西江月·夜行黃沙道中
To the Tune Xijiangyue: Walking at Night on the Yellow Sand Road
Xin Qiji 辛棄疾 (1140–1207)
Song · 1180s

Cold Library · Open Stacks · S-001069 · https://coldlibrary.com/s/001069
Rights: Song dynasty lyric (ci); the author died in 1207. 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/西江月_(辛棄疾) (retrieved 2026-10-11)
English translation: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0
Generated 2026-10-14 from https://coldlibrary.com/en/open-stacks/xin-qiji-night-walk-on-the-yellow-sand-road

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明月別枝驚鵲，
清風半夜鳴蟬。
稻花香裡說豐年，
聽取蛙聲一片。

七八個星天外，
兩三點雨山前。
舊時茅店社林邊，
路轉溪橋忽見。

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明月别枝惊鹊，
清风半夜鸣蝉。
稻花香里说丰年，
听取蛙声一片。

七八个星天外，
两三点雨山前。
旧时茅店社林边，
路转溪桥忽见。

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English translation by Claude (an AI)

The bright moon startles a magpie from its branch;
in the cool breeze at midnight the cicadas sing.
In the scent of the rice flowers there is talk of a good year:
listen, the frogs, one great chorus.

Seven or eight stars beyond the sky,
two or three drops of rain before the hill.
The old thatched inn beside the shrine wood:
the road turns at the stream bridge, and suddenly there it is.