The original text of "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" by Su Shi is translated as follows:
Original text:
Bingchen was enjoying the Mid-Autumn Festival, drinking till the end of the year, and was very drunk, so he wrote this article. Also pregnant with a child.
When will the bright moon appear? Ask the sky for wine. I don’t know what year it is today in the palace in the sky. I want to ride the wind back home, but I'm afraid it's too cold in the high places. Dance to figure out the shadow, how does it seem to be in the human world.
Turn to the Zhu Pavilion, where you will find a low-rise house, and the light will make you sleepless. There shouldn't be any hatred, so what's the point of saying goodbye? People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, and the moon waxes and wanes. This is a difficult thing in ancient times. I hope that people will live long and travel thousands of miles to meet Chanjuan.
Translation:
On the Mid-Autumn Festival of the Bingchen year (1076 AD), I drank all night until dawn and was very drunk. I took the opportunity to write this article and express my feelings towards my younger brother Zi. of nostalgia.
When will there be a bright moon like the Mid-Autumn Festival? I held my wine glass and asked the sky. I don't know what day it is now in the palace where Gao Yao is above. I wanted to use the wind to go back to the sky to have a look, but I was worried that the jade building was too high and I couldn't stand the cold. I stood up and danced, admiring my clear shadow under the moonlight. The moon palace could not be as heart-warming as the fireworks on earth.
The moon moved, turned around the vermilion pavilion, and hung low on the carved windows, illuminating those who were not sleepy. The bright moon shouldn't have any resentment towards people, but why does it always become full when people leave? Life is full of joys and sorrows, and the moon often waxes and wanes. It has been difficult to have both good things at the same time since ancient times. I just hope that all the relatives in this world can be safe, healthy and live a long life, and that they can still enjoy the bright moon even if they are thousands of miles apart. Historical background:
1. Shui Tiao Ge Tou, the name of Ci brand. One of the great songs of the Tang Dynasty is "Shui Diao Ge", which according to "Sui and Tang Jiahua" was composed by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty when he was digging the Bianhe River. Song music entered the "Zhonglu Diao", which can be found in the fourth volume of "Biji Manzhi". Whenever a big piece of music has a "song head", the first section of it is almost cut off. Ninety-five characters, with four flat rhymes in the front and back parts. There are also those in which the two or six characters in the front and back pieces are in rhyme with leaves and oblique rhymes, and there are those in which the rhymes are in two or six characters in each sentence. There are synonyms such as Yuan Hui Qu, Kai Ge, Taicheng Tour, Jiangnan Hao, Hua Guan Nian Nu, etc.
2. This poem was written by the author when he was in Mizhou during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1076 AD (the ninth year of Xining, Shenzong of the Song Dynasty). The small preface before the words explains the process of writing the words: "Bingchen Mid-Autumn Festival, drinking happily until the end of the year, and getting drunk. I wrote this article because I was pregnant with my son." Because Su Shi had different political views from Wang Anshi, the reformer in power, and others, he asked for help. Fang, moved around as an official.
3. He once asked to be transferred to a place closer to Su Che as an official so that his brothers could gather more often. In 1074 AD (the seventh year of Xining), Su Shi sent a mission to Mizhou. After arriving in Michigan, this wish still could not be realized. In the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1076 AD, the bright moon was in the sky and silver lights were everywhere. The poet and his brother Su Che had not been reunited for seven years after they separated. At this moment, the poet faced a bright moon, his heart was ups and downs, so he took advantage of the wine and wrote this famous poem.
4. This article is one of Su’s representative works. From the perspective of artistic achievements, it has a unique conception, a unique path, and is full of romanticism. It has always been recognized as the swan song among Mid-Autumn Festival poems. In terms of performance, the first half of the word is written vertically and the second half is described horizontally. The first film is a high-rise building, and the next film is full of twists and turns. The first half is the introduction of new myths from the past dynasties, as well as the evolutionary development of the fairy poetry of the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties.