【古文英译】岳阳楼记

李熊熊

Yueyang Tower
Early Northern Song Dynasty Fan Zhongyan
Qingli four spring, Tengzijing demoted to Yuezhou to do the imperial guard. In the second year, the government affairs were smooth, the people were happy, and all kinds of abandoned undertakings were set up. So we rebuilt Yueyang Tower, expanded its original scale, and engraved the poems of famous Tang Dynasty and modern people on it. I was asked to write an article about it.
I see the beautiful scenery of Baling County, all on the Dongting Lake. Dongting Lake contains distant mountains, swallow the Yangtze River water, vast and boundless, the lake is scattered in the morning sunshine, in the evening is a dark, the scenery changes endlessly. This is the majestic scene of Yueyang Tower. Previous accounts of these scenes have been very detailed, though, then here to the north to the Wu Gorge, south to the Xiaoshui and Xiangjiang, demoted remote personnel and poetry poets, most of the gathering here, viewing the natural scenery and triggered the feelings, probably will be different?
Like the continuous drizzle, when the whole month is not clear, the cold wind roars, and the turbid waves rush to the sky; The sun, moon and stars are hidden from view, and the mountains are hidden from view. Merchants and travelers were impassable, masts fell, oars were broken; In the evening the sky was dark, and only the roaring of tigers and the crying of apes could be heard. At this time, boarding this building, there will be degraded officials left the capital, miss their hometown, worried about people say bad things, afraid of people's ridicule of the mood, then look up the eyes are all depressed cold scene, will be filled with emotion and very sad.
As for the spring breeze is warm, the sun is shining, the lake waves are calm, the sky and the lake are connected, a green, vast; The gulls on the sandbank fly and stop, the beautiful fish float and sink; The grass on the shore and the orchids on the island are fragrant and green in color. Sometimes the great clouds of smoke on the lake disappear completely, and the bright moonlight flows for a thousand miles; sometimes the water ripples on the lake, and the floating moonlight glows gold; Sometimes the lake waves, the quiet moon image sinking in the water jade. The fisherman's song sounded, singing in harmony, this fun is really endless! At this time, boarding this building, you will feel an open mind, a happy spirit, and forget both glory and humiliation, and drink in the breeze, the mood is really happy and happy.
Aych! Why is it that I have sought the thoughts and feelings of the noble men of old, and perhaps they were different from these two feelings? Because in ancient times, people with high moral character did not feel happy or sad because of the good or bad of external things and their own gains and losses. To be an official in the court was to worry about the people; If he is not an official in the court and is in the middle of a remote river and lake, he is worried about the king. In this way, they are worried about entering the court and becoming officials, and they are also worried about retiring from the rivers and lakes. Even so, when will they be happy? It must be said: worry before the world is sad, and be happy after the world is happy. Aych! If there are no such people, who will I go with?
Written on September 15th, sixth year of the Qingli calendar.