First Ode on the Red Cliffs
In the autumn of the year Renxu during the seventh month I sailed with guests to the foot of the Red Cliff Clear breeze brushed the water waves lay still We raised cups to toast the moon chanted poems of the bright Maid and sang of the delicate Lady Soon the moon hung over the eastern hills wandering between the Dipper and the Cowherd White dew stretched across the river waterlight merged with the sky We let our reedlike boat drift floating on vast emptiness not knowing where to stop soaring wingless leaving the world to embrace infinity A guest sighed saying Alas The fleeting life is but a mere speck compared to the vastness of the universe like a mayfly between heaven and earth like a grain in the great sea How sad it is that our lives are short and we may not enjoy such beauty for long Su Shi said: Do you know about the nature of water and the moon? The flowing water passes like this but never truly disappears the moon waxes and wanes yet it never actually increases or diminishes If one observes from the perspective of change then even the heavens and the earth do not remain the same for even a single moment If one observes from the perspective of constancy then all things including ourselves are endless so what is there to envy The guests laughed We rinsed our cups and resumed our drinking We struck the sides of the boat and sang a song to the crisp night air