唐詩三百首英譯 王維：西施詠

五言古詩

王維

西施詠

豔色天下重， 西施甯久微？

朝爲越谿女， 暮作吳宮妃。

賤日豈殊衆？ 貴來方悟稀。

邀人傅脂粉， 不自著羅衣，

君寵益嬌態， 君憐無是非。

儅時浣紗伴， 莫得同車歸。

持謝鄰家子， 傚顰安可希？

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Five-character-quatrain

Wang Wei

THE BEAUTIFUL XI SHI

Since beauty is honoured all over the Empire，

How could Xi Shi remain humbly at home？ ——

Washing clothes at dawn by a southern lake ——

And that evening a great lady in a palace of the north：

Lowly one day， no different from the others，

The next day exalted， everyone praising her.

No more would her own hands powder her face

Or arrange on her shoulders a silken robe.

And the more the King loved her， the lovelier she looked，

Blinding him away from wisdom.

……Girls who had once washed silk beside her

Were kept at a distance from her chariot.

And none of the girls in her neighbours' houses

By pursing their brows could copy her beauty.