The Sichuan Road 
蜀道难
 libai
李白

What heights!

It is easier to climb Heaven

Than take the Sichuan Road.
噫吁戏，危乎高哉!蜀道之难难于上青天。

Long ago Can Cong and Yu Fu founded the kingdom of Shu;
蚕丛及鱼凫，开国何茫然。

Forty-eight thousand years went by,

Yet no road linked it with the land of Qin.
尔来四万八千岁，不与秦塞通人烟。

Westward from Taibai Mountain only birds

Wander to the summit of Mount Emei
西当太白有鸟道，可以横绝峨眉巅。

But not until brave men had perished in the great landslide

Were bridges hooked together in the air

And a path hacked through the rocks.
地崩山摧壮士死，然后天梯石栈相勾连。

Above, high peaks turn back the sun's chariot drawn by six dragons;

Below, the charging waves are caught in whirlpools;
上有六龙回日之高标，下有冲波逆折之回川。

Not even yellow cranes dare fly this way,

Monkeys cannot leap those gorges.
黄鹤之飞尚不得，猿猱欲度愁攀援。

At Green Mud Ridge the path winds back and forh,

With nine twists for every hundred steps.
青泥何盘盘，百步九折萦岩峦。

Touching the stars, the traveller looks up and gasps,

Then sinks down , clutching his heart ,to groan aloud.
扪参历井仰胁息，以手抚膺坐长叹!

Friend, when will you return from this westward journey?

This is a fearful way.

You cannot cross these cliffs.
问君西游何时还?畏途巉岩不可攀。

The only living things are birds crying in ancient trees,

Male wooing female up and down the woods,
但见悲鸟号古木，雄飞雌从绕林间。

And the cuckoo, weary of empty hills,

Singing to the moon.
又闻子规啼夜月，愁空山。

It is easier to climb to heaven

Than take the Sichuan Road.

The mere telling of its perils blanches youthful cheeks.
蜀道之难难于上青天，使人听此凋朱颜!

Peak follows peak, each but a hand's breadth from the sky;

Dead pine trees hang head down into the chasms,
连峰去天不盈尺，枯松倒挂倚绝壁。

Torrents and waterfalls outroar over rocks,

Booming like thunder through a thousand caverns.
飞湍瀑流争喧豗，砯崖转石万壑雷。

What takes you, travelers, this long, weary way

So filled with danger?
其险也如此，嗟尔远道之人。

Sword Pass is steep and narrow,
胡为乎来哉!剑阁峥嵘而崔嵬，

One man could hold this pass against ten thousand;
一夫当关，万夫莫开。

And sometimes its defenders

Are not mortal men but wolves and jackals.
所守或匪亲，化为狼与豺。

By day we dread the savage tiger ,by night the serpent,
朝避猛虎，夕避长蛇，

Sharp-fanged sucker of blood

Who chops men down like stalks of hemp.
磨牙吮血，杀人如麻。

The City of Brocade may be a pleasant place,

But it is best to seek you home.
锦城虽云乐，不如早还家。

For it is easier to climb to heaven

Than take the Sichuan Road.

I gaze into the west, and sigh.
蜀道之难难于上青天，侧身西望长咨嗟!