Nineteen Old Poems: Week 2 of 2

[x_los]

 * 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.

* 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.

 

Comments

11. 迴車駕言邁 – I turn the carriage, pull the reins and set off

[x_los]

迴車駕言邁
huí chē jià yán mài
[turn] [carriage] [drive] [say] [take step]
I turn the carriage, give the command to go and set off,

悠悠涉長道
yōu yōu shè cháng dào
[long] [long] [wade] [long] [road]
on and on over the endless road.

四顧何茫茫
sì gù hé máng máng
[four] [look] [how] [vast] [vast]
I look around – how boundless and vast!

東風搖百草
dōng fēng yáo bǎi cǎo
[east] [wind] [shake] [hundred] [herb]
The Eastern wind shakes the numerous flora,

所遇無故物
suǒ yù wú gù wù
[that which] [meet] [not have] [old] [thing]
and of all that I encounter, there is nothing of the past.

焉得不速老
yān dé bù sù lǎo
[where] [get] [not] [quick] [old]
In what can we escape the rapid onset of old age?

成衰各有時
chéng shuāi gè yǒu shí
[fulfil] [decline] [each] [have] [time]
Fulfilment and decline each have their time;

立身苦不早
lì shēn kǔ bù zǎo
[set up] [life] [bitter] [not] [early]
as for success in life, how bitter that it does not come sooner!

人生非金石
rén shēng fēi jīn shí
[human] [life] [not] [metal] [stone]
Human life is not set in metal or stone –

豈能長壽考
qǐ néng cháng shòu kǎo
[how can it be] [can] [long] [longevity] [verify]
how can longevity be certain?

奄忽隨物化
yǎn hū suí wù huà
[suddenly] [suddenly] [follow] [thing] [change]
In swiftly following changing things,

榮名以為寶
róng míng yǐ wéi bǎo
[glory] [reputation] [take] [as] [treasure]
glory and reputation are the only treasures.

12. 東城高且長 – The Eastern Wall is High and Long

[x_los]

東城高且長
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.

13. 驅車上東門 – I Ride My Chariot from the Upper East Gate

[x_los]

驅車上東門
qū chē shàng dōng mén
[drive] [chariot] [upper] [east] [gate]
I drive my chariot to the upper east gate,

遙望郭北墓
yáo wàng guō běi mù
[distant] [gaze] [city wall] [north] [tombs]
and gaze at the tombs beyond the northern city wall.

白楊何蕭蕭
bái yáng hé xiāo xiāo
[white] [poplar] [how] [desolate] [desolate]
How desolate the white poplars are.

松柏夾廣路
sōng bǎi jiá guǎng lù
[pines] [cypress] [lined] [spread] [road]
The pines and cypress lined out down the road,

下有陳死人
xià yǒu chén sǐ rén
[below] [has] [old] [dead] [people]
and below are the ancient dead.

杳杳即長暮
yǎo yǎo jí zhǎng mù
[dark] [dark] [and] [long] [evening]
It’s deepest black in their endless night,

潛寐黃泉下
qián mèi huáng quán xià
[submerge] [sleep] [yellow] [spring] [below]
as they sleep submerged in the yellow fountains.

千載永不寤
qiān zǎi yǒng bù wù
[thousand] [year] [forever] [not] [awake]
They will never wake in a thousand years,

浩浩陰陽移
hào hào yīn yáng yí
[vast] [vast] [positive] [negative] [shift]
through vast changes in forces positive and negative forces.

年命如朝露
nián mìng rú zhāo lù
[year] [fate] [like] [morning] [dew]
The years fate grants us are but morning dew -

人生忽如寄
rén shēng hū rú jì
[man] [life] [suddenly] [like] [reside]
the life of men is but a brief residence.

壽無金石固
shòu wú jīn shí gù
[longevity] [not have] [metal] [stone] [certain]
Long life has not the certainty of metal and stone,

萬歲更相送
wàn suì gèng xiāng sòng
[ten thousand] [year] [more] [each other] [see off]
as another ten thousand years are sent on their way.

賢聖莫能度
xián shèng mò néng dù
[wise] [sage] [none who] [can] [limit]
Of the wise and the sage, there are none who can hold it back.

服食求神仙
fú shí qiú shénxiān
[take medicine] [food] [seek] [spirit] [immortal]
In medicine and food, some seek immortality,

多為要所誤
duō wèi yào suǒ wù
[many] [do] [will] [that which] [harm]
but in this way many end up poisoned.

不如飲美酒
bù rú yǐn měi jiǔ
[not] [as] [drink] [beautiful] [wine]
Far better to drink exquisite wines,

被服紈與素
bèi fú wán yǔ sù
[cover] [garment] [white silk] [and] [plain]
and be clothed in plain white silk.

14. 去者日以疏 – The Departed Are More Distant Daily

[x_los]

去者日以疏
qù zhě rì yǐ shū
[go] [those who] [day] [take] [distant]
The departed are more distant daily,

來者日已親
lái zhě rì yǐ qīn
[come] [those who] [day] [already] [close]
as daily those on their way draw closer.

出郭門直視
chū guō mén zhí shì
[leave] [city wall] [gate] [straight] [look]
I leave the city gate and look straight out,

但見丘與墳
càn jiàn qiū yǔ fén
[only] [see] [mound] [and] [grave]
only to see graves in their burial mounds.

古墓犁為田
gǔ mù lí wèi tián
[ancient] [tomb] [plow] [as] [field]
The ancient tombs have been ploughed into fields,

松柏摧為薪
sōng bǎi cuī wèi xīn
[pine] [cypress] [break] [as] [fuel]
their pine and cypress trees broken into firewood.

白楊多悲風
bái yáng duō bēi fēng
[white] [poplar] [much] [sorrow] [wind]
The white poplar, so sorrowful in the wind,

蕭蕭愁殺人
xiāo xiāo chóu shā rén
[desolate] [desolate] [worry] [murder] [people]
mournful, desolate, and deathly anxious.

思還故里閭
sī huán gù lǐ lǘ
[think of] [return] [old] [village] [village gate]
I long to return to my native village,

欲歸道無因
yù guī dào wú yīn
[desire] [return] [principle] [not have] [reason]
yet desiring to return is no excuse.

Notes on this poem
Like a lot of the other poems in this collection, pine, cypress and poplar trees are mentioned. All of these symbolise the grave. This is because they are traditionally used to mark tombs, as they are evergreen and this represents immortality.

The 蕭蕭 (xiāo xiāo) repetition also appears in this poem. Individually, the character means ‘mournful’ or ‘desolate’, and both these meanings were used in the translation above. Another option would be to repeat a single word, or emphasise the phrase in English with ‘so’.

15. 生年不滿百 – The Years of Life Reach Not One Hundred

[x_los]

生年不滿百
shēng nián bù mǎn bǎi
[life] [year] [not] [fulfil] [hundred]
The years of life reach not one hundred,

常懷千歲憂
cháng huái qiān suì yōu
[eternal] [bosom] [thousand] [year] [worry]
yet the heart is in constant worry for a millennium.

晝短苦夜長
zhòu duǎn kǔ yè cháng
[daytime] [short] [bitter] [night] [long]
The day is short while the bitter night is long -

何不秉燭遊
hé bù bǐng zhú yóu
[why] [not] [grasp] [candle] [roam]
why not go wandering by candle light?

為樂當及時
wéi lè dāng jí shí
[for] [happiness] [act] [in time] [time]
Work for happiness without delay -

何能待來茲
hé néng dài lái zī
[how] [can] [wait] [come] [herewith]
how can you wait for the time to come?

愚者愛惜費
yú zhě ài xī fèi
[fool] [one who] [love] [cherish] [expense]
Fools cherish their expenditure,

但為後古嗤
dàn wèi hòu gǔ chī
[but] [for] [later] [old] [laugh at]
yet earn no more than laughter at the old from those in the future.

仙人王子喬
xiān rén wáng zǐ qiáo
[immortal] [person] [_Wang_] [_Zi_] [_Qiao_]
The immortal Wang Ziqiao -

難可與等期
nán kě yǔ děng qī
[hard] [can] [with] [equal] [term]
how difficult to be able to match him!

Notes on this poem
The line ‘何不秉燭遊’ contains the modern binome 秉燭 (bǐngzhú), meaning ‘by candlelight’. In the classical language, though, this could be interpreted more literally as ‘taking a candle’ or ‘grasping a torch’. As the meanings are pretty similar, I opted for the more elegant ‘by candlelight’.

A similar issue is presented by ‘愚者愛惜費’, which contains the modern binome 愛惜 (àixī). I chose to translate the characters separately as ‘love’ and ‘rue’, as they do not appear to form a binome in Classical Chinese.

Wang Ziqiao, in the penultimate line, is the name of a famous Daoist Immortal (仙人) who achieves either immortality or very long life in various legends.

16. 凜凜歲云暮 – Bitterly Cold, the Year Ends

[x_los]

凜凜歲云暮
lǐn lǐn suì yún mù
[cold] [cold] [year] [cloud] [sunset]
Bitterly cold, the year ends;

螻蛄夕鳴悲
lóu gū xī míng bēi
[mole cricket][] [dusk] [call] [sorrow]
mole crickets chirp mournfully at dusk,

涼風率已厲
liáng fēng lǜ yǐ lì
[cold] [wind] [frequent] [already] [severe]
and cold winds are already frequent and severe.

遊子寒無衣
yóu zǐ hán wú yī
[wanderer][] [cold] [not have] [clothes]
The wanderer is cold and lacks clothing,

錦衾遺洛浦
jǐn qīn yí luò pǔ
[embroidered] [quilt] [leave behind] [_Luo_] [_Pu_]
his embroidered quilt left at Luopu.

同袍與我違
tóng páo yǔ wǒ wéi
[same] [gown] [from] [me] [separate]
Like that gown, I am separated from you,

獨宿累長夜
dú sù lèi cháng yè
[alone] [live] [tired] [long] [night]
living alone, weary in the long night.

夢想見容輝
mèng xiǎng jiàn róng huī
[dream] [think] [see] [countenance] [glorious]
I dream that I see your wonderful face,

良人惟古歡
liáng rén wéi gǔ huan
[good] [person] [only] [old] [joy]
but you are only a joy from the past.

枉駕惠前綏
wǎng jià huì qián suī
[in vain] [harness] [favour] [before] [pacify]
Vainly you bestowed upon me the reins of of a chariot,

願得常巧笑
yuàn de cháng qiǎo xiào
[hope] [get] [eternal] [opportunely] [smile]
hoping to see my every smile as it happened.

攜手同車歸
xié shǒu tóng chē guī
[hold] [hand] [same] [carriage] [return]
Hand in hand, we returned in the same carriage.

既來不須臾
jì lái bu xū yú
[already] [come] [not] [necessary] [little while]
Even then, you visited for barely a moment,

又不處重闈
yòu bù chù chóng wéi
[again] [not] [reside] [again] [door to woman's room]
and did not stay in my room again.

亮無晨風翼
liàng wú chén fēng yì
[light] [not have] [morning] [wind] [wing]
Without light, the morning wind glides;

焉能凌風飛
yān néng líng fēng fēi
[how] [can] [soar] [wind] [fly]
how can I soar in the wind in flight?

眄睞以適意
miǎn lài yǐ shì yì
[squint] [glance] [take] [fit] [desire]
I squint askance to see what I desire,

引領遙相睎
yǐn lǐng yáo xiāng xī
[stretch] [neck] [distant] [each other] [gaze]
and strain my neck as we distantly gaze at each other.

徒倚懷感傷
tú yǐ huái gǎn shāng
[disciple] [rely] [heart] [feel] [hurt]
Your reliant disciple feels injured at heart,

重涕沾雙扉
chóng tì zhān shuāng fēi
[again] [tears] [moisten] [double] [leaf door]
and again her tears wet the door.

Notes on this poem
Luopu (洛浦) is a town in Guangzhou, presumably where the speaker now lives alone.

The line 枉駕惠前綏, here translated as ‘Vainly you bestowed upon me the reins of of a chariot’ seems to refer to some sort of marriage custom where the couple rode in a carriage to be married.

The characters 雙扉 in the last line describe a traditional Chinese door with two sides, as illustrated in the character 門.

17. 孟冬寒氣至 – In the First Month of Winter, Cold Air Arrives

[x_los]

孟冬寒氣至
mèng dōng hán qì zhì
[first month] [winter] [cold] [air] [come]
In the first month of winter, cold air comes;

北風何慘慄
běi fēng hé cǎn lì
[north] [wind] [how] [cruel] [afraid]
how cruel and fearsome the northern wind!

愁多知夜長
chóu duō zhī yè cháng
[worry] [many] [know] [night] [long]
My worries are many as I know the night is long;

仰觀眾星列
yǎng guān zhòng xīng liè
[look up] [look at] [multitude] [star] [line up]
I look above to see the multitude of stars lined up.

三五明月滿
sān wǔ míng yuè mǎn
[three] [five] [bright] [moon] [full]
On the 15th, there was a bright full moon,

四五蟾兔缺
sì wǔ chán tù quē
[four] [five] [toad] [rabbit] [wane]
and on the 20th the Toad and Rabbit waned.

客從遠方來
kè cóng yuǎnfāng lái
[stranger] [from] [far] [place] [come]
A stranger from distant quarters comes,

遺我一書札
yí wǒ yī shū zhá
[leave with] [me] [one] [letter] [note]
and leaves with me a letter.

上言長相思
shàng yán zhǎng xiàng sī
[top] [words] [long] [each other] [think]
At the top it spoke of thinking of one another endlessly,

下言久離別
xià yán jiǔ lí bié
[bottom] [words] [long] [leave] [separate]
and at the end it spoke of a long separation.

置書懷袖中
zhì shū huái xiù zhōng
[put] [letter] [cherish] [sleeve] [in]
I put the letter, cherished, in my sleeve,

三歲字不滅
sān suì zì bù miè
[three] [year] [word] [not] [extinguish]
and after three years the words have not diminished.

一心抱區區
yī xīn bào qū qū
[one] [heart] [hold] [trivial]
With my heart I hold something trivial,

懼君不識察
jù jūn bù shí chá
[fear] [you] [not] [recognise] [observe]
afraid that you may not recognise it.

Notes on this poem
The characters 蟾兔 refer to the Toad and the Rabbit, which were perceived in the shadows on the Moon.

Putting letters in one’s sleeves (置書懷袖中) was a common practice. It seems that many women at the time wore long robes, and poems frequently mention secret notes and romantic letters that were kept hidden in the sleeves.

In the line 一心抱區區, translated as ‘With my heart I hold something trivial’, 一 seems to be equivalent to the character 以. The binome 區區 in this line, meaning ‘trivial’, also appears in the much earlier Hanfeizi with the same meaning.

18. 客從遠方來 – A Guest Comes from Afar

[x_los]

客從遠方來
kè cóng yuǎn fāng lái
[guest] [from] [far] [place] [come]
A guest comes from afar

遺我一端綺
yí wǒ yī duān qǐ
[leave] [me] [one] [length] [embroidered silk]
and leaves with me one length of embroidered silk.

相去萬餘里
xiāng qù wàn yú lǐ
[each] [remove] [ten thousand] [excess] [mile]
There is more than a myriad miles between us,

故人心尚爾
gù rén xīn shàng ěr
[old] [person] [heart] [still] [you] (故人 is a common binome meaning 'old friend'.)
but you are still in your old friend’s heart.

文彩雙鴛鴦
wén cǎi shuāng yuān yāng
[resplendent][] [pair] [mandarin duck][] ([文彩](http://www.zdic.net/cd/ci/4/ZdicE6Zdic96Zdic87155884.htm "Meaning of 文彩") is a binome meaning 'gorgeous' or 'colourful')
A pair of gorgeously coloured mandarin ducks,

裁為合歡被
cái wèi hé huān bèi
[cut out] [to be] [togther] [joyous] [quilt] (The quilt seems to be a token of a happy marriage.)
cut out to make a quilt of joyous union.

著以長相思
zhe yǐ zhǎng xiàng sī
[touch] [take] [countenance][] [think of]
One touches its countenance longingly.

緣以結不解
yuán yǐ jié bù jiě
[hem] [so as] [bond] [not] [break up]
As the hem is bound, so our bond will not break

以膠投漆中
yǐ jiāo tóu qī zhōng
[take] [glue] [put on] [paint] [within]
Take glue and put it upon the paint;

誰能別離此
shéi néng bié lí cǐ
[who] [could] [separate] [leave] [this]
Who could separate this?

19. 明月何皎皎 – Why is the Bright Moon So Clear?

[x_los]

明月何皎皎
míng yuè hé jiǎo jiǎo
[bright] [moon] [why] [clear] [clear]
Why is the bright moon so clear?

照我羅床緯
zhào wǒ luó chuáng wěi
[illuminate] [my] [gauze] [bed] [weave]
It illuminates the gauze weave of my bed.

憂愁不能寐
kōu chóu bùnéng mèi
[concern] [worry] [not] [can] [sleep soundly]
Worried, one cannot sleep soundly.

攬衣起徘徊
lǎn yī qǐ pái huái
[seize] [clothes] [rise] [dither] [hesitate]
Grabbing clothes, ones rises and dithers hesitantly.

客行雖云樂
kè xíng suī yún lè
[guest] [travel] [even] [say] [happy]
The guest’s journey, although it could be said to be happy,

不如早旋歸
bù rú zǎo xuán guī
[not] [as good] [early] [revolve] [return] ([旋歸](http://www.zdic.net/cd/ci/11/ZdicE6Zdic97Zdic8B223756.htm "Meaning of 旋歸") is a binome meaning 'return'.)
is not as good as an early return.

出戶獨徬徨
chū hù dú páng huáng
[exit] [household] [alone] [uncertain] [uncertain]
One leaves the household alone, uncertain.

愁思當告誰
chóu sī dāng gào shuí
[worry] [consider] [should] [tell] [whom]
Worried, one considers whom one should tell.

引領還入房
yǐn lǐng huán rù fáng
[look forward][] [return] [enter] [house] ([引領](http://www.zdic.net/cd/ci/4/ZdicE5ZdicBCZdic95303489.htm "Meaning of 引領") is a binome meaning 'to look forward to'.)
One looks forward to returning and entering the house.

淚下沾裳衣
lèi xià zhān shang yī
[tears] [fall] [moisten] [skirt] [clothes]
Tears fall, moistening one’s skirts and clothes.