Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei, Week 1 of 2

[x_los]

This week and next, we're looking at Eliot Weinberger's "Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei". This short book discusses many ways to translate a single, brief Tang dynasty poem and the choices involved therein. We'll look at the first nine poems (or versions thereof) this week, and the remainder the following. 

I'll reproduce the translations under discussion here, but c/ping from the pdf is not very reliable and frequently introduces errors. I'm including the text here primarily as a reference point for our discussions: I advise you to look at the book file itself for your reading.

Comments

8. Deer Forest Hermitage

[x_los]

Through the deep wood, the slanting sunlight
Casts motley patterns on the jade-green mosses.
No glimpse of man in this lonely mountain,
Yet faint voices drift on the air.

- Chang Yin-nan & Lewis C. Walmsley, 1958

Re: 8. Deer Forest Hermitage

[x_los]

It could be good if they were a bit more credulous regarding the 'improvements' in terms of thinking about them as genuine attempts to communicate? how did these translators think people would better relate to this poem via these changes

Kind of contemptuous regarding Chang, who may well not experience the contempt they assign him

Re: 8. Deer Forest Hermitage

[forestofglory]

I think the goals of translation are more numerous and complex than Weinberger allows here.

Re: 8. Deer Forest Hermitage

[superborb]

Beginning to wonder if Weinberger simply wants translationese! Though tbf, this does stray pretty far from the original.

Anyway, I disagree that lonely carries such a different meaning; after all, wrt to a place, it takes on the meaning of 'unfrequented' which surely is what is being implied here?