双语诗歌翻译|《千字文》

《千字文》（三）

笃初诚美，慎终宜令。荣业所基，籍甚无竟。

学优登仕，摄职从政。存以甘棠，去而益咏。

乐殊贵贱，礼别尊卑。上和下睦，夫唱妇随。

外受傅训，入奉母仪。诸姑伯叔，犹子比儿。

孔怀兄弟，同气连枝。交友投分，切磨箴规。

仁慈隐恻，造次弗离。节义廉退，颠沛匪亏。

性静情逸，心动神疲。守真志满，逐物意移。坚持雅操，好爵自縻。

都邑华夏，东西二京。背邙面洛，浮渭据泾。

The Thousand-Character Writing (III)

It is good to be a good person at an early age,
It is better, even perfect to be good all the time.
This is the foundation of one's achievements and fame,
With this foundation, one's success will be greater and sublime.

Study well to be promoted to an official position,
With the position, one can participate in political administration.
A Zhou Dynasty official, under a tree, fulfilled well his political obligation,
The people after his death kept the tree and praised him with even greater admiration.

Musical notes and instruments are used according to the rank of the people listening to them,
Different etiquette is used to distinguish classes.
One should be in harmony with one's superiors and inferiors,
The wife follows and supports whatever the husband advocates and does.

Away from home, heed what your master instructs,
At home, follow the rules your parents have fixed and decided.
To your uncles and aunts, you should be as respectful as to your parents,
To your brothers' children, you should be as kind as to your children indeed.

Brothers should be concerned about each other,
For they are of the same blood lineage like branches of a tree.
One should make friends with the people of one's same character,
And friends should advise one another, seeing a friend go wrong, they should not let it be.

People should have in their hearts kindness and sympathy,
They should not ignore the others who are in difficulty.
People's virtues include fidelity, loyalty, modesty, and forgiveness,
Which must be kept even when a person suffers setbacks in adversity.

When people are calm, their emotions are peaceful;
When people are attracted by material, they are liable to become tired spiritually.
Stick to the truth and their ambition will be content,
Pursuing material gains will shake people's will and worsen the people morally.
If they keep their noble ideas and elegant sentiments,
They will get high position and high pay naturally.

Among the cities of ancient China,
There are two capitals: one in the east and the other in the west.
The eastern capital, facing the Luo River, was in front of Mount Mang;
The western capital was situated in a place where the Wei River and the Jing River passed.