shǔ dào nán 蜀道难 Hard Roads in Shu

by 李白(Lǐ Bái)

yī xū xì! wēi hū gāo zāi! shǔ dào zhī nán nán yú shàng qīng tiān! cán cóng jí yú fú, kāi guó hé máng rán. 噫吁嚱！危乎高哉！蜀道之难难于上青天！蚕丛及鱼凫，开国何茫然。 Alas! How dangerous, how high! The road to Shu is harder than climbing to the blue sky! Cancong and Yufu, how remote is your founding of the state.

ěr lái sì wàn bā qiān suì, bù yǔ qín sài tōng rén yān. 尔来四万八千岁，不与秦塞通人烟。 Since then, forty-eight thousand years have passed, with no human smoke passing to the Qin frontier.

xī dāng tài bái yǒu niǎo dào, kě yǐ héng jué é méi diān. 西当太白有鸟道，可以横绝峨眉巅。 To the west, at Taibai mountain, there is a bird path, which can cut across the peak of Mount Emei.

dì bēng shān cuī zhuàng shì sǐ, rán hòu tiān tī shí zhàn xiāng gōu lián. 地崩山摧壮士死，然后天梯石栈相钩连。 The earth crumbled, the mountains collapsed, and the strongmen died; only then were the sky-ladders and stone pathways hooked together.

shàng yǒu liù lóng huí rì zhī gāo biāo, xià yǒu chōng bō nì zhé zhī huí chuān. 上有六龙回日之高标，下有冲波逆折之回川。 Above is the high peak where the six dragons pulling the sun turn back; below is the swirling river where crashing waves reverse their course.

huáng hè zhī fēi shàng bù dé guò, yuán náo yù dù chóu pān yuán. 黄鹤之飞尚不得过，猿猱欲度愁攀援。 Even the flight of the yellow crane cannot cross it, and the gibbons and macaques despair of climbing over.

qīng ní hé pán pán, bǎi bù jiǔ zhé yíng yán luán. 青泥何盘盘，百步九折萦岩峦。 How winding is the Qingni Ridge, with nine turns every hundred steps twisting around the rocky peaks.

mén shēn lì jǐng yǎng xié xī, yǐ shǒu fǔ yīng zuò cháng tàn. 扪参历井仰胁息，以手抚膺坐长叹。 Touching the stars Shen and passing Jing, one looks up and holds their breath, clutching their chest with their hand and sitting down with a long sigh.

wèn jūn xī yóu hé shí huán? wèi tú chán yán bù kě pān. 问君西游何时还？畏途巉岩不可攀。 I ask you, when will you return from your westward journey? The fearful path and jagged rocks cannot be climbed.

dàn jiàn bēi niǎo háo gǔ mù, xióng fēi cí cóng rào lín jiān. 但见悲鸟号古木，雄飞雌从绕林间。 One only sees sad birds wailing in the ancient trees, the male flying and the female following, circling through the woods.

yòu wén zǐ guī tí yè yuè, chóu kōng shān, shǔ dào zhī nán nán yú shàng qīng tiān, shǐ rén tīng cǐ diāo zhū yán. 又闻子规啼夜月，愁空山，蜀道之难难于上青天，使人听此凋朱颜。 And one hears the cuckoo crying to the night moon, bringing sorrow to the empty mountains. The road to Shu is harder than climbing to the blue sky; hearing this makes a person's rosy face wither.

lián fēng qù tiān bù yíng chǐ, kū sōng dào guà yǐ jué bì. 连峰去天不盈尺，枯松倒挂倚绝壁。 The connected peaks are not a foot away from the sky, and dead pines hang upside down, leaning against the sheer cliffs.

fēi tuān pù liú zhēng xuān huī, pīng yá zhuǎn shí wàn hè léi. 飞湍瀑流争喧豗，砯崖转石万壑雷。 Flying rapids and waterfalls compete in their noisy tumult, crashing against cliffs and rolling stones like thunder in ten thousand valleys.

qí xiǎn yě rú cǐ, jiē ěr yuǎn dào zhī rén hú wéi hū lái zāi! jiàn gé zhēng róng ér cuī wéi, yī fū dāng guān, wàn fū mò kāi. 其险也如此，嗟尔远道之人胡为乎来哉！剑阁峥嵘而崔嵬，一夫当关，万夫莫开。 Such is its danger! Alas, you traveler from afar, why have you come? The Sword Gate is lofty and steep; if one man guards the pass, ten thousand cannot break through.

suǒ shǒu huò fěi qīn, huà wéi láng yǔ chái. 所守或匪亲，化为狼与豺。 If the guardian is not a trusted kinsman, he might turn into a wolf or jackal.

zhāo bì měng hǔ, xī bì cháng shé. 朝避猛虎，夕避长蛇。 In the morning one must avoid fierce tigers, and in the evening avoid long snakes.

mó yá shǔn xuè, shā rén rú má. 磨牙吮血，杀人如麻。 They grind their teeth and suck blood, killing people like cutting hemp.

jǐn chéng suī yún lè, bù rú zǎo huán jiā. 锦城虽云乐，不如早还家。 Although the Brocade City is said to be a happy place, it is better to return home early.

shǔ dào zhī nán nán yú shàng qīng tiān, cè shēn xī wàng cháng zī jiē. 蜀道之难难于上青天，侧身西望长咨嗟。 The road to Shu is harder than climbing to the blue sky; turning to look west, I heave a long sigh.