Listen to this article《秋晚登楼望南江入始兴郡路》是唐代张九龄的五言诗。这首诗写于张九龄辞官回到家乡之时（公元716年）。前四句描写南江泛滥的景象；五到十四句反映了作者在朝中受制、劳碌无成而心不甘的复杂心情；后四句诗人借用陶潜《归去来词》“觉今是而昨非”，肯定了辞官的决定。
张九龄·《秋晚登楼望南江入始兴郡路》
潦收沙衍出，霜降天宇晶。
伏槛一长眺，津途多远情。
思来江山外，望尽烟云生。
滔滔不自辨，役役且何成。
我来飒衰鬓，孰云飘华缨。
枥马苦踡跼，笼禽念遐征。
岁阴向晼晚，日夕空屏营。
物生贵得性，身累由近名。
内顾觉今是，追叹何时平。
Climbing a Tall Building on an Autumn Evening: I Gaze to Where the South River Touches the Shih-hsing Road
Chang Chiu-ling
Streaming rivulets draw back, sandflats emerge,
Frost comes down, the sky’s vault, crystalline.
Hunched at the railing, I gaze long and far,
Path and ford draw many emotions of distant places.
Longing comes from beyond the rivers and mountains;
Where my gaze breaks off, clouds and mists arise.
A rolling flood where nothing is distinct—
Oh, what is accomplished from all this constant toil?
I came here, wind shaking my frail white locks,
No one could say it shook ribbons of high office.
A stabled horse suffering cramped restraints,
A caged bird longing for faraway journeys.
The year grows ever darker toward its close.
At the end of day, a pointless restlessness.
All living creatures value fulfilling their natures,
The bonds upon my body grow from recent fame.
I look back, find I’m truly right now—
But when will ease come for sorrow at what is past?
（Stephen Owen 译）
