<p>Here are three translations for you to muse over.</p>
<p><a href="http://fgsihb.org/dictionary-info.asp?id=13550" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Miao Guang</a>'s translation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ever since my arrival in Huangzhou,<br />
Three Cold-Food Festivals* have come and gone;<br />
Despite my intention to cherish each Spring,<br />
Yet the passing Spring allows no such dream.<br />
This year, there is once again bitter rain,<br />
Two months of miserable autumn-like days;<br />
Smelling the scents of crab-apple flowers in bed,<br />
By muddy soil the blushing snow is stained.<br />
Being stolen out in the dark,<br />
Obviously it was midnight's strong men;<br />
What difference is from an ill young man,<br />
Upon recovery, the hairs have already gone grey.<br />
The spring river about to flood my place,<br />
With the drenching rain not ready to cease;<br />
My small hut is like a fishing boat,<br />
Amid the fog and water it is afloat.<br />
In the empty kitchen I cook cold vegetables,<br />
Burning damp reeds beneath a broken stove;<br />
How was I to know it was Cold-Food Festival Day?<br />
From the paper-money ravens collect.<br />
The emperor's gate is nine-layers deep,<br />
While tombs are ten-thousand miles away;<br />
I would cry over having come upon the road's end,<br />
But, like dead ashes, my heart'll never kindle again.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.890.4068&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bor-hua Wang</a>'s translation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Since coming to Huangzhou,<br />
Three Cold-Food Festivals have come and gone.<br />
Each year I wish to linger with spring,<br />
But spring admits no delay for departure.<br />
This year, I again suffer from bitter rain,<br />
Two months of autumn-like dreary weather.<br />
Lying in bed, I smell the crab-apple blossoms;
Mud smudges their rouge and snow.<br />
In darkness, they were carried off;<br />
Truly, there must be a strong man [stealing them away]
in the middle of the night.<br />
How does it differ from a sickly youth,<br />
upon leaving his sickbed, finding his hair already<br />
Spring flood is coming up to my door,<br />
But the rain shows no sign of letting up.<br />
My small hut is like a fishing boat,<br />
Blurred in misty water and clouds.<br />
Prepared in my empty kitchen are only cold vegetables,<br />
The cracked stove has only burnt wet reeds.<br />
How did I know it is the Cold-Food festival?<br />
I see scraps of paper money picked up by crows.<br />
The sovereign’s gates are far above nine levels [of
Heaven];<br />
Tombs [of my ancestors] are ten-thousand miles away.<br />
I would weep [for my misery] at the end of the road,<br />
Only [my heart] is like dead ashes that cannot be
rekindled.74</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://patricksiu.org/hanshi-festival-%E5%AF%92%E9%A3%9F%E7%AF%80-and-han-shi-tie-%E5%AF%92%E9%A3%9F%E5%B8%96-by-su-shi-%E8%98%87%E8%BB%BE/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Patrick Siu</a>'s translation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ever since I came to Huangzhou, three Hanshi (Cold Food Festivals) have passed by.<br />
Each year I wish the springtime can be prolonged but Spring departs without lingering.<br />
This year again we suffer the rain, two months of dreary, autumn like weather.<br />
Lying in bed, I listen to rains falling heavily on the crabapple blossoms.<br />
The fallen red petals and white petals are splattered in the mud.<br />
Spring is stolen as if by a strong figure in the middle of the night,<br />
It’s no different from a sick young man who rising from his sickbed found his hair has turned white.<br />
The spring river wants to flood the house. The force of the rain is unrelenting.<br />
My small house is like a fishing boat in the midst of fog and water.<br />
In an empty kitchen I boil cold vegetables in a broken stove burning damp reeds.<br />
How could I know that today is the Hanshi Festival, except that I see crows carrying ghost money from graveyards?<br />
The emperor’s gates are nine layers deep; the family tombs ten thousand miles away.<br />
Will I in the manner of Juan Chi (阮籍) weeping that the road is at an end?<br />
Dead ashes, blown, will not rekindle. (Feelings of despair and abandonment.)</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-30T22:39:23.327Z
@CTuner For your needs I would recommend Bor-hua Wang's translation to you. There's a PDF that I linked above. If you go to page 57 (pdf page: 67) of the dissertation and there is side by side English and Chinese of the poem. I think that's what you were originally looking for.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-30T19:33:19.497Z
2020-12-30T20:07:42.280Z
2020-12-30T20:07:42.280Z
Mou某
<p>I have obtained a copy of Su Shi's &quot;Cold Food Observance&quot;. I would like to find a good English translation of the 129 characters, preferably with standard (kaishu) characters alongside so that I can check it to the cursive characters of the original. I have not been able to find anything online, even trying Su Dongpo in search terms. Can someone offer a direction to find this? Thanks very much.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-30T09:19:31.117Z
Can't it just be found here: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E5%AF%92%E9%A3%9F%E5%B8%96?
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-30T17:16:56.000Z
The characters, yes, thanks. But there is no English translation.
CTurner
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-30T22:30:47.310Z
Don't add comments as answers, and please *accept* answers (click the tick below the answer's vote count) that you found helpful, like in your other question (https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/40798/help-with-lishu-character-recognition-character-identified-%e5%b9%be).
dROOOze
<translation>
English translation of Su Shi's "Cold Food Observance"
# English translation of Su Shi's "Cold Food Observance"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-30)

I have obtained a copy of Su Shi's "Cold Food Observance". I would like to find a good English translation of the 129 characters, preferably with standard (kaishu) characters alongside so that I can check it to the cursive characters of the original. I have not been able to find anything online, even trying Su Dongpo in search terms. Can someone offer a direction to find this? Thanks very much.

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Can't it just be found here: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E5%AF%92%E9%A3%9F%E5%B8%96?  
> **username_0**: The characters, yes, thanks. But there is no English translation.  
> **username_2**: Don't add comments as answers, and please *accept* answers (click the tick below the answer's vote count) that you found helpful, like in your other question (https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/40798/help-with-lishu-character-recognition-character-identified-%e5%b9%be).  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-12-30. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Here are three translations for you to muse over.

[Miao Guang](http://fgsihb.org/dictionary-info.asp?id=13550)'s translation:

> Ever since my arrival in Huangzhou,  
> Three Cold-Food Festivals\* have come and gone;  
> Despite my intention to cherish each Spring,  
> Yet the passing Spring allows no such dream.  
> This year, there is once again bitter rain,  
> Two months of miserable autumn-like days;  
> Smelling the scents of crab-apple flowers in bed,  
> By muddy soil the blushing snow is stained.  
> Being stolen out in the dark,  
> Obviously it was midnight's strong men;  
> What difference is from an ill young man,  
> Upon recovery, the hairs have already gone grey.  
> The spring river about to flood my place,  
> With the drenching rain not ready to cease;  
> My small hut is like a fishing boat,  
> Amid the fog and water it is afloat.  
> In the empty kitchen I cook cold vegetables,  
> Burning damp reeds beneath a broken stove;  
> How was I to know it was Cold-Food Festival Day?  
> From the paper-money ravens collect.  
> The emperor's gate is nine-layers deep,  
> While tombs are ten-thousand miles away;  
> I would cry over having come upon the road's end,  
> But, like dead ashes, my heart'll never kindle again.

[Bor-hua Wang](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.890.4068&rep=rep1&type=pdf)'s translation:

> Since coming to Huangzhou,  
> Three Cold-Food Festivals have come and gone.  
> Each year I wish to linger with spring,  
> But spring admits no delay for departure.  
> This year, I again suffer from bitter rain,  
> Two months of autumn-like dreary weather.  
> Lying in bed, I smell the crab-apple blossoms;
> Mud smudges their rouge and snow.  
> In darkness, they were carried off;  
> Truly, there must be a strong man [stealing them away]
> in the middle of the night.  
> How does it differ from a sickly youth,  
> upon leaving his sickbed, finding his hair already  
> Spring flood is coming up to my door,  
> But the rain shows no sign of letting up.  
> My small hut is like a fishing boat,  
> Blurred in misty water and clouds.  
> Prepared in my empty kitchen are only cold vegetables,  
> The cracked stove has only burnt wet reeds.  
> How did I know it is the Cold-Food festival?  
> I see scraps of paper money picked up by crows.  
> The sovereign’s gates are far above nine levels [of
> Heaven];  
> Tombs [of my ancestors] are ten-thousand miles away.  
> I would weep [for my misery] at the end of the road,  
> Only [my heart] is like dead ashes that cannot be
> rekindled.74

[Patrick Siu](https://patricksiu.org/hanshi-festival-%E5%AF%92%E9%A3%9F%E7%AF%80-and-han-shi-tie-%E5%AF%92%E9%A3%9F%E5%B8%96-by-su-shi-%E8%98%87%E8%BB%BE/)'s translation:

> Ever since I came to Huangzhou, three Hanshi (Cold Food Festivals) have passed by.  
> Each year I wish the springtime can be prolonged but Spring departs without lingering.  
> This year again we suffer the rain, two months of dreary, autumn like weather.  
> Lying in bed, I listen to rains falling heavily on the crabapple blossoms.  
> The fallen red petals and white petals are splattered in the mud.  
> Spring is stolen as if by a strong figure in the middle of the night,  
> It’s no different from a sick young man who rising from his sickbed found his hair has turned white.  
> The spring river wants to flood the house. The force of the rain is unrelenting.  
> My small house is like a fishing boat in the midst of fog and water.  
> In an empty kitchen I boil cold vegetables in a broken stove burning damp reeds.  
> How could I know that today is the Hanshi Festival, except that I see crows carrying ghost money from graveyards?  
> The emperor’s gates are nine layers deep; the family tombs ten thousand miles away.  
> Will I in the manner of Juan Chi (阮籍) weeping that the road is at an end?  
> Dead ashes, blown, will not rekindle. (Feelings of despair and abandonment.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: @CTuner For your needs I would recommend Bor-hua Wang's translation to you. There's a PDF that I linked above. If you go to page 57 (pdf page: 67) of the dissertation and there is side by side English and Chinese of the poem. I think that's what you were originally looking for.  

---

