| 永和九年，歲在癸丑，暮春之初， | In the ninth year of Yonghe, at the beginning of the late spring, |
| 會于會稽山陰之蘭亭，修禊事也。 | we have gathered at the Orchid Pavilion in the North of Kuaiji Mountain for the purification ritual. |
| 群賢畢至，少長咸集。 | All the literati, the young and the old, have congregated. |
| 此地有崇山峻嶺，茂林修竹； | There are high mountains and steep hills, dense wood and slender bamboos, |
| 又有清流激湍，映帶左右。 | as well as a limpid flowing stream reflecting the surrounding. |
| 引以為流觴曲水，列坐其次； | We sit by a redirected stream with floating wine goblets. |
| 雖無絲竹管絃之盛， | Although short of the company of music, |
| 一觴一詠，亦足以暢敘幽情。 | the wine and poems are sufficient for us to exchange our feelings. |
| 是日也，天朗氣清，惠風和暢。 | As for this day, the sky is clear and the air is fresh; the mild breeze greets us. |
| 仰觀宇宙之大， | I look up at the immense universe. |
| 俯察品類之盛； | I look down at myriad works [of poetry]. |
| 所以遊目騁懷，足以極視聽之娛，信可樂也。 | As our eyes wander, so do our minds too. Indeed, it is a pure delight for all our senses. |
| 夫人之相與，俯仰一世， | Acquaintance will quickly span a lifetime. |
| 或取諸懷抱，晤言一室之內； | Some would share their ambitions in a chamber; |
| 或因寄所託，放浪形骸之外。 | others may indulge into diverse interests and pursuits. |
| 雖趣舍萬殊，靜躁不同； | The choices are plenty and our temperaments vary. |
| 當其欣於所遇，暫得於己，怏然自足， | We enjoy the momentary satisfactions when pleasures regale us, |
| 不知老之將至。 | but we hardly realize how fast we will grow old. |
| 及其所之既倦，情隨事遷，感慨係之矣。 | When we become tired of our desires and the circumstances change, grief will arise. |
| 向之所欣，俛仰之間，已為陳跡， | What previously gratified us will be in the past, |
| 猶不能不以之興懷； | we cannot help but to mourn. |
| 況修短隨化，終期於盡。 | Whether life is long or short, there is always an end. |
| 古人云： | As the ancients said, |
| 「死生亦大矣。」 | "Birth and death are two ultimate events." |
| 豈不痛哉！ | How agonizing! |
| 每覽昔人興感之由，若合一契； | Reading the past compositions, I can recognize the same melancholy from the ancients. |
| 未嘗不臨文嗟悼，不能喻之於懷。 | I can only lament without being able to verbalize my feelings. |
| 固知一死生為虛誕， | It is absurd to equate life and death, |
| 齊彭殤為妄作。 | and it is equally foolish to think that longevity is the same as the short-lived. |
| 後之視今， | The future generations will look upon us, |
| 亦猶今之視昔， | just like we look upon our past. |
| 悲夫！ | How sad! |
| 故列敘時人，錄其所述； | Hence, we record the people presented here today and their works; |
| 雖世殊事異， | Even though time and circumstances will be different, |
| 所以興懷，其致一也。 | the feelings expressed will remain unchanged. |
| 後之覽者，亦將有感於斯文。 | The future readers shall also empathize the same by reading this poems collection. |
