Aug. 23rd, 2021 04:35 pm
Nineteen Old Poems: Week 2 of 2
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dankodes * There were two votes in favour of East Asia Student's translations, so that's what I've gone with. If you prefer or would like to bring another translation into the discussion, please feel free.
* Chapter Five of How to Read Chinese Poetry is specifically about the Nineteen Old Poems.
* Every week I search the poems' English results to see if I can find any scholarship or neat bits and pop the results in Resources. Here is this week's collection.
* Remember you can also look at How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context, though it doesn't specifically treat this collection.
* IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS WHO MIGHT LIKE TO JOIN or have other ideas, please let me know on this post.
* Chapter Five of How to Read Chinese Poetry is specifically about the Nineteen Old Poems.
* Every week I search the poems' English results to see if I can find any scholarship or neat bits and pop the results in Resources. Here is this week's collection.
* Remember you can also look at How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context, though it doesn't specifically treat this collection.
* IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS WHO MIGHT LIKE TO JOIN or have other ideas, please let me know on this post.
* I found the best option for the weekly reminder emails, via Gmail. The external service options are more involved than our purposes require. Does anyone know anything about how to arrange an Apps Script? Basically all it has to do is tell ten people, on Saturdays, to come and get their juice/poems.
Until someone knows what to do there, I'll send out manual messages weekly. If you'd like to receive these and are not getting them, please let me know.
* Next batch of poems, the first half of Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute, MONDAY, AUGUST 30th.
Until someone knows what to do there, I'll send out manual messages weekly. If you'd like to receive these and are not getting them, please let me know.
* Next batch of poems, the first half of Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute, MONDAY, AUGUST 30th.
12. 東城高且長 – The Eastern Wall is High and Long
dōng chéng gāo qiě zhǎng
[east] [wall] [high] [and] [long]
The Eastern wall is high and long,
逶迤自相屬
wēiyǐ zì xiāng zhǔ
[curving] [winder] [self] [mutually] [join]
snaking, winding, rejoining itself.
迴風動地起
huí fēng dòng dì qǐ
[turn] [wind] [move] [earth] [rise]
The turning wind shakes the earth and rises,
秋草萋已綠
qiū cǎo qī yǐ lǜ
[autumn] [grass] [luxuriant] [already] [green]
as the fragrant Autumn grasses lose their colour.
四時更變化
sì shí gèng biàn huà
[four] [season] [still] [change] [change]
The four seasons change endlessly –
歲暮一何速
suì mù yī hé sù
[year] [sunset] [one] [how] [fast]
how quickly the year ends!
晨風懷苦心
chén fēng huái kǔxīn
[morning] [wind] [bosom] [bitter] [heart]
The falcon harbours a bitter heart,
蟋蟀傷局促
xīshuài shāng jú cù
[cricket] [cricket] [hurt] [narrow] [close]
and the crickets suffer from being cramped.
蕩滌放情志
dàng dí fàng qíng zhì
[clean] [cleanse] [release] [emotion] [will]
Cleanse yourself, set your emotions free –
何為自結束
hé wèi zì jié shù
[what] [for] [self] [knot] [bind]
why restrain yourself and hold back?
燕趙多佳人
yàn zhào duō jiā rén
[Yan] [Zhao] [many] [excellent] [person]
There are many exquisite women in Yan and Zhao,
美者顏如玉
měi zhě yán rú yù
[beautiful] [one who] [countenance] [like] [jade]
the beautiful ones with countenance like jade.
被服羅裳衣
bèi fú luó shang yī
[cover] [garment] [gauze] [garment] [clothes]
The clothing that covers her is fine latticed silk,
當戶理清曲
dāng hù lǐ qīng qū
[as] [house] [put in order] [clear] [tune]
as she stands in the house composing a clear melody.
音響一何悲
yīn xiǎng yī hé bēi
[sound] [noise] [one] [how] [sorrow]
How mournful is the sound –
絲急知柱促
sī jí zhī zhù cù
[thread] [tense] [know] [pillar] [urge]
the strings are tense, the bridge is pressured.
馳情整中帶
chí qíng zhěng zhōng dài
[speed] [emotion] [order] [middle] [belt]
A rush of emotion, she adjusts her composure,
沉吟聊躑躅
chén yín liáo zhí zhú
[deep] [hum] [chat] [hesitate] [falter]
deep in thought, humming hesitantly.
思為雙飛燕
cī wèi shuāng fēi yàn
[think] [as] [pair] [fly] [swallow]
In thought we are a pair of flying swallows –
銜泥巢君屋
xián ní cháo jūn wū
[hold] [mud] [nest] [you] [house]
let’s take mud and build a nest under your roof.
Re: 12. 東城高且長 – The Eastern Wall is High and Long
'snaking, winding, rejoining itself.' slightly hard to imagine a wall doing this, what kinda fuckin wall is this
'The turning wind shakes the earth and rises,' can wind DO that??
'biàn huà', 變化 [change] [change], isn't this that two-faced bitch from 2Ha's name? never mind that was Hua Binan (华碧楠, Huá Bìnán)--a shame bc that would have made some poetic sense
oh 'the sunset of the year' that's nice
'and the crickets suffer from being cramped.' again, is this like, a thing that happens to crickets? I suppose sometimes people must cage crickets, bc it happens in famous historically accurate work, Disney's Mulan--
'In thought we are a pair of flying swallows ' isn't this bird wingtip to wingtip bit gonna come back in the one where the emperor has his concubine strangled /romantic
So the thread of this one is odd: time is passing, people are mortal, don't hold back, there are hotties in Zhao, here's such a hottie, she's got a lot of feelings, we're compatible people, let's be together forever. Like is this even the Zhao hottie? Who are you talking to, who are you?
Re: 12. 東城高且長 – The Eastern Wall is High and Long
From Baike:
Baike glosses the snaking line as referring to a winding and long road or river channel.
The turning wind is a whirlwind.
The crickets being cramped is a continuation of the 'end of year' bit-- as autumn gets coler, crickets will enter the house and die. So it's also a 'life is short' implication.
I think it's like, life is short, instead of worrying, it's better to go seek joy.
Re: 12. 東城高且長 – The Eastern Wall is High and Long
Oh yeah water or a road make WAY more sense than a wall doing that.