Chinese Poetry Menu

離別鄉井許已久
誰知流落木樓囚
顧影痛憐淚滿巾
試問罪何執我咎

李海題

It’s been a long time since I left my home village;
Who could know I’d end up imprisoned in a wooden building?
I’m heartsick when I see my reflection, my handkerchief is soaked in tears;
I ask you, what crime did I commit to deserve this?

Inscribed by Li Hai
South Village, Taishan

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

一月被囚履不前
滿州輪來蒙古旋
但得南洋登程日
求活何須美利堅

For one month I was imprisoned; my slippers never moved forward.
I came on the Manchuria and will return on the Mongolia.
But if I could make the trip to Nanyang, I would.
Why should America be the only place to seek a living?

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

同病相憐如一身
恰似仲尼困在陳
私維君子仗義力
足戮胡奴弗讓仁

辛和

We are as one, fellow sufferers with mutual sympathy.
Just like Confucius when he was surrounded in the state of Chen.
Secretly, I praise your reliance on the strength of righteousness
To trample the barbarians, rather than letting others do it.

By Sun, using the same rhyme words as another poem

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

埃屋三椽聊保身
崙麓積愫不堪陳
待得飛騰順遂日
剷除關稅不論仁

香山人題

The low building with three beams merely shelters the body.
It is unbearable to relate the stories accumulated on the Island slopes.
Wait till the day I become successful and fulfill my wish!
I will show no mercy when I level the immigration station!

By one from Toishan

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

來到木屋十日餘
眼見有人授回去
令人見景亦生悲
耗費金錢五千餘
孤身飄流到此處
不幸撥回父母悲
哥的利息重重疊
未知何日還清主

I have been in the wooden building for more than ten days.
My eyes have seen people being sent back.
Witnessing that scene makes one sad.
Spending more than five thousand golden coins,
I drifted alone to this place.
If I am unlucky enough to be deported, my parents will be grieved.
The interest piles one on top of another.
I do not know yet when it will be completely repaid to the creditor.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

斗門人往大溪地
來到木屋十餘日
溪地有人回唐山
誰知此埠極難為
有人回來有人去
使枉洋銀三百餘
不到此埠心不忿
回家父母苦極悲
留下利息重重疊
未知何日還他主

People from Dowmoon are going to Tahiti,
Having been in the wooden building for more than ten days.
From Tahiti, there are people returning to the Mountains of Tang.
How were they to know this would be such a callous city?
There are people returning, and there are people leaving.
Having wasted more than three hundred silver dollars,
If I do not get to this city, I will be unhappy.
If I return home, my parents would be extremely grief-torn.
Unpaid interest would be piled one on top of another,
Not knowing when it would be repaid to the lender.

Listen to the poem in Dow Moon ⏯

美洲金銀實可愛
錐股求榮動程來
不第千金曾用盡
犁黑面目為家哉

The gold and silver of America is very appealing.
Jabbing an awl into the thigh in search of glory, I embarked on the journey.
Not only are my one thousand pieces of gold already depleted, but
My countenance is blackened. It is surely for the sake of the family.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

木樓永別返香江
從此興邦志氣揚
告我同胞談梓里
稍餘衣食莫飄洋

Bidding farewell to the wooden building, I return to Hong Kong.
Henceforward, I will arouse my country and flaunt my aspirations.
I'll tell my compatriots to inform their fellow villagers.
If they possess even a small surplus of food and clothing, they should not drift across the ocean.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

滎陽遺蹟

飄零身世感滄桑
淒絕無辜困木樓
寄語諸君謀雪恨
樂中尤記個中仇

Traces Left by One from Yingyang

In my lonely drifting life, I experienced great changes.
It is very sad for the innocent to be imprisoned in the wooden building.
I send words to you gentlemen that you should make plans to eradicate this grievance.
While you are enjoying yourselves, in particular, remember our grudge here.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

感景拙詠

滄海圜孤峰
崎嶇困牢籠
鳥疏寒山緻
鴻使莫尋蹤
留難經半載
愁恨積滿容
今將歸國去
空勞精衛功

Crude Poem Inspired by the Landscape

The ocean encircles a lone peak.
Rough terrain surrounds this prison.
There are few birds flying over the cold hills.
The wild goose messenger cannot find its way.
I have been detained and obstacles have been put in my way for half a year.
Melancholy and hate gather on my face.
Now that I must return to my country,
I have toiled like the jingwei bird in vain.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

不料浮萍至墨京
寰球遍地已三年
青蚨不識無傷我
悶聽鎗林砲雨聲
故冒偷關來居美
誰知今日受囚刑

I did not expect to be drifting like duckweed to Mexico City.
I had been all over the world in three years.
Copper cash did not know me, but that did me no harm.
I was tired of listening to the fusillades of rifles and cannons,
So I risked stealing across the barrier to live in the United States.
Who was to know that today I would be punished with imprisonment?

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

家徒壁立棄鄉留
捨別妻親 [ 上 ] 洋舟
破浪乘風登墨處
望月鄉心敖家流

My house had nothing but bare walls, so I left my native place,
Abandoned wife and parents, and took ship across the sea.
After cleaving the waves and riding the wind, we arrived in Mexico;
As I gazed at the moon, my lonely heart wandered back home.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

南京留守曾電報
提倡民款達濟處
仰望同胞捐盡力
得免淪亡足慰贊

自治會

The commandant at Nanking sent a cable
And urged the people to transmit funds to the Relief Office.
I hope my compatriots will give all they can
To prevent the loss of our country-a praiseworthy cause.

Self-Governing Association

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

方今五族為一家
列強未認我中華
究因外債頻頻隔
逼監財政把權拿

Just now the five nationalities in China have become one family,
But the powers still have not yet recognized our China.
Primarily because foreign debts were piling up,
The foreigners pushed to control finances and to seize power.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

五旗飄寰球 天下諸邦皆喪膽
萬軍誅異蜮 歐洲各國盡寒心

The five-colored flag of China flies all over the globe;
the nations under heaven all lose heart.
Ten thousand armies punish the foreign lands;
the states of Europe all tremble with fear.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

憶昔當年苦未從
堅心出外覓陶公
歲月蹉跎仍未了
至今猶因島孤中

I think back on the past when I had not experienced hardship.
I resolved to go and seek Taogong.
The months and years are wasted, and still it has not ended.
Up to now, I am still trapped on a lonely island.

Listen to the poem in Sam Yup ⏯

量度淺狹交友無益
遇貧驕傲雖富無益
作事乖張聰明無益
動達人情皆由學問
深明細務即為經綸

南海 [ 題 ] 口

It’s useless to become friends with those of narrow mind;
It’s useless to have wealth if one disdains the poor;
It’s useless to show off one’s cleverness in daily affairs;
Understanding human nature all comes from learning;
Attention to details leads one to the proper way.

Inscribed by Nanhai

Listen to the poem in Nanhaiese ⏯

口口日本吞中華
同胞合力思齊家
口口齊家次治國
他日富強滅倭奴

Japan swallows China.
All my compatriots must unite to regulate our homes.
When our homes are regulated, then the state becomes properly governed.
When we become prosperous and strong, we will annihilate the dwarves.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

中秋偶感

夜涼僵臥鐵床中
窗前月姊透照儂
悶來起立寒窗下
愁把時計已秋中
吾儕也應同敬賞
菲儀無備亦羞容

Random Thoughts at Mid-Autumn Festival

The night is cool as I lie stiff on the steel bunk.
Before the window, the moon lady shines on me.
Bored, I get up and stand beneath the cold window.
Sadly, I count the time that's elapsed; it is already mid-autumn.
We should all honor and enjoy her.
But I have not prepared even the most trifling gift, and I feel embarrassed.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

家道貧窮走呂宋
誰知借路亦牢籠
木樓凄涼不堪問
皆因兵弱國庫空
寄語諸君齊發奮
勿忘國恥振英雄

My family was poor, so I was going to Lüsong.
Who would have known this would be a prison even for those just passing through?
One cannot bear to ask about the loneliness in the wooden building.
It is all because of a militarily weak nation with an empty national treasury.
I leave word with you gentlemen that you should all endeavor together.
Do not forget the national humiliations; arouse yourselves to be heroic.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

深夜偶感

夜靜微聞風嘯聲
形影傷情見景詠
雲霧潺潺也暗天
蟲聲唧唧月微明
悲苦相連天相遣
愁人獨坐倚窗邊

台山余題

Random Thoughts Deep at Night

In the quiet of night, I heard, faintly, the whistling of wind.
The forms and shadows saddened me; upon seeing the landscape, I composed a poem.
The floating clouds, the fog, darken the sky.
The moon shines faintly as the insects chirp.
Grief and bitterness entwined are heaven sent.
The sad person sits alone, leaning by a window.

Written by Yee of Toishan

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

為口奔馳馳到監
困愁愁食亦心煩
薄待華人黃菜餐
弱質難當實為難

I hastened here for the sake of my stomach and landed promptly in jail.
Imprisoned, I am melancholy; even when I eat, my heart is troubled.
They treat us Chinese badly and feed us yellowed greens.
My weak physique cannot take it; I am truly miserable.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

鬚眉七尺愧無伸
蜷伏圈中俯仰人
百般忍辱徒呼負
斯人瀝哭蒼天何

I, a seven-foot man, am ashamed I cannot stand tall.
Curled up in an enclosure, my movements are dictated by others.
Enduring a hundred humiliations, I can only cry in vain.
This person's tears fall, but what can the blue heavens do?

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

生平廿載始謀生
家計逼我歷風塵
無情歲月偏負我
可惜光陰易邁人

As a rule, a person is twenty before he starts making a living.
Family circumstances have forced me to experience wind and dust.
The heartless months and years seem bent on defeating me.
It is a pity that time quickly ages one.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

剪髮處

Barbering Place (Hair-Cutting Place)

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

漂浮萬里涉平洋
海 [ 浪 ] 未消候質場
只因學業休云苦
誰道銷出負債償
繼續牢期三個月
來年一日九回腸
蒼天有 [ 眼 ] 磨英骨
流落窮途揮淚傷

I floated ten thousand miles across the Pacific Sea,
Yet before the waves were stilled, I was detained in prison grounds.
For the sake of my studies, I never complained of hardship,
But who knew there would be such high debts to pay?
For three months I have been continuously imprisoned,
This year has everyday brought me nine rounds of sorrow.
Heaven has eyes, and molds heroes’ bones through suffering,
But now I’m at a dead end, and wipe the tracks of my tears.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

駐足三天遷復遷
難比家居咁安然
人生何苦如斯賤
馳得勞勞口吐煙

香山人題

I have lingered here three days, moving again and again.
It is difficult to compare this to the peacefulness at home.
Life need not be so demeaning.
Rushing about so much, smoke came out of my mouth.

By someone from Heungshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki) ⏯

蠻夷發令把房遷
上下奔馳氣絕然
恰似干戈人心亂
聲勢猶如走烽煙

The barbarian issued orders to change rooms.
Running up and down, my breath grew short.
It was like warfare, when people's minds are bewildered.
The scene resembled a stampede set off by beacon smoke.

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

默默含情意黯然
吾儕同喚奈何天
幾時策馬潼關渡
許我先揚祖逖鞭

Quietly keeping my feelings to myself, I feel depressed.
My colleagues and I together call helplessly to Heaven.
When do we whip our horses to cross the pass at Tong Guan?
Let me first wave the whip of Zu Ti.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

尚存一息志無灰
敬勛同堂眾楚材
知恥便能將恥雪
揮戈方可免必栽
莫道無謀芟醜虜
思求有術把天回
男兒十萬橫磨劍
誓斬樓蘭闢草萊

If you have but one breath left, do not be discouraged from your purpose.
I respectfully exhort my brothers, who are all talents of Chu.
Having a sense of shame, one can eradicate shame.
Only by wielding the lance can one avoid death by the lance.
Do not say that we have not the means to level the ugly barbarians.
I am searching for a method that will turn destiny back.
One hundred thousand men sharpen their swords,
Swearing to behead the Loulan and open the grasslands and fallow fields.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

北遊咸道樂悠悠
船中苦楚木樓愁
數次審查猶未了
太息同胞被逼留

香山人題

Everyone says traveling to North America is a pleasure.
I suffered misery on the ship and sadness in the wooden building.
After several interrogations, still I am not done.
I sigh because my compatriots are being forcibly detained.

By one from Heungshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan ⏯

醫生苛待不堪言
勾蟲剌血更心酸
食了藥膏又食水
猶如啞佬食黃連

I cannot bear to describe the harsh treatment by the doctors.
Being stabbed for blood samples and examined for hookworms was even more pitiful.
After taking the medicine, I also drank liquid,
Like a dumb person eating the huanglian.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

辛亥十月初五
搬房有感而作

到來木屋一星期
提起搬屋我極悲
執齊行李忙忙走
其中苦楚有誰知

Fifth Day of the Tenth Moon, Xinhai Year
Effusion After Moving to Another Room

I arrived in the wooden building one week ago.
Whenever someone mentions switching rooms, it distresses me excessively.
Gathering all my baggage together, I hurriedly run.
Who would ever know the misery of it all?

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

非被困難云無熱血
若因囚仇謂不寒心

玉清氏作
台山唐溪

Those who have not endured hardship
Cannot be said to have hot blood;
Those who have experienced imprisonment
Never have cold hearts.

Composed by Yuqing from Tangxi, Taishan

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

西風吹動薄羅裳
山坐高樓板木房
意好子娘雲欲遠
月明偏受夜更長
床頭有酒心常醉
枕底無花夢不香
一幅幽情何心寄
全憑知己解凄涼

The west wind ruffles my thin gauze clothing.
On the hill sits a tall building with a room of wooden planks.
I wish I could travel on a cloud far away, reunite with my wife and son.
When the moonlight shines on me alone, the night seems even longer.
At the head of the bed there is wine, and my heart is constantly drunk.
There is no flower beneath my pillow, and my dreams are not sweet.
To whom can I confide my innermost feelings?
I rely solely on close friends to relieve my loneliness.

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

無限滄桑感
羈身此樓中
青山飛不去
綠水阻英雄
率爾投筆去
徒勞反無功
慎言誠在我
無語怨東風

阮題

I have infinite feelings that the ocean has changed into a mulberry grove.
My body is detained in this building.
I cannot fly from this grassy hill,
And green waters block the hero.
Impetuously, I threw away my writing brush.
My efforts have all been in vain.
It is up to me to answer carefully.
I have no words to murmur against the east wind.

By Yuen

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki) ⏯

來 [ 此 ] 登埠易
口口困監牢
同胞難同志
早合滅蠻夷

It was easy to land at the port here,
But upon arrival, I was thrown in prison.
Though it’s hard for compatriots to work together,
We must soon unite to destroy the barbarians.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 76:
花旗旗其转吾人占据
木楼楼留与天使还仇

If the land of the Flowery Flag is occupied by us in turn,
The wooden building will be left for the angel's revenge.

Voices 45:
花旗旗其轉三色盡屬
美 [ 族 ] 人占據
囚 [ 人 ] 償還仇
木樓樓留與一般便將

The Flowery Flag: the flag waves its three colors, yet only for Americans;
The Wooden Building: when the building is left to all, then prisoners will take revenge.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

四面雲山清一色
光陰去卻復難得
隨處皆然顯春意
吾人何遂心中德

香山鐵城行 [ 旅 ] 人題

Clouds and hills all around, a single fresh color;
Time slips away and cannot be recaptured.
Although the feeling of spring is everywhere,
How can we fulfill our heartfelt wish?

Inscribed by a Traveler from the City of Iron in Xiangshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

床前看月光
疑是地上霜
舉頭望明月
低頭思故鄉

Before my bed, the bright moonlight.
I thought it was frost on the ground.
Raising my head, I stare at the bright moon;
Lowering my head, I think of home.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

輕武重文嗟古風
挽正鋤奸惜來遲
羈此儼知因國弱
眠錐應勵振邦雄

鐵城漢維題

I bemoan the ancient attitude of disparaging military matters and esteeming civil affairs.
It is a pity that I come too late to support the righteous and extirpate the villainous.
Locked up here, I indeed understand that it is because my country is weak.
Sleeping with awls should spur us to develop our country's strength.

By Han Wei of the Town of Iron

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

出門尔財勿露眼
鄙人衭袋亦元銀
掛在床中心不關
瞬息被偷啞自恨
感者母親常賣散
雜種龜仔有咁蠻

When leaving home, don’t show your wealth to prying eyes!
In my pants I also had silver dollars.
I hung the pants on the bed, without a care—
In a flash they were stolen, and I’m so angry I cannot speak.
I’m heartsick for my mother, who sold everything for me;
That bastard son of a turtle is so barbaric!

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

拋離家鄉作營謀
風霜捱盡為名求
路經此地來古巴
誰知撥我入山囚

I abandoned my native village to earn a living.
I endured all the wind and frost to seek fame.
I passed this land to get to Cuba.
Who was to know they would dispatch me to a prison on a mountain?

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

李宅人員把身抽
季夏乘船到美洲
海過舟灣候上岸
紀錄無辜困木樓
念及事情心厭悶
詩章題首解愁憂
目下未曾批消案
錄記情由實可嬲
在坐虛延長歲月
此處如籠一隻鳩

華僑鐵城山僧題贈

A member of the Lee household was ready to leave.
In the last month of summer, I arrived in America on a ship.
After crossing the ocean, the ship docked, and I waited to go on shore.
Because of the records, the innocent was imprisoned in a wooden building.
Reflecting on the event, my heart is vexed and depressed.
I composed a poem to rid myself of sadness and worry.
At present, my application for admission has not yet been dismissed.
As I record the cause of my situation, it really provokes my anger.
Sitting here, uselessly delayed for long years and months,
I am like a pigeon in a cage.

Composed as a gift by an overseas Chinese,
a mountain monk from the Town of Iron

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

林到美洲
逮入木樓
成為囚犯
來此一秋
美人不准
批授回頭
消息報告
回國驚憂
國弱華人
嘆不自由

鐵城道人題

Lim, upon arriving in America,
Was arrested, put in the wooden building,
And made a prisoner.
I have already been here for one autumn.
The Americans refused me admission.
I was ordered to be deported.
When the news was told,
I was frightened and troubled about returning to my country.
We Chinese of a weak nation
Can only sigh at the lack of freedom.

Written by a Taoist from the Town of Iron

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

元月動程赴墨洲
船位阻延到中秋
一心指望頻登埠
年關將及在此樓

民國七年尾月下浣
香山隆都

In January, I started to leave for Mexico.
Passage reservations delayed me until mid-autumn.
I had wholeheartedly counted on a quick landing at the city,
But the year's almost ending, and I am still here in this building.

Last third of the last month of the seventh year of the Republic
Longdu, Heungshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

美里受囚何日休
裘葛已更又一秋
滿腹牢騷難罄竹
雪落花殘千古愁

Imprisonment at Youli, when will it end?
Fur and linen garments have been exchanged; it is already another autumn.
My belly brims with discontents, too numerous to inscribe on bamboo slips.
Snow falls, flowers wilt, expressing sorrow through the ages.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

居家無步進
他邦勢逼趁
離宗千里遠
別祖不相近

Living at home, there were no prospects for advancement.
The situation forced one to go to another country.
Separated from the clan, a thousand miles away,
Apart from the ancestors, we are no longer close to one another.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

重陽少四目
香港付輪舟
大家仍在此
繁足將半秋

往墨僑題

It was four days before the Chongyang Festival
When I transferred to a ship in Hong Kong.
Everybody is still here.
Our feet have been bound here for almost half an autumn.

Written by one going to Mexico

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

同胞來美須記緊
審問口供勿倒運

Compatriots who come to America should keep memories clear;
When under interrogation or giving testimony, don’t ruin your luck.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

我國現下民國專制 將來袁世凱天下也

Our country is now a nationalist dictatorship;
In future the empire will belong to Yuan Shikai!

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

假道呂宋走花旗
關情嚴密不知機
監牢木屋囚困日
波斯鐵船被撥期

窮途阮籍誰憐哭
絕域李陵空嘆愁
無可奈何事制厄
命蹇時乖受此磨

I entered the land of the Flowery Flag by way of Lüsong.
Conditions at the border were strict, and I was not clever.
In the wooden jail, I was imprisoned for days.
Now I am to be deported in the steel vessel Persia.

When Ruan Ji reached the end of the road, who took pity on his weeping
In a distant land, Li Ling sadly sighed in vain.
There is nothing that can be done about misfortune caused by tyranny.
Fate is unlucky and times are perverse; therefore, I suffer these ordeals.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

路遠行人萬里難
勸君切勿來偷關
艱險情形堪莫問
斯言不是作為閒

民國十二年

The road is far for the traveler; ten thousand li are difficult.
May I advise you not to sneak across the border?
The difficult and dangerous conditions are not worth your inquiries.
These are not idle words.

Twelfth year of the Republic

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

埃崙此地為仙島
山野原來是監牢
既望張網焉投入
祇為囊空莫奈何

This place is called an island of immortals,
When, in fact, this mountain wilderness is a prison.
Once you see the open net, why throw yourself in?
It is only because of empty pockets I can do nothing else.

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

壁牆題詠萬千千
盡皆怨語及愁言
若卸此牢升騰日
要憶當年有個編
日用所需宜省儉
無為奢侈誤青年
幸我同胞牢緊念
得些微利早回旋

香山題

There are tens of thousands of poems composed on these walls.
They are all cries of complaint and sadness.
The day I am rid of this prison and attain success,
I must remember that this chapter once existed.
In my daily needs, I must be frugal.
Needless extravagance leads youth to ruin.
All my compatriots should please be mindful.
Once you have some small gains, return home early.

By one from Heungshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan ⏯

食飯下樓地
提防有盜主
錢銀隨 [ 身 ] 去
免失大財利

雖有賊兄
謹慎規矩
有備無患
以次別離

When you go downstairs for meals,
You should beware of thieves.
Take your money with you
To avoid big loss of wealth.

Although there are thieves among us,
Carefully follow this rule.
To be prepared is to avoid disaster,
And in due time you can leave here.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

家窘無地難覓食
無人肆意不成器
老父提攜欲美來
因為一言自喪氣

石寧題勒

My family was poor and landless; it was hard to find food;
Yet no one willingly becomes a failure.
My father advised me to come to America;
With a single word I ruined my chance.

Inscribed and carved by Shi Ning

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

因守家園幾十秋
千思萬想始奔勞
竟至埃崙留候所
誰知墨境禁人遊

I tended house and home for dozens of years;
After thinking it over a thousand times, I began this journey.
When I arrived at the island, I was put in the detention center
Who knew that even Mexico forbids entrance?

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

家徒壁立始奔波
浪聲歡同笑呵呵
埃崙念到聞禁往
無非皺額奈天何

Because my house had bare walls, I began rushing all about.
The waves are happy, laughing "Ha-ha!"
When I arrived on Island, I heard I was forbidden to land.
I could do nothing but frown and feel angry at Heaven.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

木屋拘留幾十天
所囚墨例致牽連
可惜英雄無用武
只聽音來策祖鞭

從今遠別此樓中
各位鄉君眾歡同
莫道其間皆西式
設成玉砌變如籠

Detained in this wooden house for several tens of days,
It is all because of the Mexican exclusion law that implicates me.
It's a pity heroes have no way of exercising their prowess.
I can only await the word so that I can snap Zu's whip.

From now on, I am departing far from this building.
All of my fellow villagers are rejoicing with me.
Don't say that everything within is Western style.
Even if it is built of jade, it has turned into a cage.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

寒月照梅花

A cold moon shines on the plum blossoms

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

此人金山
二十二天
知我無銀
不得住墨
諸君提防

I’ve been here at Gold Mountain
For twenty-two days.
Know that because I have no money,
I cannot live in Mexico.
Everyone be careful.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

趙子龍一身是膽

先問客棧往墨方
任揭銀兩若如何
真否時聞應是假
可到美國又 [ 無 ] 銀
強蠻醫生又種痘
惡種牛 [ 菜 ] 食三 [ 餐 ]
眾人看過真可惜
仍係家貧出外洋

民國捨年三月初二鐵城 [ 流 ] 口口口

General Zhao Zilong’s Whole Body was Courage

I first asked the innkeeper, to get to Mexico,
Need I borrow many silver taels?
Is it true what I heard then? I think not!
He said I could go to America without any money.
Cruel barbarian doctors give us smallpox shots;
Nasty cow thistles are served three meals a day.
Everyone has seen this—how pitiful it is.
Yet our families are poor, so we cross the foreign seas.

By a Wanderer from the City of Iron
March 2, 1921

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

諸君
世界金錢

For everyone
World money

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

環山河塗

民國十年三月二十四日搭南京到刻

Surrounded by mountains and tidal shores.

Inscribed by a passenger who arrived on the SS Nanking
24th day of the 3rd month, Year 10 of the Republic

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

黄家子弟本香城
挺身投筆赴美京
買棹到了金山地
誰知授我過埃崙
我國圖強無比樣
船泊岸邊直可登

民國十三廿肆晨
逍遙子鐵城閒筆

I am a member of the Wong clan from Heung City.
I threw away my writing brush and pushed forward, journeying to the capital of the U.S.
I bought an oar and arrived in the land of Gold Mountain.
Who was to know they would banish me to Island?
If my country had contrived to make herself strong, this never would have happened.
Then when the ship had docked, we could have gone directly ashore.

Dawn of the 24th, in the thirteenth year of the Republic
Idle brushstrokes of a wanderer from the Town of Iron

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

行船 [ 的 ] 人
到來花旗
不用分文

Sailors on board ships
Come to the land of the Flowery Flag
Without paying a penny.

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

何忍厄英雄
口該耐慘痛
口身淪熱血
口棟憤填胸
口聽他人榻
口橋振瞶聾
口 [ 著 ] 他日事
改口傻昏庸

How can a hero bear to be restrained?
. . . I should endure the sharp pain.
. . . Yet my body is engulfed in hot blood,
. . . And anger fills my chest.
. . . I listen to others talking in their bunks,
. . . And am struck deaf and dumb.
. . . [Thinking of] past days,
I become dazed and confused.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

刻薄同胞實可憐
醫生剌血最心酸
冤情滿腹憑誰訴
徘徊搔首問蒼天

It is indeed pitiable, the harsh treatment of our fellow countrymen.
The doctor extracting blood caused us the greatest anguish.
Our stomachs are full of grievances, but to whom can we tell them?
We can but pace to and fro, scratch our heads, and question the blue heavens.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

美有強權無公理
囹圄吾人也罹辜
不由分說真殘酷
俯首回思莫奈何

陳題

America has power, but not justice.
In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty.
Given no opportunity to explain, it was really brutal.
I bow my head in reflection, but there is nothing I can do.

By Chan

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

木樓被困正堪憂
儼然犯罪坐監牢
百般苛待真難受
惟望同胞雪此仇

Being imprisoned in this wooden shack is precisely the cause of my worry.
It is like sitting in jail for committing a crime.
The hundred different abuses are really difficult to endure.
My only hope is that my compatriots will avenge this grievance.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

蛟龍失水螻蟻欺
猛虎遭囚小兒戲
被困安敢與爭雄
得勢復仇定有期

The dragon out of water is humiliated by ants;
The fierce tiger that is caged is baited by a child.
As long as I am imprisoned, how can I dare strive for supremacy?
An advantageous position for revenge will surely come one day.

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

[ 動] 程一天關
僻野半年閒
來時容乜易
此處甚艱難

I set out, and one day was locked up;
In a wild place, half a year idle.
Coming here was so easy,
Yet this place is bitter and hard.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

留筆除劍到美洲
誰知到此淚雙流
倘若得志成功日
定斬胡人草不留

Leaving behind my writing brush and removing my sword, I came to America.
Who was to know two streams of tears would flow upon arriving here?
If there comes a day when I will have attained my ambition and become successful,
I will certainly behead the barbarians and spare not a single blade of grass.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

華人往美甚艱難
愁盡幾多在此方
番奴特強欺我國
民為富強滅番邦

宣統 [ 二 ] 年二月
寧邑靈 [ 村 ] 人 [ 題 ]
劉口口

It’s hard for Chinese to come to America;
There is so much sadness in this place.
The foreign slaves have always bullied and cheated our country;
When the people are rich and strong, we’ll destroy the foreign lands.

Inscribed by Liu XX
Ning County, Ling Village
2nd Month, 2nd Year of the Xuantong Reign

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

牢籠躍入出無能
無任傷悲血淚橫
精衛啣砂填夙恨
征鴻訴月哀頻生
子卿絕域誰憐問
阮籍途窮空哭德
芳草幽蘭怨凋落
那時方得任升騰

台邑李鏡波題

After leaping into prison, I cannot come out.
From endless sorrows, tears and blood streak.
The jingwei bird carries gravel to fill its old grudge.
The migrating wild goose complains to the moon, mourning his harried life.
When Ziqing was in distant lands, who pitied and inquired after him?
When Ruan Ji reached the end of the road, he shed futile tears.
The scented grass and hidden orchids complain of withering and falling.
When may I be allowed to soar at my own pleasing?

By Lee Gengbo of Toishan

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

進伙大吉

Great Blessings to Those Who Enter This House

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

水景如苔千里曲
陸路無涯路步難
平風到埠心如是
安樂誰知住木樓

The seascape resembles lichen twisting and turning for a thousand li.
There is no shore to land, and it is difficult to walk.
With a gentle breeze I arrived at the city thinking all would be so.
At ease, how was one to know he was to live in a wooden building?

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

特勸同胞不可憂
雖然被困在木樓
他日中華興轉後
檀用炸彈滅美洲

I strongly advise my countrymen not to worry,
Even though you are imprisoned in a wooden building.
Someday after China rises and changes,
She will be adept at using bombs to obliterate America.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

偶感七絕

無賴鄉心
偶感離情
可憐今夜
獨照他鄉

民國初年九月[ 四 ] [日]
台邑口口村人
李鏡波題
天洋丸

Random Thoughts

Unbidden, my homesick heart
Feels the sting of parting.
Sadly, the moon this night
Shines only on a foreign land.

4th [??] Day [??], 9th Month,
1st Year of the Republic
of China (1912)
Inscribed by Li Jingbo of
[??] Village, Taishan
Tenyō Maru

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

偶感

親老家貧
寒來暑往
無情白鬼
悲憤填膺

台邑李鏡波題

Random Feelings

My parents are old; my family is poor.
Cold weather comes; hot weather goes.
Heartless white devils,
Sadness and anger fill my heart.

By Lee Gengbo of Toishan

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

立囚身沾巾
作富人苦難

I became a prisoner—tears wet my handkerchief;
To become a man of wealth—bitterness and hardship.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

揖別知己出外洋
豈知胡虜困我身
自古強權無公理
有何妙策出牢籠
一旦楼回歸國去
數月工程付水中
可惜馮唐容易老
何其李廣最難封

香山

I bowed farewell to my close friends and went abroad.
How was I to know the barbarians would imprison me?
From antiquity, users of brute force have had no sense of justice.
Are there any clever schemes to escape this prison?
If I am deported and sent back to China one day,
Then several months' efforts will have been thrown into the water.
What a pity that Feng Tang aged so easily.
Why was it most difficult for Li Guang to win honors?

Heungshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

萬望革軍成功竣
維持祖國礦務通
造多戰艦來美境
滅盡白人誓不容

花邑人題

I have ten thousand hopes that the revolutionary armies will complete their victory
And help make the mining enterprises successful in the ancestral land.
They will build many battleships and come to the U.S. territory,
Vowing never to stop till the white men are completely annihilated.

By someone from Fayuan

Listen to the poem in Fah Yuen ⏯

詳恨番奴不奉公
頻施苛例逞英雄
凌虐華僑兼背約
百般專制驗勾蟲

I thoroughly hate the barbarians because they do not respect justice.
They continually promulgate harsh laws to show off their prowess.
They oppress the overseas Chinese and also violate treaties.
They examine for hookworms and practice hundreds of despotic acts.

Listen to the poem in Fah Yuen ⏯

困囚木屋常愁悶
憶別家鄉月幾圓
家人倚望音書勿
憑誰傳語報平安

木屋監囚愁悶多
記憶來時歷苦楚
過關未卜是何日
空令歲月易蹉跎

台山氏翁題

Imprisoned in this wooden building, I am always sad and bored.
I remember since I left my native village, it has been several full moons.
The family at home is leaning on the door, urgently looking for letters.
Whom can I count on to tell them I am well?

Prisoners in this wooden building constantly suffer sadness and boredom.
I remember the hardships I had to endure when I was coming here.
I cannot prophesy on which day I will cross the barrier.
The years and months are easily spent in vain.

Composed by an old man from Toishan

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

忝屬同群事感哀
計音誰遞故鄉回
痛君騎鶴歸冥去
有客乘槎赴美來
淚鎖孤魂悲杜宇
愁牽旅夢到陽台
可憐藥石施醫誤
險被焚屍一炬灰

This unworthy one with the group is grief-stricken.
Who will transmit the news of death back to the village?
I mourn your having ridden the crane to return to the dark regions.
A traveler arrived in America on a ship.
Tears enveloped the lonely soul as the cuckoo uttered its mournful cry.
Sorrow has led me to dream of traveling to the Terrace of Yang.
It is a pity that medicine was wrongly prescribed.
The corpse was nearly cremated to ashes.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

噩耗傳聞實可哀
弔君何日裹屍回
無能瞑目憑誰訴
有識應知悔此來
千古念愁千古恨
思鄉空對望鄉臺
未酬壯志埋壞土
知爾雄心死不灰

Shocking news, truly sad, reached my ears.
We mourn you. When will they wrap your corpse for return?
You cannot close your eyes. On whom are you depending to voice your complaints?
If you had foresight, you should have regretted coming here.
Now you will be forever sad and forever resentful.
Thinking of the village, one can only futilely face the Terrace for Gazing Homeward.
Before you could fulfill your lofty goals, you were buried beneath clay and earth.
I know that even death could not destroy your ambition.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

狼醫要驗勾蟲症
不能登陸運不靈
青年何苦輕生命
冤沉二字向誰鳴

The savage doctors examine for hookworms.
I could not go ashore because fate was not kind.
Why should a young man take his life so lightly?
To whom should I cry out for redress of these terrible wrongs.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

憶自動輪來美洲
迄今月缺兩輪流
欲寄安書恨期乏
家人懸望空悠悠

I remember since boarding a ship to America
Till now, the moon has waned twice.
There is no mail service to send a letter telling of my safe arrival.
The family is expectant, but their hopes are in vain.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

牢騷滿腹甚難休
默默沉沉祇自憂
時望山前云霧鎖
恰似更加一點愁

香山流蕩子題

My belly is so full of discontent it is really difficult to relax.
I can only worry silently to myself.
At times I gaze at the cloud- and fog-enshrouded mountain-front.
It only deepens my sadness.

By a wanderer from Heungshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki) ⏯

埃崙偶感

飄零湖海倏經秋
萬劫繞過作楚囚
伍子吹簫懷雪恨
蘇卿持節誓報仇
霽雲射矢非多事
勾踐臥薪卻有由
激烈肝腸輕一決
蒼天諾否此志酬

台山助苗長者題

Random Thoughts on the Island

Drifting alone in the ocean, autumn suddenly passed.
I have just gone through ten thousand calamities; still I am a prisoner from Chu.
When Wu Zixu played his flute, he thought of erasing his grievances.
When Su Ziqing held his tasseled staff, he vowed he would one day avenge his wrongs.
When Jiyun shot an arrow at the enemy, he was not doing it to meddle.
When Goujian slept on firewood, he had a reason.
My inflamed liver and bowels are prepared to take life lightly and engage in a life-and death struggle.
Will the blue heavens allow me to fulfill this ambition or not?

By someone from Toishan who helps sprouts grow

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

滿既亡矣
漢已興矣

The Manchu have lost;
The Han have risen.

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

忝屬同群事感哀
計音誰遞故鄉回
痛君騎鶴歸冥去
有客乘槎赴美來
淚鎖孤魂悲杜宇
愁牽旅夢到陽台
可憐藥石施醫誤
險被焚屍一炬灰

This unworthy one with the group is grief-stricken.
Who will transmit the news of death back to the village?
I mourn your having ridden the crane to return to the dark regions.
A traveler arrived in America on a ship.
Tears enveloped the lonely soul as the cuckoo uttered its mournful cry.
Sorrow has led me to dream of traveling to the Terrace of Yang.
It is a pity that medicine was wrongly prescribed.
The corpse was nearly cremated to ashes.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

噩耗傳聞實可哀
弔君何日裹屍回
無能瞑目憑誰訴
有識應知悔此來
千古念愁千古恨
思鄉空對望鄉臺
未酬壯志埋壞土
知爾雄心死不灰

Shocking news, truly sad, reached my ears.
We mourn you. When will they wrap your corpse for return?
You cannot close your eyes. On whom are you depending to voice your complaints?
If you had foresight, you should have regretted coming here.
Now you will be forever sad and forever resentful.
Thinking of the village, one can only futilely face the Terrace for Gazing Homeward.
Before you could fulfill your lofty goals, you were buried beneath clay and earth.
I know that even death could not destroy your ambition.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

木屋銘

樓不在高 有窗則明
島不在遠 煙治埃崙
嗟此木屋 阻我行程
四壁油漆綠
週圍草色青
喧嘩多鄉里
守夜有巡丁
可以施運動 孔方兄
有孩子之亂耳
無咕嗶之勞形
南望醫生房
西瞭陸軍營
作者云 何樂之有

Inscription about a Wooden Building

A building does not have to be tall; if it has windows, it will be bright.
Island is not far, Angel Island.
Alas, this wooden building disrupts my traveling schedule.
Paint on the four walls is green,
And green is the grass that surrounds.
It is noisy because of the many country folk,
And there are watchmen guarding during the night.
To exert influence, one can use a square-holed elder brother.
There are children who disturb the ears,
But there are no incoherent sounds that cause fatigue.
I gaze to the south at the hospital
And look to the west at the army camp.
This author says, "What happiness is there in this?"

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

兩經滄海歷風塵
木屋羈留倍痛深
國弱亟當齊努力
狂瀾待挽仗同群

Twice I have passed through the blue ocean, experienced the wind and dust of journey.
Confinement in the wooden building has pained me doubly.
With a weak country, we must all join together in urgent effort.
It depends on all of us together to roll back the wild wave.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

又題七絕一首

天涯漂泊悔風塵
口口棲 [ 居 ] 屈劫身
口口應知民族胶
口口牛馬任他人

西文鄒題

[I here] inscribe another heptasyllabic quatrain poem.

I wandered across the world, and endured much hardship;
Now I dwell in a wooden building, and suffer coercion and abuse.
Compatriots should know that our race is despised;
Let it be others who labor like oxen and horses.

Inscribed by Zou Xiwen

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

雄鷹亦易馴
能屈始能伸
也歷千年劫
曾困七日陳
偉人多本色
名士樂天真
得失縈懷抱
心猿證悟禪

The male eagle is also easy to tame.
One must be able to bend before one can stretch.
China experienced calamities for a thousand years.
Confucius was surrounded in Chen for seven days.
Great men exhibit quality;
Scholars take pride in being themselves.
Gains and losses are entangled in my bosom.
My restlessness elicits self-awakening.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

批消半載無消息
誰知今日撥回唐
船中推浪珠淚落
清夜三思苦難堪

For half a year after I had been refused entry, I heard no news.
Who was to know that today I would be deported and sent back to Tang?
On the ship, I will have to endure the waves; teardrops fall.
On a clear night, thinking it over three times, the bitterness is difficult to bear.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

無聊百感困監樓
觸景愁人淚怎收
曾記動輪來美境
迄今回溯月返流

Bored and filled with a hundred feelings, I am imprisoned in the building.
Seeing the surroundings stirs one who is sad. How can one stop the tears?
I recall the ship starting off for the land of America.
Looking back, the moon has repeated a cycle.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

梯航遠涉歷重洋
風餐露宿苦自嘗
蘇武淪胡歸有日
文公遇雪嘆當年
自古英雄多磨折
到底男兒志未伸
滿腹苦衷聊代表
留為紀念勵同魂

中華民國六年三月十三日

On a long voyage I traveled across the sea.
Feeding on wind and sleeping on dew, I tasted hardships.
Even though Su Wu was detained among the barbarians, he would one day return home.
When he encountered a snowstorm, Wengong sighed, thinking of bygone years.
In days of old, heroes underwent many ordeals.
I am, in the end, a man whose goal is unfulfilled.
Let this be an expression of the torment that fills my belly.
Leave this as a memento to encourage fellow souls.

13th day of the third month in the sixth year of the Republic

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

國民不為甘為牛
意至美洲作營謀
洋樓高聳無緣住
誰知棲所是監牢

Instead of remaining a citizen of China, I willingly became an ox.
I intended to come to America to earn a living.
The Western-style buildings are lofty, but I have not the luck to live in them.
How was anyone to know that my dwelling place would be a prison?

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

夙幕花旗幾優哉
即時籌款動程來
風波閱月已歷盡
監牢居所受災磨
仰望屋崙相咫尺
願回祖國負耕鋤
滿腹牢騷難寢寐
聊書數句表心裁

I used to admire the land of the Flowery Flag as a country of abundance.
I immediately raised money and started my journey.
For over a month, I have experienced enough winds and waves.
Now on an extended sojourn in jail, I am subject to the ordeals of prison life.
I look up and see Oakland so close by.
I wish to go back to my motherland to carry the farmer's hoe.
Discontent fills my belly, and it is difficult for me to sleep.
I just write these few lines to express what is on my mind.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

憑欄翹首望雲天
一片山河盡黯然
東蒙失陷歸無日
中原恢復賴青年
誅奸惟有常山舌
殺賊須揚祖逖鞭
憶我埃崙如蜷伏
傷心故國復何言

I lean on the railing and lift my head to look at the cloudy sky.
All the mountains and rivers are dark.
Eastern Mongolia is lost, and the date of her return is uncertain.
The recovery of the Central Plains depends on the youth.
Only the tongue of Changshan can slay the villainous.
To kill the bandit, we must wave the whip of Zu Ti.
I am ashamed to be curled up like a worm on Island.
I grieve for my native land, but what else can I say?

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

漂泊七萬里長途只願得到花旗異日營 [ 業 ] 口
我榮歸還故鄉
疲勞二十年心血何期留住埃崙他方落既一
場美事付汪洋

I wandered on a long journey of 70,000 miles,
All from a desire to reach the land of the Flowery Flag.
I hoped that one day when my business was successful,
I’d return in glory to my hometown.
I’ve exhausted my mind and body for twenty years—
How much longer must I stay on this island?
When somewhere I find a place and settle down,
My beautiful dream will be consigned to the vast sea.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

四壁蟲唧唧
居人多歎息
思及家中事
不覺淚沾滴

The insects chirp outside the four walls.
The inmates often sigh.
Thinking of affairs back home,
Unconscious tears wet my lapel.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

勞盡鄉鄰憶想千計週貸數百餘圓
只愿經營墨國
儼如為取報應一般日求三次令尹
為何留困埃崙

搭差 [ 拿 ] [ 火 ] 船客作

I begged my friends and neighbors,
And thought of a thousand plans,
In order to borrow several hundred dollars,
Because I wanted to do business in Mexico.
It seems like I’m being punished for some transgression.
Three times I’ve asked the governor—
Why am I imprisoned on this island?

Written by a passenger from the Steamship China

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

千愁萬恨燃眉間
望登美洲難上難
番奴把我囚困此
列士英雄亦失顏

A thousand sorrows and a ten-thousand-fold hatred burn between my brows.
Hoping to step ashore on the American continent is the most difficult of difficulties.
The barbarians imprison me in this place.
Even a martyr or a hero would change countenance.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

埃崙居處日添愁
面亦黃兮身亦瘦
留難磋磨猶未了
最怕批消打回頭

陳題

Each day, my sorrow increases as I stay on Island.
My face, as well, grows sallow and my body, thin.
My detention and mistreatment have not yet ended.
I am afraid my petition will be denied and I, sent back.

By Chan

Listen to the poem in Fah Yuen ⏯

為口奔馳須忍辱
咬牙秉筆錄情由
同胞發達回唐日
再整戰艦伐美洲

For the sake of the mouth, I rushed about and must tolerate humiliation.
I gritted my teeth, clutched the brush, and recorded the circumstances.
The day my compatriots become prosperous and return to China,
They should once more outfit battleships to punish America.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

東走亞兮西走歐
南來北美苛禁愁
任君入到囚困地
若不流涕也低頭

I went east to Asia; I went west to Europe.
From south, I come to North America, where the harsh exclusion laws cause me worry.
Allowing you to enter the place of imprisonment,
Even if you don't shed tears, you will lower your head.

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

阻攔上埠實堪憐
撥回祖國也心驚
無面見江東父老
只望求富反求貧

Barred from landing, I really am to be pitied.
My heart trembles at being deported and sent back home.
I cannot face the elders east of the river.
I came to seek wealth but instead reaped poverty.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

梓里成群 千金不惜 圖走美
同胞數百 巨資投擲 困埃崙

Flocks of fellow villagers do not refrain from spending thousands of gold pieces to get to America.
Several hundred compatriots invested huge sums but are now imprisoned on Island.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

想起愁來題首詩
因為家窮走花旗
只望來到登岸易
誰知番奴轉例規
刺耳驗血兼驗屎
影有勾蟲須調治
取得洋蚨數十餘
困在醫房苦愁悲
未知何日得痊癒
若得脫身奮志日
一排走清唔向倚
免至凌辱受鬼欺
梓里一看宜謹記
寫我狂言留後知

When I began reflecting, I became sad and composed a poem.
It was because my family was poor that I left for the country of the Flowery Flag.
I only hoped that when I arrived it would be easy to go ashore.
Who was to know the barbarians would change the regulations?
They stab the ear to test the blood, and in addition they examine the excrement.
If there is even a shadow of hookworms, one must be transferred to undergo a cure.
They took several dozen foreign dollars.
Imprisoned in the hospital, I was miserable with grief and sorrow.
I do not know when I will be cured.
If I should escape one day, I need to return to my aspirations.
I will leave this place once and for all and not depend on it,
Thus avoiding humiliation and oppression by the devils.
My fellow villagers seeing this should take heed and remember;
I write my wild words to let those after me know.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

大中華民國萬萬歲
中國
廣東
四陸紀念
愛群社
花開富貴
口黄口
何趙吴黄馮林梁

Long live the great Republic of China!
China
Guangdong
Remembering April 6
Love for the Multitudes Society
Blooming flowers, wealth, and nobility
??, Huang, ??
He, Zhao, Wu, Huang, Feng, Lin, Lian

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

徘徊瞻眺倚窗邊
日月盈昃轉改旋
孔懷兄弟難遇望
淵澄取映浪拋憐

己未年孟春香山谷

Pacing back and forth, I leaned on the windowsill and gazed.
The revolving sun and moon waxed and waned, changing again and again.
I think about my brothers a lot, but we cannot see one another.
The deep, clear water casts reflections as waves toss in sympathy.

Composed in the early spring of the Jiwei year by Guk of Heungshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki) ⏯

山化季節
還我自由
專政苛虐
來日報仇

The season is changing;
Return me my freedom!
Oppressive government and cruel treatment—
One day there will be revenge.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

傷我華僑留木屋
實因種界厄瀛臺
摧殘尚說持人道
應悔當初冒險來

I am distressed that we Chinese are detained in this wooden building.
It is actually racial barriers that cause difficulties on Yingtai Island.
Even while they are tyrannical, they still claim to be humanitarian.
I should regret my taking the risks of coming in the first place.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

愁似濃雲撥不開
思量愁悶輒徘徊
登樓王粲誰憐苦
去國庾郎只自哀

My grief, like dense clouds, cannot be dispersed.
Whether deliberating or being melancholy and bored, I constantly pace to and fro.
Wang Can ascended the tower, but who pitied his sorrow?
Lord Yu, who left his country, could only wail to himself.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

囚困木屋天復天
自由東縛豈堪言
舉目誰歡惟静坐
關心自悶不成眠
日永樽空愁莫解
夜長枕冷倩誰憐
參透箇中孤苦味
何如歸去學耕田

Imprisoned in the wooden building day after day,
My freedom withheld; how can I bear to talk about it?
I look to see who is happy, but they only sit quietly.
I am anxious and depressed and cannot fall asleep.
The days are long and the bottle constantly empty; my sad mood, even so, is not dispelled.
Nights are long and the pillow cold; who can pity my loneliness?
After experiencing such loneliness and sorrow,
Why not just return home and learn to plow the fields?

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

旅居木屋暗傷神
轉眼韶光莫認真
寄語埃崙將來者
翹頭應望是中人

Away from home and living in the wooden building, I am secretly grieved.
Splendor fades with the turn of an eye, so be not too earnest.
I leave words with those who will come to Island in the future.
You should raise your head and observe the people.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

自己想來真苦楚
蒼天今日因如何
困我鄙人在木樓
音信無跡實難過

When I think about it, it is really miserable.
For what reason does the blue heaven today
Imprison this humble person in a wooden building?
With no trace of tidings, it is really distressing

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

埃崙山半樓上樓
囚困離人夏至秋
夢繞三勻歸故里
腸迴九曲偽西歐
時運不濟空自悶
命途多阻共誰憂
倘得他時登美岸
畢拋牢惨付水流

Halfway up the hill on Island, in the building upstairs,
The imprisoned one has been separated from his people summer to autumn.
Three times I dreamed of returning to the native village.
My intestines are agitated in their nine turns by the false Westerner.
I have run into hard times and am uselessly depressed.
There are many obstacles in life, but who will commiserate with me?
If at a later time I am allowed to land on the American shore,
I will toss all the miseries of this jail to the flowing current.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

拋妻子 重洋歷盡 不知受幾多風霜
祇為家貧求白壁
別親朋 萬里飄流 難計捱一切雨雪
都緣囊澀重青蚨

Abandoning wife and child, I crossed an entire ocean. I do not know how much wind and frost I've weathered; it was because my family was poor that I searched for white jade.
Bidding farewell to relatives and friends, I drifted ten thousand li. It is difficult to keep track of all the rain and snow I've endured; it is all due to an empty purse and my reverence for copper coins.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

聞得花旗新埠開 故起踴躍動程來
在處木樓聽消息 未知何日得栽培
當初曾元養曾子 誰知顏路哭顏回
審查之時無一語 故 [ 去 ] 收拾撥返來
[ 遊 ] 子船費日烏有 恰似太公坐釣台

I heard that in the land of the Flowery Flag, a new city was rising;
I stood up, jumped for joy, and began my journey.
Dwelling in the wooden building, I’ve heard news,
And now I don’t know when I’ll be able to help it grow.
In the beginning, Zeng Yuan raised Master Zeng;
Who could have known that Yan Lu would cry for Yan Hui?
When I was interrogated, I didn’t say a word,
And now I’m packing up and being deported.
This wanderer doesn’t have funds for another ship passage now,
So I’ll bide my time, like the Grand Duke on the fishing pier.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

風塵作客走西東
不料今時到監中
因洩機謀山中困
何籌韜略出潛龍
子胥忍藏能雪恨
孫臏忍辱復仇功
我今搂回歸國去
他日富強滅番邦

As a traveler weathering wind and dust, I ran east and west,
But I never expected now to wind up in a prison.
Because my plan was leaked, I am now in difficult straits on the mountain.
How will I devise a strategy so that the hidden dragon can emerge?
Wu Zixu, who endured and hid, was able to redress his grievance.
Sun Bin endured humiliation and was successful in avenging his wrongs.
I am now being deported and sent back to my country.
Someday when we become rich and strong, we will annihilate this barbaric nation.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

上年六月始揚帆
不料今時到此監
耗費金錢千數百
生平孤苦累家兄

The ship set sail last year in the sixth moon.
I did not expect to be in this prison now.
I squandered a thousand and several hundred coins.
All my life I have been wretched, helpless, and now my troubles have implicated my elder brother.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

Island 81:
今日兄弟困牢籠 袛為祖國
他日同胞欲自由 務須努力

Today, we brothers are imprisoned in a jail; it is only because of our ancestral land.
If our countrymen want freedom in the future, then they must make an effort.

Voices 47:
今日兄弟困牢籠只為祖國
刻毒流外溢
他年生師正強盛終 [ 以 ] 宗 [ 祠 ]
由喜殺番奴

南邑次 [ 郎 ] 題

Today we brothers are imprisoned in a jail—only for the sake of our ancestral land,
Evil poison flows out like a flood.
In future years our armies will become strong at last—then for the ancestral shrines
We will joyfully kill the foreign slaves.

Composed by Second Brother from Nanyi

No recording available

斬草除根絕其光

Chop the weeds and pull the roots—destroy their glory.

Listen to the inscription in Cantonese ⏯

番奴狠毒不可當
倚仗蠻強虐我唐
大眾同胞遭至此
猶如罪犯鎖監房

The barbarians' cruelty is overwhelming.
Confident of their might, they oppress us Chinese.
All our compatriots meet with such treatment.
It is as if we were criminals locked in a jail cell.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

辛苦風塵多歷年
[ 力 ] [ 挽 ] 險阻苦難宣
因國狂瀾念齊力
中國從此逞強勸

木樓遊子心忉忉
苛例受拘意若何
狼醫驗明蟲疾有
[ 清 ] [ 清 ] 白白話糊塗

Misery and travail for so many long years;
Swept along hard roads, bitterness hard to express.
We must strive together to turn back the wild waves;
China from then on will show its great power.

Careworn is the wanderer in the wooden building;
How to bear harsh laws and confinement?
Cruel doctors found I have parasites;
My heart is pure, my words confused.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

志四方
苦難當
何有碍
入醫房
口忠節
口污傷
[ 出 ] 祖国
口返唐

My ambition as grand as the four directions;
This bitterness is hard to bear.
What problem was it
That put me in a hospital room?
I am loyal and principled,
But now shamed and wounded.
I had departed my ancestral country,
But am now deported back to Tang.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

今日為冬末
明朝是分春
交替兩年景
愁煞木樓人

Today is the last day of winter;
Tomorrow morning is the vernal equinox.
One year's prospects have changed to another.
Sadness kills the person in the wooden building.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

半生逐逐為求名
借問何時可愜情
藥石無靈成瘧疾
岐黃未遇卻心驚
蒼天想必神能佑
丹鼎無需病自平
從此聞飆雲漢起
行看萬里奮鵬程

Half of my life has been spent running here and there searching for fame.
I ask myself when I will be satisfied.
All medicine was useless when I contracted a fever.
I did not see a doctor, but still I was afraid.
I think the gods in heaven surely protected me.
I did not need an alchemist's crucible, and the sickness subsided by itself.
From now on, when I hear a storm brewing in the Milky Way,
I will gaze the distance of one thousand li and resolve to rise to the heights of the peng.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

居樓偶感

日處埃崙不自由
蕭然身世混監囚
牢騷滿腹憑詩寫
塊壘撐胸借酒浮
理悟盈虛因國弱
道參消長為富求
閒來別有疏狂想
得允西奴登美洲

Random Thoughts While Staying in the Building

For days I have been without freedom on Island.
In reduced circumstances now, I mingle with the prisoners.
Grievances fill my belly; I rely on poetry to express them.
A pile of clods bloats my chest, and I wash it down with wine.
Because my country is weak, I have become aware of the laws of growth and decay.
In pursuit of wealth, I have come to understand the principles of expansion and diminution.
When I am idle, I have this wild dream
That I have gained the Western barbarian's consent to enter America.

Listen to the poem sung in Toishanese ⏯

寄語同居勿過憂
且把閒愁付水流
小受折磨非是苦
破崙曾被島中囚

This is a message to those who live here not to worry excessively.
Instead, you must cast your idle worries into the flowing stream.
Experiencing a little ordeal is not hardship.
Napoleon was once a prisoner on an island.

Listen to the poem in Toishanese ⏯

木屋閒來把窗開
曉風明月共徘徊
故鄉遠憶雲山斷
小島微聞寒雁哀
失路英雄空說劍
窮途騷士且登台
應知國弱人心死
何事囚困此處來

Being idle in the wooden building, I opened a window.
The morning breeze and bright moon lingered together.
I reminisce about the native village far away, cut off by clouds and mountains.
On the little island, the wailing of cold, wild geese can be faintly heard.
The hero who has lost his way can talk meaninglessly of the sword.
The poet at the end of the road can only ascend a tower.
One should know that when the country is weak, the people's spirit dies.
Why else do we come to this place to be imprisoned?

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

感動 [ 春 ] [ 花 ] 三月霧
囚人風滿五更寒

朱題

I’m moved by spring flowers in the third month fog;
To the prisoner, the wind is filled with fifth watch cold.

Composed by Zhu

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

入此國之人
因為家分起
賣田又賣地
欲往來花旗
家人向住你
誰知難上難

People who enter this country
Come only because the family is poor.
Selling their fields and lands,
They wanted to come to the land of the Flowery Flag.
The family all looks to you.
Who is to understand it is the most difficult of difficulties!

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

拋離鄉井別樁萱
遠盼雲山袂盈珠
遊子志欲陶朱富
誰知被圈埃崙間 

椎膺中華囊阮籍
利權外溢國恥兼
同胞知機圖奮志
誓奪美國報前仇

香山遊子氏書

I left the village well behind me, bade farewell to my father and mother.
Now I gaze at distant clouds and mountains, my sleeves drenched by tears.
The wandering son longed to be wealthy like Taozhu.
Who would have known I would be imprisoned on Island?

I beat my breast when I think of China and cry bitterly like Ruan Ji.
Our country's wealth is being drained by foreigners, causing us to suffer national humiliations.
My fellow countrymen, have foresight, plan to be resolute.
And vow to conquer America and avenge previous wrongs!

By a wanderer from Heungshan

Listen to the poem in Heungshan (Shekki, Long Du) ⏯

好世界口口

喜事重重復重重
女兒出閣子乘龍
孰得令子為佳婿
且把嚴親作岳翁
奠雁不須甥別 [ 離 ]
歸寧何至髮妝容
總之一生家庭樂
肥水唔流遠處用

A Good World

Joyful events come, one and then the other;
Daughters leave their chambers, and sons ride on dragons.
How to make your honored son into a fine son-in-law?
Just take this strict father, and make him his father-in-law!
There’s no need for the groom to leave home to perform the “offering of the geese,”
And why should the bride get all dressed up for the “ceremony of return?”
In short, for a lifetime of family happiness,
Don’t spread manure in faraway places!

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

木樓寄 [ 跡 ] 甚傷悲
關山渡頭銷愁眉
信音莫達空思想
牢騷悵望早脫離

觸景興懷甚可哀
囚困樓宇 [ 遽 ] 傳來
苛虐 [ 何 ] [ 忍 ] 肝腸斷
月餘遠遊泪滿 [ 顋 ]

祖國亂為惡習彊
頑錮日越逞豪強
誰能團結華裔務
人人華僑放橋梁

接觸離情最可憐
每逢佳節倍思親
遍知兄弟登高處
偏插菜萸少一人

中國船客
黃祖名題

Dwelling in the Wooden Building, I give in to despair;
Between high hills and the ferry pier, my brows furrow in pain.
Letters do not arrive, my thoughts hopeless;
In bitterness and sadness, I watch for my early release.

Viewing the landscape arouses deep feelings;
Sadness strikes the prisoner in the wooden building.
Harsh treatment is hard to bear, and my heart is breaking;
After more than a month of wandering, tears wet my cheeks.

The ancestral land is in chaos, and vile practices remain;
More and more each day, diehards exert their tyrannical power.
Who can unify the affairs of the Han people?
All compatriots overseas should build a bridge home.

Experiencing parting is the saddest thing;
When holidays come, I remember my family even more.
From afar, I know my brothers are climbing to a high place,
Dogwood sprays in their clothes, short one man.

Inscribed by Huang Zuming
A passenger on the SS China

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

少年子弟未知愁
來到金山困木樓
不悟眼前悲苦境
還要終日戲如牛

The young children do not yet know worry.
Arriving at Gold Mountain, they were imprisoned in the wooden building.
Not understanding the sad and miserable situation before their eyes,
They still want to play all day like calves.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

人 [ 守 ] 口 [ 庭 ] 卅餘秋
覓食奔波出外遊
千里馳驅到美境
萬般苛待禁監樓

I tended [house and home] for more than thirty autumns;
Rushing about in search of food, I wandered abroad.
After a swift thousand- mile journey, I reached American lands—
And was locked in a jail, where there are ten-thousand kinds of cruelty.

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯

祖國危亡甚可憂
二百年歷工劍剖
同胞早復國強志
漢家從此後無愁

國耻難忘 [ 思 ] 囚生
英雄何乐早列盟
他年若得風雲會
願歸展盔自縱橫

黃祖名題

I’m distressed our ancestral land is in such peril—
Slashed and gouged for over two hundred years.
Compatriots must renew their will to strengthen the country;
Chinese from then on will have no sadness.

The national shame is hard to forget, and we became prisoners;
What joy is here for heroes?—we must soon unite!
In years to come, when there is a gathering of warriors,
I wish to go back, strap on my armor, and take my vengeance.

Inscribed by Huang Zuming

Listen to the poem in Cantonese ⏯