1, "Jueju" Tang Dynasty: Du Fu
"Two orioles sing green willows, egrets sky-high." Outside my window is the snowy Western Hills. My door often says "goodbye" to ships sailing eastward.
Translation:
Thrush birds are full of songs, flying in the forest with their own thoughts, and freely shuttling through the branches full of red and purple mountain flowers.
Now I know: I once heard the cry of a thrush in a golden cage, which was far less than the free singing when I wandered in the forest.
2. "Returning Birds, Part I" Wei and Jin Dynasties: Tao Yuanming
Wing Wing returned to the bird and went to the Woods in the morning. Eight tables are far away, and clouds are near.
The wind is not harmonious, and the heart is turned over. Gu Zhuo sang, and the scenery obscured Qingyin.
Translation:
The homing birds fly freely and leave the nest and Woods in the morning. The sky is vast and free to fly, and rest near Yuncen. The warm spring breeze blows head-on, making your wings turn as you please. Watching the companions sing, the figure is hidden in the clear shade.
3, "Jiang Xue" Tang Dynasty: Liu Zongyuan
There are no birds flying over those mountains, and there are no traces of people in those paths. A boat on the river, a fisherman wearing his webworm moth; Fishing alone is not afraid of snow and ice.
Translation:
On all the mountains, birds are gone, and on all the roads, there are no traces of people. On a lonely boat on the river, an old man in a bamboo hat was fishing alone on the cold river covered with heavy snow.
4, "Jueju" Tang Dynasty: Du Fu
"Two orioles sing green willows, egrets sky-high." Outside my window is the snowy Western Hills. My door often says "goodbye" to ships sailing eastward.
Translation:
Two orioles sang among the green willows, and a line of egrets went straight into the blue sky. Sitting by the window, you can see the Millennium Snow in Xiling, and the Wan Li ship from Soochow is moored at the door.
5, "Bird" Tang Dynasty: Bai Juyi
Who says many people's lives are insignificant? As common as flesh and blood.
I advise you not to hit the branch bird. My son is waiting for his mother to come back in the nest.
Translation:
Who says the lives of these birds are insignificant? Everything in the universe has flesh and blood, and it is the same life. There is no more important truth. I advise you not to hit the bird on the branch. The chicks are still in the nest waiting for their mother to come back. You can't kill several people with one stone!
6. "Huanxisha New Words and a Glass of Wine" Yuan: Yan Shu
There is nothing to do, flowers bloom and fall, and it seems familiar that Yan returns.
Translation:
Flowers bloom and fall, and I can't help it. The returning swallows seem to know each other and wander alone on the flower path of the small garden.