1. "Jin Se" Tang Dynasty: Li Shangyin
Zhuang Sheng dreamed of butterflies at dawn, and looked forward to the emperor's spring heart entrusted to the cuckoo.
Translation: My heart is like Zhuangzi, confused by the dream of a butterfly; also like the hope of the emperor turning into a cuckoo, expressing the sadness of spring heart.
2. "Magpie Bridge Immortal: Hearing the Cuckoo at Night" Song Dynasty: Lu You
The warblers and swallows in the nest are always silent, but they often sing Du Yu on moonlit nights.
Translation: Even the orioles in the woods have stopped singing, but the cuckoo is the only one crying lonely and mournful in the moonlit night.
3. "Pipa Xing/Pipa Yin" Tang Dynasty: Bai Juyi
What did you hear during the day and night? The cuckoo cries and the blood ape moans.
Translation: What can you hear here sooner or later? It's all the sad cries of cuckoos and monkeys.
4. "Treading the Shasha·Chenzhou Hotel" Song Dynasty: Qinguan
The Taoyuan is nowhere to be found. It is worth mentioning that the solitary pavilion is closed in the cold spring, and the setting sun is setting in the sound of cuckoos.
Translation: Looking to the end of the world, the ideal peach blossom garden is nowhere to be found. How can I bear to live alone in a lonely guest house, when the spring is cold, the sun is setting, and the cuckoos are moaning!
5. "Farewell to Prince Li of Zizhou" Tang Dynasty: Wang Wei
Thousands of valleys have towering trees, and thousands of mountains ring with cuckoos.
Translation: Ancient trees tower into the sky in thousands of valleys, and cuckoos sing in the depths of thousands of mountains.
6. "Ode to Burial Flowers" Qing Dynasty: Cao Xueqin
The cuckoo is speechless at dusk, and the hoe returns to cover the heavy door;
Translation: The cuckoo weeps to the end Silently weeping blood and tears, the sad dusk is coming. I endured the pain and went back with the flower hoe on my shoulder, closing the boudoir doors tightly.
7. "Wine on Qingming Day" Song Dynasty: Gao Zhu
The ashes of paper fly into white butterflies, and the tears and blood turn into red cuckoos.
Translation: The ashes of the burned paper are like white butterflies flying everywhere, crying miserably, just like the cuckoo bird vomiting blood when it cries.
8. "Moon over the River: Saying Goodbye to Friends at the Post" Song Dynasty: Wen Tianxiang
In memory of an old friend, the moon is waning on the cuckoo branches.
Translation: I hope that when my old friend misses me in the future, he will listen to the cuckoo’s cry on the branches! It was my soul returning to visit my homeland.
9. "Miscellaneous Poems" Tang Dynasty: Anonymous
I have long since returned home, but the cuckoo has stopped singing in my ears.
Translation: Why is this? I had a home before but couldn't go back. Cuckoo, don't keep crying in my ears.
10. "Partridge Sky: Ten Miles of Towers and Green Trees" Song Dynasty: Yan Jidao
Ten Miles of Towers and Green Trees. The cuckoo sings deep among the flowers.
Translation: In spring, the poet heard the cry of cuckoos coming from the depths of the blooming flowers by the ten-mile terrace nestled against the green hills. The sound of the cuckoo sounds like talking to people walking on the road, which is different from the wandering orioles that fly and stop at will.
11. "Midnight Song·Midnight Moon" Song Dynasty: He Zhu
On the third night of the night, the pear blossoms and snow are shining in the courtyard. The pear blossoms and snow are so miserable that the cuckoo cries blood.
Translation: The late night moonlight shines on the pear blossoms in the garden like the white snow in winter, and the feelings of lovesickness are as sad as the cries of a magpie crying for blood.
12. "Gift to Liang Renfu in the same year" Qing Dynasty: Huang Zunxian
The cuckoo will worship the tears of sorrow in the sky again, and the spirit and health will fill the heart of the sea endlessly.
Translation: Like the cuckoo, I call for the motherland to make a comeback and fight for the Jingwei to reclaim the sea.
13. "Spring in the Painted Hall· Horizontal Pond with Luohong Paved Path" Song Dynasty: Qin Guan
The apricot garden is haggard and the cuckoos are singing, helplessly returning in spring.
Translation: In the apricot garden, the remaining spring flowers have faded, and only the cuckoo bird sings sadly, as if helplessly lamenting that spring has returned.