19 replies to this topic

[Liu]

Hi all,

I hope you will enjoy 陶潜; - Tao Qian also known as Tao Yuanming (陶淵明), who was one of the most influential pre-Tang Dynasty Chinese poets.

Here's the first stanza of the second poem titled 归园田居.


归园田居 (2)

少无适俗韵，性本爱丘山。
误落尘网中，一去三十年。
羁鸟恋旧林，池鱼思故渊。
开荒南野际，守拙归田园。

If someone could add the pinyin, would be nice.

Thanks!

[chalimacos]

Here is the pinyin (there might be some mistake):

guī yuántián jū (2)

shào wú shì sú yùn ，xìng běn ài qiūshān 。
wù luò chénwǎng zhōng ，yī qù sānshí nián 。
jī niǎo liànjiù lín ，chí yú sī gù yuān 。
kāihuāng nán yě jì ，shǒuzhuō guī tiányuán 。

Edited by chalimacos, 06 April 2009 - 04:09 PM.

[Liu]

Hi all,

It has been quite hard for me to find the words that would explain the feelings I had when translating this poem.
I didn't find them all and I'm not happy with the result. But well... here is the bad result :

归园田居

少无适俗韵，性本爱丘山。
误落尘网中，一去三十年。
羁鸟恋旧林，池鱼思故渊。
开荒南野际，守拙归田园。

--------
Returning to my lands

According to the traditions, it's bad manners to complain
but it is in my nature to like mountains.
By mistake, I have been taken in a net which took me away from them during almost thirty years
Like this love that links the bird to the old forest, the fish to the deep pond
I return to protect my lands, and the South wild borders are already opened to me.

-------

Retourner sur mes terres

Selon la tradition, se lamenter n’est pas convenable
Mais il est dans ma nature d’aimer la montagne,
Par erreur, j’ai été pris dans un filet
qui m’en a éloigné pendant presque trente années
Semblable à cet amour qui lie l’oiseau à la vieille forêt
le poisson à l’étang profond
Je retourne protéger mes terres
Et déjà les frontières sauvages du sud s’ouvrent devant moi.

---------
归园田居
guī yuántián jū
retourner, rentrer/rendre/appartenir/vers, à – jardin/parc – champ – résider, habiter, se trouver/résidence, habitation
Retourner sur mes terres
Returning to my lands

少无适俗韵，性本爱丘山。
shào wú shì sú yùn ，
Peu, manquer, perdre – rien, ne pas, sans – convenable, approprié, à l’aise – coutume, populaire, vulgaire – rime, charme
Se lamenter n’est pas convenable selon nos coutumes charmantes,

xìng běn ài qiūshān 。
nature, propriété – racine, fondation, capital, cahier, originaire, propre – aimer – colline – montagne
Il est dans ma nature d’aimer la montagne,

误落尘网中，一去三十年。
wù luò chénwǎng zhōng ，
erreur, manquer, rater – tomber, descendre, baisser – poussière – filet, réseau, prendre au filet – centre, chine, dans, parmi
Par erreur, j’ai été pris dans un filet

yī qù sānshí nián 。
un, même, tout, à peine – aller, quitter, enlever – trente – année
qui m’ en a éloigné pendant presque trente années


羁鸟恋旧林，池鱼思故渊。
jī niǎo liànjiù lín ，chí yú sī gù yuān 。
bride, contrainte, entrave – oiseau – s’attacher à, amour – vieux, ancien, usé – forêt, bois,
Semblable à cet amour qui lie l’oiseau à la vieille forêt

chí yú sī gù yuān 。
bassin, étang – poisson – penser, songer à – raison, à dessein, mourir, ancien – gouffre, profond
le poisson à l’étang profond


开荒南野际，守拙归田园。
kāihuāng nán yě jì ，
Ouvrir, frayer, s’épanouir, mettre en marcher, fonder, commencer, tenir, bouillir – inculte, désert, disette, manque, abandonner – sud, midi – sauvage, brutal, barbare – limite, bord, liaison
Et déjà les frontières sauvages du sud s’ouvrent devant moi,

shǒuzhuō guī tiányuán 。
garder, protéger, observer, être proche de – maladroit, gauche - retourner, rentrer/rendre/appartenir/vers, à – jardin/parc – champ
Je retourne protéger mes terres

[chalimacos]

Here is my version (with a Voltairian spin):

Return to my garden

When I was young I heeded not conventions,
I loved the hills and mountains of my native land.
By mistake, I got caught in the net of human strifes.
It was a thirty years mistake.
This caged bird yearned for the old forests,
Looking into a simple pool I saw memories swimming like fishes.
I decided to plow a wild land by the south border,
Free from ambitions, I just cultivate my garden.

Edited by chalimacos, 10 April 2009 - 04:47 PM.

[chalimacos]

Liu,

What software do you use to get these glossaries?

[Liu]

Liu,

What software do you use to get these glossaries?

Hi chalimacos,

What do you mean ? I always add my work of translation at the end of each poem I intend to translate. I think this might help to catch my mistakes and to understand my interpretation.

Liu

[chalimacos]

Hi chalimacos,

What do you mean ? I always add my work of translation at the end of each poem I intend to translate. I think this might help to catch my mistakes and to understand my interpretation.

Liu

I just thought it was some french software. The list looked like the ones that tools like Dimsum generate.

http://www.mandarint...com/dimsum.html

Indeed, it is very helpful to look into your translation process.

Here I list the symbolic expressions in the poem as defined by Wenlin:

尘网 = Wordly existence.
恋旧 = Yearn for the past
开荒 = Cultivate a virgin land.
守拙 = Remain free from ambitions.

Edited by chalimacos, 11 April 2009 - 06:56 AM.

[Yizheng]

Hi,
Here is my translation.

少无适俗韵，性本爱丘山。
误落尘网中，一去三十年。
羁鸟恋旧林，池鱼思故渊。
开荒南野际，守拙归田园。

What heed had I when young of graces and rules,
My essence, my heart, was with my mountains and hills.
Then ensnared I became in the world and its cares,
Caught up in its net for thirty long years.
A bird encaged, but for the forests of home I long,
Recall the deep pool of old in fish flashing in the pond.
I’d sooner open up the wild lands on the borders in the south,
Humble now, return to the fields and flowers of my youth.

Chalimacos, what is this wenlin you mention in your last post?

[chalimacos]

Chalimacos, what is this wenlin you mention in your last post?

It is an electronic dictionary:

http://www.wenlin.com/

It incorporates the whole ABC Chinese-English Dictionary edited by John DeFrancis.

Edited by chalimacos, 11 April 2009 - 11:47 AM.

[Liu]

It is an electronic dictionary:

http://www.wenlin.com/

It incorporates the whole ABC Chinese-English Dictionary edited by John DeFrancis.

Interesting software but it is not free, is it ?

[chalimacos]

Interesting software but it is not free, is it ?

Nope. It costs $199.00, but they have some academic discounts.

[Liu]

Chalimacos,

Would you like to provide the Weekly Poem Translation #33 ?

Thank you !

[chalimacos]

OK, I will post it on Monday.

Tell me if I pick one that has already been done.

[Tang Scholar]

OK, I will post it on Monday.

Tell me if I pick one that has already been done.

Please consider the possibility of choosing the remainder of the poem Liu chose last week. Six more lines, sixty characters. It would be the first time we translate a poem of certain length, by parts, in two weeks.

[Tang Scholar]

Oh, I'm delayed! It was Holy Week. I went into the mountains...in the spirit of the poem.

Way back to farming

So little suited to common life uses,
having loved from the start mountains and hills,
carelessly I fell into a worldly net -
In such way thirty years have been spent.
The bird cannot but long for the old forest,
The perch harks back to former depths.
I opened up a field on the south border,
to return to a rustic farming field.

In Spanish:

Volviendo al campo

Poco hecho a la vida de costumbre,
siempre amante de montes y colinas,
en la red mundanal caí por torpe,
y han pasado treinta años.
El ave sueña con el viejo bosque,
la perca añora las profundidades.
Abrí un terreno al sur, en la frontera,
volví al cultivo de un jardín y un campo.