My homeland always seemed distant -
at the source of the rivers,
beyond the frontier,
beside a stranger.
My homeland always seemed distant -
on the peach blossom banks,
on the plains and on the northern tundras,
somewhere unexplored even in dream.
But, when the train door opened
and I saw my mother standing by the tracks -
when the wind lifted her white hair,
carrying on it the gesture she had just made
with her hand -
it was then I knew that my homeland
had never been far from me.
- Li Xiao-luo
我的故乡
一直以为我的故乡在远方
在那些大河的尽头
在关外
在陌生人的身旁
一直以为我的故乡在远方
在那桃花溪畔
在草原雪域，在北国
梦里还没去过的地方
可是，当火车开启
我看见妈妈站在铁轨旁
风把她的白发掀起
风把她刚刚放下去的手势
又掀了起来
我才知道，我的故乡
她从来就没去过远方
- 李小洛
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Beautiful Morning
The same cloudless sky.
The same bright sunlight.
As usual, the pale green window screen stands open.
As usual, both sides quiver.
This morning is just like yesterday morning,
and tomorrow morning will prove similar.
So how is today so wonderful
that every pore of the body yearns to sing out?
Who came this morning
and took away my gloom and chaos?
Took away my dry branches and dead leaves?
For every flower that wilted, two have bloomed.
The water that flowed away has returned with new rain.
What is the reason?
Let me praise the sky I take for granted,
the sun I take for granted,
and the window screen that quivers in the wind.
I must also praise
this cough provoked by the spring pollen
and the garrulous rattle of the pills in the plastic bottle.
You floated here from the manger of dawn,
from spices and linen,
from the sea's troubled face.
You sat across from me
and made the morning perfect.
Made me perfect.
Please don't think of him as just a man.
He is not just a man.
How could he be just a man?
- Liu Ya-li
美好的上午
一样的晴朗天空
一样的明亮阳光
淡绿色的纱质窗帘照常拉开
它在两边一如既往地轻微抖动
今天上午仿佛昨天上午
今天上午也相似于明天上午
为什么偏偏今天上午这样的好啊
身体的每个毛孔都想放声歌唱
The same bright sunlight.
As usual, the pale green window screen stands open.
As usual, both sides quiver.
This morning is just like yesterday morning,
and tomorrow morning will prove similar.
So how is today so wonderful
that every pore of the body yearns to sing out?
Who came this morning
and took away my gloom and chaos?
Took away my dry branches and dead leaves?
For every flower that wilted, two have bloomed.
The water that flowed away has returned with new rain.
What is the reason?
Let me praise the sky I take for granted,
the sun I take for granted,
and the window screen that quivers in the wind.
I must also praise
this cough provoked by the spring pollen
and the garrulous rattle of the pills in the plastic bottle.
You floated here from the manger of dawn,
from spices and linen,
from the sea's troubled face.
You sat across from me
and made the morning perfect.
Made me perfect.
Please don't think of him as just a man.
He is not just a man.
How could he be just a man?
- Liu Ya-li
美好的上午
一样的晴朗天空
一样的明亮阳光
淡绿色的纱质窗帘照常拉开
它在两边一如既往地轻微抖动
今天上午仿佛昨天上午
今天上午也相似于明天上午
为什么偏偏今天上午这样的好啊
身体的每个毛孔都想放声歌唱
是谁在今天上午
拿走了我的晦暗和浑浊
拿走了我的枯枝与败叶
落花谢了一朵又开了两朵
流水携着新雨又流了回来
是什么样的不明原因
让我开口赞美习以为常的天空
习以为常的阳光
还有那随风抖动的窗帘
我还要开口赞美我那
被春天的花粉挑逗的咳嗽
赞美硬塑料瓶子里沙啦啦乱响的白色药粒
你从黎明的马槽里飘来
从香料和麻布中飘来
从波涛汹涌的海面上飘来
你坐在我的对面
让这个上午无限地好
让我无限地好
你们千万不要把他猜想成一个人
那不是一个人
那怎么会是一个人
- 刘亚丽
Ice
I've decided. Starting today, I will melt.
Quietly, under the brilliant golden eyelashes of the sun.
No longer will I cling to my cold, hard self.
Free the affections, eyes, and limbs imprisoned for a whole winter.
Free a simmering band of rioters.
Don't speak with the mouth of a little brook -
speak plainly and clearly, and say the difficult things.
Speak peaceably, but with the voice of thunder.
Don't live the tree's life, shackled to roots of security;
live as the spring wind or the running river, roaming the earth...
As I melt, I realize the pain of love has already suffused me.
Though the tears on my face disappear, they're not dry.
- Hu Gang-yi
冰
我决定，从今天开始融化
在阳光金灿灿的睫毛下悄悄融化
不再坚持自己的冷与硬
释放囚禁一冬的爱情，眼睛，手脚
释放一群好动的暴动分子
我要借小溪的嘴说话
说清澈洁白的话，说一波三折的话
说心平气和的话，也说雷电叱咤的话
不学那树以根拴住安稳的一生
而像春风像奔跑的江河去漫游大地。。。。。。
当融化时，发现爱的疼痛已深入骨髓
我泪流满脸，消失了，泪还未干
- 胡刚毅
Quietly, under the brilliant golden eyelashes of the sun.
No longer will I cling to my cold, hard self.
Free the affections, eyes, and limbs imprisoned for a whole winter.
Free a simmering band of rioters.
Don't speak with the mouth of a little brook -
speak plainly and clearly, and say the difficult things.
Speak peaceably, but with the voice of thunder.
Don't live the tree's life, shackled to roots of security;
live as the spring wind or the running river, roaming the earth...
As I melt, I realize the pain of love has already suffused me.
Though the tears on my face disappear, they're not dry.
- Hu Gang-yi
冰
我决定，从今天开始融化
在阳光金灿灿的睫毛下悄悄融化
不再坚持自己的冷与硬
释放囚禁一冬的爱情，眼睛，手脚
释放一群好动的暴动分子
我要借小溪的嘴说话
说清澈洁白的话，说一波三折的话
说心平气和的话，也说雷电叱咤的话
不学那树以根拴住安稳的一生
而像春风像奔跑的江河去漫游大地。。。。。。
当融化时，发现爱的疼痛已深入骨髓
我泪流满脸，消失了，泪还未干
- 胡刚毅
A Tree in Spring
Had I not met you,
I would have never known the form of meekness
or the shape of love.
Once the snow has melted,
the first leaf of spring
bursts from the bud, quietly
opening bleary eyes
on a black stem.
Like a new bride -
timid, tender -
it looks down on the world.
A flock of astonished sparrows
is clamoring, hopping,
and cheering it on.
It shows a rush of strength.
In days, it is a flame of green.
Had I not met you,
I would have never known spring
or the beauty of life
that it holds.
- Li Ying
春天的树
如果我没有遇到你
就不知道娇羞是什么样子
不知道爱的形状
春天的第一片叶子
突破芽苞，悄悄地
睁开惺忪的眼睛
在雪溶后的黑色枝条上
和新嫁娘有同一种眼神的
嫩叶的芽，胆怯地
望着这个世界
一群惊奇的小雀子
喧闹地叫着，跳着
唤他胆大起来
便显出奔突的力量
没几天，就燃成一片绿色的火
如果我没有遇到你
就不认识春天
不认识春天展示的
生命的美丽
- 李瑛
I would have never known the form of meekness
or the shape of love.
Once the snow has melted,
the first leaf of spring
bursts from the bud, quietly
opening bleary eyes
on a black stem.
Like a new bride -
timid, tender -
it looks down on the world.
A flock of astonished sparrows
is clamoring, hopping,
and cheering it on.
It shows a rush of strength.
In days, it is a flame of green.
Had I not met you,
I would have never known spring
or the beauty of life
that it holds.
- Li Ying
春天的树
如果我没有遇到你
就不知道娇羞是什么样子
不知道爱的形状
春天的第一片叶子
突破芽苞，悄悄地
睁开惺忪的眼睛
在雪溶后的黑色枝条上
和新嫁娘有同一种眼神的
嫩叶的芽，胆怯地
望着这个世界
一群惊奇的小雀子
喧闹地叫着，跳着
唤他胆大起来
便显出奔突的力量
没几天，就燃成一片绿色的火
如果我没有遇到你
就不认识春天
不认识春天展示的
生命的美丽
- 李瑛
Friday, June 26, 2009
Life
All is tears,
and death is commonplace.
All have been hurt.
Some, though white-haired, have unhealed wounds.
Some, though dead, have wounds that live.
This is life: many generations have lived it,
and many generations have died. The living, though,
will always outnumber the dead.
Every morning, in the eyes that sorrowed through the night,
the sun holds an unwithering light.
We are humble, poor, callous,
and homely. Bland,
and lonely too. And yet, we are life
itself. Thus, dear one,
are you happy; if the self is pure,
so then is life.
- Bai Lian-chun
生活
到处都是泪水
死人的事也经常发生
每个人都收过伤
有的已经白发苍苍，伤口仍没有愈合
有的已经死了，伤口还活着
这就是生活：一代代人都活过
一代代人都死了。但是，活着的
永远比死去的多
每天早上，夜里悲哀过的眼睛里
太阳坚持永不凋谢的光
我们卑微，贫穷，不会爱
也不漂亮，还平庸和
孤独，然而，我们就是生活
本身。亲爱的，就是说
你快乐；我干净
生活就干净
- 白莲春
and death is commonplace.
All have been hurt.
Some, though white-haired, have unhealed wounds.
Some, though dead, have wounds that live.
This is life: many generations have lived it,
and many generations have died. The living, though,
will always outnumber the dead.
Every morning, in the eyes that sorrowed through the night,
the sun holds an unwithering light.
We are humble, poor, callous,
and homely. Bland,
and lonely too. And yet, we are life
itself. Thus, dear one,
are you happy; if the self is pure,
so then is life.
- Bai Lian-chun
生活
到处都是泪水
死人的事也经常发生
每个人都收过伤
有的已经白发苍苍，伤口仍没有愈合
有的已经死了，伤口还活着
这就是生活：一代代人都活过
一代代人都死了。但是，活着的
永远比死去的多
每天早上，夜里悲哀过的眼睛里
太阳坚持永不凋谢的光
我们卑微，贫穷，不会爱
也不漂亮，还平庸和
孤独，然而，我们就是生活
本身。亲爱的，就是说
你快乐；我干净
生活就干净
- 白莲春
Love Song
The dead do not love the living
because they do not remember
– I love you, because I do remember
small things, having forgotten
how time callously passes on.
At times, the anticipated moment
mixes into voices, laughter, and echoes
in an empty room. A waft
of jasmine traverses fall and winter
to settle over a drizzling night sky.
Today, I heard the God of Death's footsteps
trailing away from me; when I beheld
you who have been crumpled by the world,
an ocean of stored-up love revived me.
- A Zi
情歌
死去的人不爱世人
因为他们不再有回忆
-----我爱你，因为记得
一些小事，而忘记了
时光怎样无情地流逝
有时等待的一刻和
谈笑声，共同回荡在
空荡的房间里。一股
栀子花香穿越秋冬
驻留一直微雨的夜空
今天我才听到死神从我身边
走开的脚步-----当我发现
被尘世揉皱的你，同时因为
蕴藏爱的大海而奇异地崭新
- 阿紫
because they do not remember
– I love you, because I do remember
small things, having forgotten
how time callously passes on.
At times, the anticipated moment
mixes into voices, laughter, and echoes
in an empty room. A waft
of jasmine traverses fall and winter
to settle over a drizzling night sky.
Today, I heard the God of Death's footsteps
trailing away from me; when I beheld
you who have been crumpled by the world,
an ocean of stored-up love revived me.
- A Zi
情歌
死去的人不爱世人
因为他们不再有回忆
-----我爱你，因为记得
一些小事，而忘记了
时光怎样无情地流逝
有时等待的一刻和
谈笑声，共同回荡在
空荡的房间里。一股
栀子花香穿越秋冬
驻留一直微雨的夜空
今天我才听到死神从我身边
走开的脚步-----当我发现
被尘世揉皱的你，同时因为
蕴藏爱的大海而奇异地崭新
- 阿紫
Youth of Wu-ling
in typhoon season, fish crowd into bus aisles
my blood flows into the Yellow River
it is a cold river; it needs a trickle of alcohol
my genealogy floats in my glass
Hey! another glass of wine
the Sui tribe lives in my wrath, and Da Yu is in my tears
Zhuo-lu beats in my ears
a legendary grandfather shot down nine suns
the name of an uncle struck fear in the Khan
Can you hear it? a bottle of wine
the Golden Fleece hangs from the yellow-rimmed kitchen window
nothing left of the Horse of Many Colors but arthritis
no more weekend rendezvous on the West Gate Road
so I incubate a chivalrous novel under my pillow
hey waiter, another bottle of wine
a biting wind can cause delusions of heroism
a ribbit of a cough grows into a wolf's howl
ribs ring on the insane asylum's iron fence
a tornado is ripped from the lungs
No matter, I need at least three more glasses!
worshipful specters await the last bus
Raincoat! Where's my raincoat?
insomnia waits for me on six-layered tatami
waits for me to cross six unlighted streets
I don't want to get up! I'm not drunk!
五陵少年
台风季，巴士峡的水族很拥挤
我的血系中有一条黄河的支流
黄河太冷 需要渗大量的酒精
浮动在杯底的是我的家谱
喂！ 再来杯高梁
我的怒中有燧人氏 泪中有大禹
我的耳中有涿鹿的鼓声
传说祖父射落了九支太阳
有一位叔叔的名字能吓退单于
听见没有？ 来一瓶高粱
千金裘在拍黄行的橱窗挂著
当掉五花马只剩下关节炎
再没有周末在西门町等我
於是枕头下孵一窝武侠小说
来一瓶高梁哪，店小二
重伤风能造成英雄的幻觉
当咳嗽从蛙鸣进步到狼嗥
肋骨摇响疯人院的铁栅
一阵龙卷风便自肺中拔起
没关系，我起码再三杯！
末班巴士的幽灵在作祟
雨衣！我的雨衣呢？
六席的榻榻米上，失眠在等我
等我闯六条无灯的长街
不要扶，我没醉！
my blood flows into the Yellow River
it is a cold river; it needs a trickle of alcohol
my genealogy floats in my glass
Hey! another glass of wine
the Sui tribe lives in my wrath, and Da Yu is in my tears
Zhuo-lu beats in my ears
a legendary grandfather shot down nine suns
the name of an uncle struck fear in the Khan
Can you hear it? a bottle of wine
the Golden Fleece hangs from the yellow-rimmed kitchen window
nothing left of the Horse of Many Colors but arthritis
no more weekend rendezvous on the West Gate Road
so I incubate a chivalrous novel under my pillow
hey waiter, another bottle of wine
a biting wind can cause delusions of heroism
a ribbit of a cough grows into a wolf's howl
ribs ring on the insane asylum's iron fence
a tornado is ripped from the lungs
No matter, I need at least three more glasses!
worshipful specters await the last bus
Raincoat! Where's my raincoat?
insomnia waits for me on six-layered tatami
waits for me to cross six unlighted streets
I don't want to get up! I'm not drunk!
- Yu Guang-zhong
五陵少年
台风季，巴士峡的水族很拥挤
我的血系中有一条黄河的支流
黄河太冷 需要渗大量的酒精
浮动在杯底的是我的家谱
喂！ 再来杯高梁
我的怒中有燧人氏 泪中有大禹
我的耳中有涿鹿的鼓声
传说祖父射落了九支太阳
有一位叔叔的名字能吓退单于
听见没有？ 来一瓶高粱
千金裘在拍黄行的橱窗挂著
当掉五花马只剩下关节炎
再没有周末在西门町等我
於是枕头下孵一窝武侠小说
来一瓶高梁哪，店小二
重伤风能造成英雄的幻觉
当咳嗽从蛙鸣进步到狼嗥
肋骨摇响疯人院的铁栅
一阵龙卷风便自肺中拔起
没关系，我起码再三杯！
末班巴士的幽灵在作祟
雨衣！我的雨衣呢？
六席的榻榻米上，失眠在等我
等我闯六条无灯的长街
不要扶，我没醉！
- 余光中
Spiderweb
Twilight is a crafty spider
stealing across the water to strike.
Rising and falling on soft, redundant legs -
leaving no trace on the tranquil sea.
We don't know where it will come ashore,
until, with but a backward glance,
you and I are suddenly seized -
caught in the endless gray web.
蛛网
暮色是一只诡异的蜘蛛
蹑水而来袭
复足暗暗地起落
平静的海面却不见踪迹
也不知要向何处登陆
只知道一回顾
你我都已被擒
落进它吐不完的灰网里去了
stealing across the water to strike.
Rising and falling on soft, redundant legs -
leaving no trace on the tranquil sea.
We don't know where it will come ashore,
until, with but a backward glance,
you and I are suddenly seized -
caught in the endless gray web.
- Yu Guang-zhong
蛛网
暮色是一只诡异的蜘蛛
蹑水而来袭
复足暗暗地起落
平静的海面却不见踪迹
也不知要向何处登陆
只知道一回顾
你我都已被擒
落进它吐不完的灰网里去了
-余光中
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A Star's Burial
Shallow blue evening spills over the sill - summer is overfull.
Firefly lanterns dream away
of Tang palaces, of being chased by delicate fans.
A dream of another summer night, a star's burial.
A dream of a flashing stroke and destruction -
of your surprise, my recognition, and a pale, confounded moment.
星之葬
浅蓝色的夜溢进窗来，夏斟得太满
萤火虫的小宫灯做着梦
梦见唐宫，梦见追逐的轻罗小扇
梦见另一个夏夜，一颗星的葬礼
梦见一闪光的伸延与消灭
以及你的惊呼，我的回顾，和片刻的愀然无语
Firefly lanterns dream away
of Tang palaces, of being chased by delicate fans.
A dream of another summer night, a star's burial.
A dream of a flashing stroke and destruction -
of your surprise, my recognition, and a pale, confounded moment.
- Yu Guang-zhong
星之葬
浅蓝色的夜溢进窗来，夏斟得太满
萤火虫的小宫灯做着梦
梦见唐宫，梦见追逐的轻罗小扇
梦见另一个夏夜，一颗星的葬礼
梦见一闪光的伸延与消灭
以及你的惊呼，我的回顾，和片刻的愀然无语
-余光中
First Post!
Hi! Welcome to my blog!
Ever since my middle-school days, when my brother showed me "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I have loved poetry. That is one of the reasons I decided to major in English Literature when I first came to BYU in 2002. Then, in 2004, God sent me to Taiwan to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the (Mandarin) Chinese language.
That said, now that I am a poetaster and aspiring professional translator, I think it only natural to start a blog of translated Chinese poems to help Westerners appreciate the succinct beauty of the Chinese language a little more than they do.
When I was visiting Zhong Shan University in Gaoxiong, I met a certain fellow named Yu Guang-zhong. At the time, I had no idea I was speaking to a very renowned and respected poet, and I'm sure he was at least a little annoyed about our complete ignorance in regards to who he was.
At any rate, I feel compelled to use one of Mr. Yu's poems as my first translated text here. Enjoy!
大家好！欢迎来我的博克！
我在中学的时候，我哥哥把亨利·沃茲沃思·朗費羅写的一首“生活诗篇”给我看。从那天一直到现在，我都喜爱看诗。因此，我2002年来杨百翰大学读书时，我决定了要主修英文文学。然后，我2004年收到天父的召唤去台湾传播福音。
因为我现在是外行诗人和专业翻译员，写中文诗篇博克是自然的。这样，希望我可以帮助西方人多一点享受中文的简洁美丽。
当我拜访高雄的中山大学时，我碰到一位姓余的男生。当时，我不晓得跟我讲话的是一位很有名很受人尊敬的诗人。他就是余光中。我猜他觉得我们对他这样完全无知至少有一点恼火。
因此，我觉得在我博克的第一次帖子里，翻译余先生的一首诗才好。希望大家会喜欢！
My Solidification
In this place, in this international cocktail,
I remain a chunk of ice that refuses to melt:
I maintain a subzero coldness
and the hardness of a solid.
I too was once very fluid.
I too loved to flow, and boiled easily.
I would slide down rainbows.
But China's sun is too far from me.
I have crystallized; I am transparent, hard,
and unable to return to the spring.
我之固体化
在此地，在国际的鸡尾酒里，
我仍是一块拒绝溶化的冰——
常保持零下的冷
和固体的硬度。
我本来也是很液体的
也很爱流动，很容易沸腾，
很爱玩虹的滑梯。
但中国的太阳距我太远
我结晶了，透明且硬，
且无法自动还原。
Ever since my middle-school days, when my brother showed me "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I have loved poetry. That is one of the reasons I decided to major in English Literature when I first came to BYU in 2002. Then, in 2004, God sent me to Taiwan to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the (Mandarin) Chinese language.
That said, now that I am a poetaster and aspiring professional translator, I think it only natural to start a blog of translated Chinese poems to help Westerners appreciate the succinct beauty of the Chinese language a little more than they do.
When I was visiting Zhong Shan University in Gaoxiong, I met a certain fellow named Yu Guang-zhong. At the time, I had no idea I was speaking to a very renowned and respected poet, and I'm sure he was at least a little annoyed about our complete ignorance in regards to who he was.
At any rate, I feel compelled to use one of Mr. Yu's poems as my first translated text here. Enjoy!
大家好！欢迎来我的博克！
我在中学的时候，我哥哥把亨利·沃茲沃思·朗費羅写的一首“生活诗篇”给我看。从那天一直到现在，我都喜爱看诗。因此，我2002年来杨百翰大学读书时，我决定了要主修英文文学。然后，我2004年收到天父的召唤去台湾传播福音。
因为我现在是外行诗人和专业翻译员，写中文诗篇博克是自然的。这样，希望我可以帮助西方人多一点享受中文的简洁美丽。
当我拜访高雄的中山大学时，我碰到一位姓余的男生。当时，我不晓得跟我讲话的是一位很有名很受人尊敬的诗人。他就是余光中。我猜他觉得我们对他这样完全无知至少有一点恼火。
因此，我觉得在我博克的第一次帖子里，翻译余先生的一首诗才好。希望大家会喜欢！
My Solidification
In this place, in this international cocktail,
I remain a chunk of ice that refuses to melt:
I maintain a subzero coldness
and the hardness of a solid.
I too was once very fluid.
I too loved to flow, and boiled easily.
I would slide down rainbows.
But China's sun is too far from me.
I have crystallized; I am transparent, hard,
and unable to return to the spring.
- Yu Guang-zhong
我之固体化
在此地，在国际的鸡尾酒里，
我仍是一块拒绝溶化的冰——
常保持零下的冷
和固体的硬度。
我本来也是很液体的
也很爱流动，很容易沸腾，
很爱玩虹的滑梯。
但中国的太阳距我太远
我结晶了，透明且硬，
且无法自动还原。
- 余光中
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)