夫天地者，万物之逆旅；光阴者，百代之过客，而浮生若梦，为欢几何？古人秉烛夜游，良有以也。

    况阳春召我以烟景，大块假我以文章。会桃李之芳园，序天伦之乐事。群季俊秀，皆为惠连；吾人咏歌，独惭康乐。

    幽赏未已，高谈转清。开琼筵以坐花，飞羽觞而醉月。不有佳作，何伸雅怀？如诗不成，罚依金谷酒数。

海外逸士  译：

Preface to Feast on Spring Night in Peach & Plum Garden

by Li Bai of Tang Dynasty

    Well, the sky and earth is the inn of all the things.

    Time is a passer-by through millenniums.

    And the floating life is like a dream.

    How much pleasure can we indulge in?

    It is right and reasonable for the ancient people to roam at night with a candle in the hand.

    And now Spring shows me the misty scenes and Nature gives me beautiful pictures.

We meet in the fragrant Peach and Plum Garden and are enjoying the happiness of family union. All my brothers are handsome and learned like Weilian1, but as I chant poems, I feel ashamed in comparison with Kangle2.

    The silent enjoyment doesn’t end yet, and our loud chatting becomes quiet. We hold the feast among flowers and lift cups and get drunk under the moon. If we don’t write poems for the occasion, how can we express our poetic emotions? Whoever can’t compose a poem will have the penalty to drink wine to the number adopted in Jin Gu Garden3.

[1] 指南北朝谢惠连。惠连幼聪慧，族兄灵运深加爱赏。诗文中常用为从弟或弟的美称。Weilian was Xie Weilian of South and North Dynasties period, who was very clever since a little boy. His cousin Xie Lingyun often praised him. His name was thereafter used in poetry or essay as a good nickname for brothers.

[2] 谢康乐即谢灵运﹐南北朝时袭封康乐公。Kangle was Xie Lingyun, who got the title of Duke of Kangle in South and North Dynasties period.

[3] The owner of Jin Gu Garden was Shi Chong of Jin Dynasty. He often held banquets on which, if a quest could not write a poem, he would drink three cups of wine as penalty.

      王宏印  译：

      Feasting in the Peach-plum Garden in Spring Night

      By Li Po

      The world is an inn for all creatures and time is a passing traveler of endless generations. The floating life is like a dream, and how brief the enjoyment is! Indeed, it was with good reason that the ancients made nocturnal excursions by bearing candle lights.

      It should be indeed more so with us now that the sunny spring invites me with vapoury scenes, the big earth provides me with such a beautiful picture. Here we gather in the beautiful garden of peach and plum, and enjoy fraternal love. You younger brothers are all men of refinement and elegancy like Hwai Lien, but amidst singing and chanting I myself feel ashamed to be compared with Kang Lo.

      Before silent appreciation comes to the end, our lofty chat turns to puretalk. The ambrosian banquet is served amid the flowers, and the flight of the winged goblet makes us drunk under the moon. Without fine poems how can our refined taste be satisfied? If anyone fails to produce a poem, let him be punished according to the rule of the Gold Valley Garden.

      罗经国  译：

      Entertainment Given in the Peach and Plum Garden on a Spring Evening

      Li Bai

      As regards heaven and earth, they are nothing but an inn for all living creatures. As regards time, it is nothing but a passerby in the long run of a hundred generations. Since our life is as fleeting as a dream, how long can our joy possibly last? Therefore, there are plenty of reasons for the ancients to amuse themselves at night, holding a candle in their hands. The warm spring attracts us with her resplendent beauty dazzling in haze, and nature provides us with scenery of splendor and charm. Gathered in this fragrant garden full of peach and plum flowers in blossom, we talk to our hearts' content about family love and happiness. All my cousins are as handsome and talented as Xie Huilian (1). All of us compose poems and read them aloud, but I am ashamed of myself for being no match for Duke of Kangle (2). While we are still quietly enjoying the beauty of the spring evening, the hearty talk shifts from lofty topics to lighter and elegant matters. A sumptuous feast is served in the midst of flowers. Having circulated the wine cups for many a round, we get drunk in the moonlight. Without good poems how can we give vent to our jovial feelings? Thus, if one fails to produce good poetry, he deserves to be punished by drinking three cups, as the ancients did in Jingu Garden (3).

      (1)Xie Huilian was a man of letters during the Southern Dynasty. He was the brother of Xie Lingyun (385-433), a celebrated poet of his time. Li Bai here was praising his cousins by comparing them with Xie Huilian.

      (2)Duke of Kangle was a title granted by the emperor to the family of Xie Lingyun. Li Bai was modest in saying that he was not as gifted as Xie Lingyun.

      (3)Name of the garden of Shi Chong. He used to entertain his friends in the Jingu Garden and whoever failed to produce good poems was made to drink three cups of wine as a forfeit.