru Mu: Like crying and lamenting.
Yu Yin Niao Niao: The lingering melody was continuous like a thread.
Wu You He Qian Jiao: It danced like a hidden dragon in a secluded ravine.
Qi Gu Zhou Zhi Li Fu: It wept like a widow on a lonely boat.
Su Zi Qian Ran: I became solemn.
Zheng Jin Wei Zuo: Sitting upright.
He Wei Qi Ran Ye: And asked my guest, "Why is it so?"
He Wei: And asked.
Qi Ran Ye: Why is it so?
Ke Yi Zhi Tian Di: Do you also understand the water and the moon?
Shi Si: The past is gone.
Er Wei Chang: But it has never been there.
Ying Xu Zhe Ru Bi: The full and empty are like that, and they never cease.
Ying Xu: The full and empty.
Ru Bi: Like that.
Cong Qi Bian Zhe Er Guan Zhi: If we observe things from their changing aspect, even the heavens and the earth cannot exist in an instant.
Cong Qi Bian Zhe: From their changing aspect.
Zhi: Observe.
Tian Di: The heavens and the earth.
Ceng Bu Neng Yi Yi Shun: Cannot exist in an instant.
Cong Qi Bu Bian Zhe: If we observe things from their unchanging aspect.
Wu Jin: Everything is endless.
Zhe: From.
Er Guan Zhi: Their unchanging aspect.
You He Xiang Mu Zhi Zhi: So what is there to envy?
You He: So what.
Xiang Mu Zhi Zhi: Is there to envy?
Qi Ran Tian Di Zhi Jian: Furthermore, between heaven and earth.
Wu Ge You Zhu: Everything has its master.
Ge You Zhu: Everything has its master.
Gou Yi: If it is not something we should possess.
Wu Jin Yi Mao Er Mo Qu: Even a tiny bit cannot be taken.
Wu Jin: Even a tiny bit.
Yi Mao Er Mo Qu: Cannot be taken.
Zhi Jiang Shang Zhi Qing Feng: Only the clear wind on the river.
Yu Shan Jian Zhi Ming Yue: And the bright moon in the mountains.
Er De Zhi Cheng Sheng: When heard, become sound.
Er Jian Zhi Hui Chu Se: And when seen, become color.
Qu Zhi Wu Jin: They can be taken without restriction.
Yong Zhi Bu Jie: And used without exhaustion.
Shi Zao Wu Jin Zang: This is the boundless treasure bestowed by the Creator.
Zhe: This.
Zao Wu Jin Zang: The boundless treasure.
Er Wu Zi Zhi Su Gong Shi: Which we can enjoy together.
Gong Shi: Together.
Ke Xi Er Xiao: The guest smiled happily.
Xi Zhan Geng Zhuo: Rinsed the wine cup and poured again.
Yao He Ji Jin: The dishes and fruits were all consumed.
Bei Pan Lang Ji: The cups and plates were in disarray.
Xiang Yu Zhen Jiu Hu Zhou Zhong: We lay on the boat, using each other as pillows.
Bu Zhi Dong Fang Zhi Ji Bai: Unaware that the east had already turned white.