明日歌 Song of Tomorrow

明日歌
míng rì gē
Song of Tomorrow

by Qian Hetan

[作品简介]： 《明日歌》是明代的钱鹤滩所作。这一首诗七次提到“明日”，反复告诫人们要珍惜时间，今日的事情今日做，不要拖到明天，不要蹉跎岁月。世间人的一生都在追求，诗人以自己为例写下《明日歌》，劝告迷失的世人珍惜每一天活在当下，莫要活在明天的日子里。

[Pinyin; Literal translation; Analysis:]

míng rì fù míng rì ，míng rì hé qí duō
明日复明日，明日何其多。
Tomorrow, again, another tomorrow
Tomorrows are such many

These two lines are the common excuse used by many people to postpone things that they need to do. Since there are so many tomorrows, it is alright to feel ease about today.

wǒ shēng dài míng rì ，wàn shì chéng cuō tuó
我生待明日，万事成蹉跎。
My life is waiting for tomorrow
All things become wasted times

If our life is always waiting for tomorrows and not focusing on this moment, then everything will bear no fruits at all and all our time will become wasted time.

shì rén ruò bèi míng rì lèi ，chūn lái qiū qù lǎo jiāng zhì
世人若被明日累，春来秋去老将至。
People of the world are implicated by tomorrows
Spring went and autumn came, old age is going to be upon us

The idling thinking of relying on tomorrows made people live from one day to another just like bounding balls, from one second to another, from one season to another and all the year ended up gone with nothing accomplished.

zhāo kàn shuǐ dōng liú ，mù kàn rì xī zhuì
朝看水东流，暮看日西坠。
Morning I saw water flowing to the east
During sunset, I saw the sun falling down to the west

The river water is constantly flowing to their destined direction. The sun is always setting to the west side day after day. No one can stop the motion of rivers or the sun, just like no one can tell the time to stop for a second.

bǎi nián míng rì néng jǐ hé ，qǐng jun1 tīng wǒ míng rì gē
百年明日能几何，请君听我明日歌。
How can we do with a hundred years' tomorrow
I invite you to listen to my Song of Tomorrow

If we keep the idling thoughts and waiting for tomorrow day after day, then even we have one hundred of years to live on, we won't be able to achieve anything. The poet ends the poem by inviting readers to listen this Song of Tomorrow and hope people may realize the importance of cherishing time and the moment.