237 replies to this topic

[Jake Holman]

On Reading Laozi

"Those who speak do not know, those who know are silent."
This saying, so I've heard, comes to us from Laozi.
But if Laozi really is one of those who knows,
Why then did he write a book of five thousand words?

--Bai Juyi (772-846)


《讀老子》白居易

　　言者不知知者默，此語吾聞於老君。

　　若道老君是知者，緣何自著五千文。





Statuette of Laozi riding an ox

Edited by Jake Holman, 29 July 2007 - 03:23 AM.

[Jake Holman]

Untitled

Don't shoot the geese from the south.
Let them northward fly.
But if you must shoot, shoot both goose and gander--
Don't separate the pair.

--Shen Yun (late 9th century)

《沈詢》

　　莫打南來雁，從他向北飛。打時雙打取，莫遣兩分離。





Archer, tomb brick, Han Dynasty

Edited by Jake Holman, 15 June 2008 - 09:07 PM.

[Jake Holman]

Thank you Jake,
Reading the poems with the picture ads so much to the experiance.
Please keep them coming!!!

I will. I'm having so much much fun I don't think I could stop even if I wanted to. Thanks for the encouragement. It is greatly appreciated.

[Gweilo]

Very nice, Jake, thank you.

[Jake Holman]

For Hua Qing

In Brocade City, strings and winds sound in profusion every day.
Half enters the river breezes, half enters the clouds.
Such music is fit only for the heavens above--
In this world, how often can it be heard?

--Du Fu (712-770)

Note: Brocade City=Chengdu, Sichuan, which was famous for the production of silk. Hua Qing was an official in Chengdu and a friend of Du Fu. Here the poet is gently suggesting that Hua Qing not spend his funds so extravagantly.

《贈花卿》杜甫

　　錦城絲管日紛紛，半入江風半入雲。

　　此曲只應天上有，人間能得幾回聞。




Group of musicians, painted marble panel from the tomb of Wang Chunzhi, Hebei Province, Later Liang Dynasty (924 AD)

Edited by Jake Holman, 08 July 2007 - 09:47 AM.

[Jake Holman]

Under a Border-Fortress


Drink, my horse, while we cross the autumn water!-
The stream is cold and the wind like a sword,
As we watch against the sunset on the sandy plain,
Far, far away, shadowy Lingtao.
Old battles, waged by those long walls,
Once were proud on all men's tongues.
But antiquity now is a yellow dust,
Confusing in the grasses its ruins and white bones.

--Wang Changling (c.690-756)

Translated by Kiang Kang-hu and Witter Bynner.


《塞下曲》王昌齡

飲馬渡秋水，水寒風似刀。平沙日未沒，黯黯見臨洮。

昔日長城戰，咸言意氣高。黃塵足今古，白骨亂蓬蒿。





Bronze Cavalryman, Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou, Han Dynasty

Edited by Jake Holman, 08 July 2007 - 10:54 PM.

[Intranetusa]

Translations butcher it everytime...

[Jake Holman]

With the Army on the Northern Expedition

After it snowed on the Mountains of Heaven,
The sea wind blew cold.
Someone played a tune on the flute
Of the troubles of our journey.
The hardened desert soldiers,
Three hundred thousand strong,
Turned around as one
To gaze at the bright moon.

--Li Yi (748-829)


《從軍北征》李益

　　天山雪後海風寒，橫笛偏吹行路難。

　　磧裏征人三十萬，一時回向月明看。





Moon over the Jiayuguan Fort, Gansu Province

Edited by Jake Holman, 08 July 2007 - 09:51 AM.

[Jake Holman]

Translations butcher it everytime...

Hope you like the pictures .

[Jake Holman]

Travelling in the Mountains

Far away on the cold mountain, a stony path slants.
Where white clouds are born, there are people's homes.
I stop the carriage, sit and enjoy the maple woods at dusk,
With frosty leaves redder than the second month's flowers.

--Du Mu (803-852)


《山行》杜牧

　　遠上寒山石徑斜，白雲生處有人家。

　　停車坐愛楓林晚，霜葉紅於二月花。




Herd of Deer in a Maple Grove, National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Five Dynasties Period (907-960)

Edited by Jake Holman, 05 February 2008 - 11:59 PM.

[Jake Holman]

Clear after Rain

Before the rain, the flowers had just opened their petals.
After the rain, not a single blossom appears among the leaves.
Butterflies come near, then dart across the wall,
Believing that spring's glory can be found next door.

--Wang Jia (fl. 890)


《雨晴》王駕

　　雨前初見花間蕊，雨後兼無葉裏花。

　　蛺蝶飛來過牆去，卻疑春色在鄰家。





Butterfly and Wisteria Blossoms, Xu Xi (c.886-c.975)

Edited by Jake Holman, 29 July 2008 - 02:58 AM.

[orchid_dreams]

They are very nice translations indeed. I'm glad to see so many famous works in good hands. ^^

[Jake Holman]

Wealth and Privilege

A beautiful lady dresses her hair.
The sides of her head are streaked with jewels.
How can she know that her pair of cloudlike tresses
Carry the tribute from many villages?

--Du Guangting (850-933)


《富貴曲》杜光庭
　　
美人梳洗時，滿頭間珠翠。豈知兩片雲，戴卻數鄉稅。




Noblewoman and Mirror, Tang Dynasty sancai (three-colored) figurine

Edited by Jake Holman, 08 July 2007 - 09:54 AM.

[kaiselin]

Translations should never try to "translate" the rhyme and meter of poetry, so I'm very glad that the translations here mostly just try to get the meanings across-- because it's quite obvious that Jake Holman understands the poetry.

N'ermind the rhyme and meter, the symbolism and "picture-painting" (or "scene setting") in Chinese poetry are themselves very remarkable.

5 stars-- I'm glad Jake Holman was convinced into doing a series and getting it pinned.

Here Here!!!!!! I second that!!!!!
I give Orchid Dreams the credit for giving me an interest in poetry. I probable would not have began reading this thread if I had not read some of her translations. Once again ...
Thank you, Orchid Dreams.

The pictures that Jake has picked to accompany the poetry are remarkable. They add a wonderful new dimension to my new found enjoyment of poetry.

Jake, I see that you are a teacher, but I can't remember what level or subject. If you use these poems and pictures in your class room or if this is an example of how you teach, your students are very lucky to be in your class.

Edited by kaiselin, 17 June 2007 - 09:45 AM.

[Jake Holman]

Thanks to you all for the kind words and encouragement. The poems are translations I did with the help of a Chinese teacher and a dictionary between 20-30 years ago. I am now reproducing them with the aid of my memory, a dictionary and an online version of the Quan Tang Shi (Complete Tang Poems). I'll keep going for awhile, though I am beginning to run out of remembered poems and I'm not capable of doing the job on my own (not enough Chinese language skill).

I used to be a high school history teacher, but after three decades of teaching I really grew a bit weary of having to always teach the "official verson" of events to my students, so I retired. I enjoy literature more these days, anyway. It is often so much more truthful than history...

Edited by Jake Holman, 18 June 2007 - 06:28 PM.