古文英譯﹕春夜宴桃李園序（唐）李白

夫天地者，萬物之逆旅。光陰者，百代之過客。而浮生若夢，為歡幾何？古人秉燭夜遊，良有以也。況陽春召我以煙景，大塊假我以文章。會桃李之芳園，序天倫之 樂事。群季俊秀，皆為惠連1；吾人詠歌，獨慚康樂2。幽賞未已，高談轉清。開瓊筵以坐花，飛羽觴而醉月。不有佳作，何伸雅懷？如詩不成，罰依金谷酒數。

Preface to Feast on Spring Night in Peach & Plum Garden
by Li Bai of Tang Dynasty

Well, the sky and earth is the inn of all the things.  Time is a passer-by through millenniums.  And the floating life is like a dream.  How much pleasure can we indulge in?  It is right and reasonable for the ancient people to roam at night with a candle in the hand.  And now Spring shows me the misty scenes and Nature gives me beautiful pictures.  We meet in the fragrant Peach and Plum Garden and are enjoying the happiness of family union. All my brothers are handsome and learned like Weilian1, but as I chant poems, I feel ashamed in comparison with Kangle2.  The silent enjoyment doesn』t end yet, and our loud chatting becomes quiet. We hold the feast among flowers and lift cups and get drunk under the moon. If we don』t write poems for the occasion, how can we express our poetic emotions? Whoever can』t compose a poem will have the penalty to drink wine to the number adopted in Jin Gu Garden3.

(notes omitted)