Sanxingdui¹

By   CAO Fang

Tr. LI Xiaoli

These bronze marvels surpass all divine art; 

Old Shu²’s lost kingdom breaks the age-long spell. 

Shan Hai Jing³ proves its mythic truth apart; 

Old Egypt and India no more excel. 

Notes:

¹ Sanxingdui (or Three-Star Mounds) is a major Bronze Age site in Sichuan, China, named after three earth mounds that once stood there.

² Old Shu: A mysterious ancient kingdom (c. 1600–316 BCE) in the Sichuan Basin, known solely from fragmentary mythological texts until Sanxingdui's discovery.

³ Shan Hai Jing (or Classic of Mountains and Seas): An ancient Chinese text blending geography and mythology, many of whose once-fantastical descriptions have been strikingly corroborated by Sanxingdui artifacts.

外  滩

曹方

开埠万国临大川，

高楼隔岸入云端。

摩登古典俱称霸，

何处能敌上海滩。

The Bund

By CAO Fang

Tr. LI Xiaoli

When ports unbarred, all nations thronged the tide; 

Across the stream, tall towers rise and stand. 

Both modern might and ancient pride abide; 

What place on earth can match the Shanghai Bund? 

Note: 

The Bund: Shanghai's historic Huangpu River waterfront, once the center of foreign concessions (post-1843), famous for its eclectic architecture, facing Lujiazui's skyline. The name itself is shorthand for Shanghai.

喀纳斯湖

曹方

云扫青空水色奇，

震风折树鸟声急。

湖深水怪暗流动，

跃跃欲出喀纳斯。

The Kanas Lake

By CAO Fang

Tr. ZHANG Xueli

Clouds sweep the blue sky, strange the water’s hue; 

When gales snap the trees, birds cry in sharp dread. 

Deep in the lake the monster glides from view; 

It strains to leap from Kanas’ greenish bed. 

春夜游南京秦淮河

曹方

轻舟泛月暖风发，

百里秦淮遍酒家。

醉客满船拍手笑，

见迎岸树吐银花。

A Spring Night Trip on the Qinhuai River in Nanjing

By CAO Fang

Tr. ZHANG Xueli

Light boats float ’neath the moon as warm wind blows;

For miles, taverns line shores where Qinhuai flows.

Filling the boat, drunks clap and laugh with glee;

Shore trees put forth silver blossoms, they see.