觀書有感
Thoughts on Reading
Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200)
Song · 12th century

Cold Library · Open Stacks · S-001067 · https://coldlibrary.com/s/001067
Rights: Song dynasty poem; the author died in 1200. 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/觀書有感 (retrieved 2026-10-11)
English translation: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0
Generated 2026-10-14 from https://coldlibrary.com/en/open-stacks/zhu-xi-thoughts-on-reading

----

其一
半畝方塘一鑑開，天光雲影共徘徊。
問渠那得清如許，為有源頭活水來。


其二
昨夜江邊春水生，艨艟巨艦一毛輕。
向來枉費推移力，此日中流自在行。

----

其一
半亩方塘一鉴开，天光云影共徘徊。
问渠那得清如许，为有源头活水来。


其二
昨夜江边春水生，艨艟巨舰一毛轻。
向来枉费推移力，此日中流自在行。

----

English translation by Claude (an AI)

I
Half an acre of square pond opens like a mirror;
the light of the sky and the shadows of clouds drift in it together.
I ask it how it can be so clear:
because fresh water keeps flowing in from the source.


II
Last night by the river the spring flood rose;
the great warship floated, light as a feather.
All the effort spent pushing it before was wasted;
today it moves at ease in the middle of the stream.