译文及注释:
Translation:
Yellow Mountain is filled with layers of peaks with thousands of peaks competing for beauty. Streams flow freely and the mountain peaks are shrouded in mist and clouds. The scenery is tranquil and cool all year round like autumn. Facing Yellow Mountain one can see the clouds and mist competing for beauty on the solitary peaks and waterfalls cascading down the steep cliffs. Legend has it that there is a stone in the Alchemy Cave of Lian Dan Peak that resembles a peach blossom and the Cai Zhi Yuan at the foot of Xuan Yuan Peak is said to be the place where the Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan collected Lingzhi mushrooms. Therefore in early spring after the snow has cleared and the sky is clear I begin to enjoy the snow-covered mountains. I have personally seen the water of Bai Long Tan during the day which is like thunder striking and surging like the rolling waves of the sea.
I wonder if the jade pillows and beds that the Yellow Emperor and Fuqiu Gong used when they visited Yellow Mountain are still there. On a moonlit night when facing Tian Du Peak and looking up I can faintly hear the sound of a phoenix flute coming from a distance. In the deep mountainside covered in greenery in the faint light of dawn I hope to see the Dragon Tower emerging in the sky. The color of the stone cave where Fuqiu Gong refined cinnabar is still red but the fire in the alchemy furnace has burned out and the furnace has long cooled. How can one obtain the elixir and cultivate immortality? Who knows the answer? It seems that I can only ask the white deer at the source and the green bull by the water's edge.
Annotations:
Qin Yuan Chun: A famous ci (a type of Chinese poetry) title also known as Dong Xian Shou Xing Ming Dong Ting Chun Se etc. It is based on the ci poem Qin Yuan Chun: Gu Guan Deng Qing by Su Shi with a total of 114 characters in double tone. The first part consists of 13 sentences with four flat tones and the second part consists of 12 sentences with five flat tones. There are also variations such as 116 characters with 13 sentences in the first part and six flat tones in the second part and 112 characters with 13 sentences in the first part and five flat tones in the second part.
Thirty-six: An approximate calculation emphasizing the large number.
Clear autumn: A clear and bright autumn.
Summit: The highest peak of a mountain.
Clouds and mist: Clouds and fog.
Competing for beauty: Striving to be more beautiful.
Steep cliffs: Steep mountain cliffs.
Waterfall: Water flowing down a steep slope from a cliff or riverbed resembling hanging white cloth from a distance.
Competing flow: Competing to flow.
Immortal's residence: The place where immortals live.
Spring in the first month: The first month of the lunar calendar.
One by one: In order one by one.
Daytime: Daytime.
Crest of the tide: The peak of a tidal wave.
In the past: Previous years; in the past.
Yellow Emperor: An ancient emperor said to be the common ancestor of various ethnic groups in the Central Plains. Son of Shaodian with the surname Gongsun.