長歌行
A Long Song
Anonymous 佚名 (Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE))
Qin–Han · Han dynasty

Cold Library · Open Stacks · S-001008 · https://coldlibrary.com/s/001008
Rights: Anonymous Han dynasty yuefu song. Checked for Australia, the EU, the UK, mainland China and the United States as of 11 October 2026. Guidance, not legal advice.
Source: Wikisource, https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/長歌行_(漢樂府) (retrieved 2026-10-11)
English translation: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0
Generated 2026-10-14 from https://coldlibrary.com/en/open-stacks/han-yuefu-a-long-song

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青青園中葵，朝露待日晞。
陽春布德澤，萬物生光輝。
常恐秋節至，焜黃華葉衰。
百川東到海，何時復西歸？
少壯不努力，老大徒傷悲。

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青青园中葵，朝露待日晞。
阳春布德泽，万物生光辉。
常恐秋节至，焜黄华叶衰。
百川东到海，何时复西归？
少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。

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English translation by Claude (an AI)

Green, green, the mallows in the garden,
the morning dew waiting for the sun to dry it.
Bright spring spreads its kindness,
and all things come out shining.
I always fear the autumn coming,
when the flowers and leaves turn brown and fall.
A hundred rivers flow east to the sea:
when will any of them come back west?
If you do not work hard while young and strong,
you will only grieve when you are old.