《紅樓夢》中的《葬花吟》是林黛玉所作的一首著名詩篇，表達了她對生命短暫、命運無常的感慨。以下是對《葬花吟》的翻譯：
花謝花飛飛滿天，紅消香斷有誰憐？ 遊絲軟系飄春榭，落絮輕沾撲繡簾。 閨中女兒惜春暮，愁緒滿懷無釋處。 手把花鋤出繡簾，忍踏落花來復去？ 柳絲榆莢自芳菲，不管桃飄與李飛。 桃李明年能再發，明年閨中知有誰？ 三月香巢已壘成，梁間燕子太無情！ 明年花發雖可啄，卻不道人去梁空巢也傾。 一年三百六十日，風刀霜劍嚴相逼。 明媚鮮妍能幾時？一朝漂泊難尋覓。 花開易見落難尋，階前悶殺葬花人。 獨把花鋤淚暗灑，灑上空枝見血痕。 杜鵑無語正黃昏，荷鋤歸去掩重門。 青燈照壁人初睡，冷雨敲窗被未溫。 怪奴底事倍傷神？半為憐春半惱春。 憐春忽至惱忽去，至又無言去不聞。 昨宵庭外悲歌發，知是花魂與鳥魂？ 花魂鳥魂總難留，鳥自無言花自羞。 願奴脅下生雙翼，隨花飛到天盡頭。 天盡頭，何處有香丘？ 未若錦囊收艷骨，一抔淨土掩風流。 質本潔來還潔去，強於污淖陷渠溝。 爾今死去儂收葬，未卜儂身何日喪？ 儂今葬花人笑痴，他年葬儂知是誰？ 試看春殘花漸落，便是紅顏老死時。 一朝春盡紅顏老，花落人亡兩不知！
翻譯：
Flowers wither and petals fly, filling the sky,
Their red fades, their fragrance breaks, who will pity them?
Gossamer threads softly cling to the spring pavilion,
Falling catkins lightly touch the embroidered curtains.
The maiden in her chamber grieves for the passing of spring,
Her heart filled with sorrow, with no place to release it.
Holding a hoe, she steps out of the embroidered curtain,
How can she bear to tread on the fallen petals, coming and going?
Willow threads and elm pods bloom on their own,
Unconcerned with the falling peach and plum blossoms.
Peach and plum may bloom again next year,
But who will be in the chamber next spring?
In March, the fragrant nest was built,
But the swallows in the beams are heartless!
Next year, though the flowers may bloom again,
Who knows if the beams will be empty, the nest destroyed?
Three hundred and sixty days a year,
The wind and frost are relentless and harsh.
How long can beauty and freshness last?
Once scattered, they are hard to find again.
Flowers bloom easily, but their fall is hard to trace,
Before the steps, the mourner of flowers is filled with grief.
Alone, she holds the hoe, tears silently falling,
Falling on bare branches, leaving traces of blood.
The cuckoo is silent as dusk falls,
She returns with the hoe, closing the heavy gate.
The green lamp illuminates the wall as she falls asleep,
The cold rain taps on the window, the blanket still cold.
Why is her heart so heavy with sorrow?
Half for the love of spring, half for its vexation.
She loves its sudden arrival, but is vexed by its sudden departure,
It comes without words, leaves without a sound.
Last night, outside the courtyard, a mournful song arose,
Was it the soul of the flowers or the birds?
The souls of flowers and birds are hard to keep,
Birds remain silent, flowers remain shy.
I wish I could grow wings under my arms,
And fly with the flowers to the ends of the sky.
At the ends of the sky, where is the fragrant mound?
Better to gather the beautiful bones in a brocade bag,
And bury them in a handful of pure earth to preserve their grace.
Pure in origin, pure in departure,
Better than being sullied in the mud and ditches.
Today, I bury the flowers,
But who will bury me when my time comes?
Today, I am laughed at for burying flowers,
But who will bury me in the years to come?
Look, as spring fades, the flowers fall,
And so too will beauty fade and life end.
When spring ends, beauty fades,
Flowers fall, and people die, neither knowing the other.
這首詩充滿了對生命無常、青春易逝的哀嘆，展現了林黛玉敏感而多愁善感的性格。