220 replies to this topic

[shunyadragon]

I am presently working on the shijing, and like this poetry very much. Many of the poems are written by women as this one is.


竹竿
藋藋竹竿、以釣于淇。
豈不爾思、遠莫致之。
泉源在左、淇水在右。
女子有行、遠兄弟父母。
淇水在右、泉源在左。
巧笑之瑎、佩玉之儺。
淇水浟浟、檜楫松舟。
駕言出遊、以寫我憂。

竹竽zhú yú – Bamboo pole

A daughter of the House of Wei is married in another state. She expresses her longing for her home and the pleasant life of her youth she describes in the poem. She was probably the Baroness Mu of Xu.

Bamboo pole, to fish the Qi.
Should I not consider
. . . these gentle thoughts of far away.

Crystal Spring on the left, Qi River on the right.
A woman desires to be with
. . . her brothers and parents far away.

Qi River on the right, crystal spring on the left.
Longing for the soft smiles, and healing jade pendants sway.

Qi River bring me joy, juniper oars and pine boat.
steer my thoughts on the journey
. . . to home far away.

Edited by shunyadragon, 19 September 2010 - 04:30 PM.

[Catherine]

This poem is very popular now and I'd like to share it with you all.

《见与不见》 扎西拉姆·多多

你见，或者不见我
我就在那里
不悲不喜

你念，或者不念我
情就在那里
不来不去

你爱或者不爱我
爱就在那里
不增不减

你跟，或者不跟我
我的手就在你的手里
不舍不弃

来我怀里
或者
让我住进你的心里
默然相爱
寂静喜欢


See Me or Not
See me,
Or see me not,
I am here
Without joy or tear.

Think of me,
Or think of me not,
Affection is here
Despite the change of year.

Love me,
Or love me not,
Love is here,
And won’t my heart sear.

Come to me,
Or come to me not,
My hand is here
In yours without fear.

Be in my bosom,
Or let me live
In your heart, day by day.
Loving each other mutely;
Being all calm but gay.

[shunyadragon]

This poem is very popular now and I'd like to share it with you all.

《见与不见》 扎西拉姆·多多

你见，或者不见我
我就在那里
不悲不喜

你念，或者不念我
情就在那里
不来不去

你爱或者不爱我
爱就在那里
不增不减

你跟，或者不跟我
我的手就在你的手里
不舍不弃

来我怀里
或者
让我住进你的心里
默然相爱
寂静喜欢


See Me or Not
See me,
Or see me not,
I am here
Without joy or tear.

Think of me,
Or think of me not,
Affection is here
Despite the change of year.

Love me,
Or love me not,
Love is here,
And won’t my heart sear.

Come to me,
Or come to me not,
My hand is here
In yours without fear.

Be in my bosom,
Or let me live
In your heart, day by day.
Loving each other mutely;
Being all calm but gay.

I like this one!!!

[CasualHistorian]

Not to resurrect a dead thread, but I think the material and topic are timeless...so here's my favorite :

On the Death of His Father

I look up and see / his curtains and bed :
I look down and examine / his table and mat.
The things are here / just as before.
But the man they belonged to / is not there.
His spirit suddenly / has taken flight
And left me behind / far away.
To whom should I look, / on whom rely?
My tears flow / in an endless stream.
"Yu, yu" / cry the wandering deer
As they carry fodder / to their young in the wood.
Flap, flap / fly the birds
As they carry their little ones / back to the nest.
I alone / am desolate
Dreading the days / of our long parting :
My grieving heart's / settled pain
No one else / can understand.
There is a saying / among people
"Sorry makes us / grow old."
Alas, alas / for my white hairs!
All too early / they have come!
Long wailing, / long sighing
My thoughts are fixed on my sage parent.
They say the good / live long:
Then why was he / not spared?

-Wei Wen-ti, mourning his father T'sao T'sao

- Borrowed from Arthur Wadley's book of "Translations from the Chinese," which I peruse while I have time at work

Sorry, I don't have a Chinese version!

Paul

[betty]

乌夜啼

【南唐】李煜

林花谢了春红，
太匆匆，
无奈朝来寒雨晚来风。
胭脂泪，
相留醉，
几时重，
自是人生长恨水长东。
Wū yè tí

[Nán táng] liyù

Lín huā xiè le chūn hóng,
Tài cōngcōng,
Wúnài cháolái hán yǔ wǎn lái fēng.
Yānzhī lèi,
Xiāng liú zuì,
Jǐshí zhòng,
Zì shì rénshēng zhǎng hèn shuǐ cháng dōng.

[Lavender]

凉州词(王翰)
葡萄美酒夜光环，
欲饮琵琶马上催。
醉卧沙场君莫笑，
古来征战几人回。

English Chinese translation:

Starting For The Front
From cups of jade that glow with wine of grapes at night,
Drinking to pipa songs, we are summoned to fight.
Don't laugh if we lie drunk upon the battleground!
How many warriors ever came back safe and sound?

[shunyadragon]

凉州词(王翰)
葡萄美酒夜光环，
欲饮琵琶马上催。
醉卧沙场君莫笑，
古来征战几人回。

English Chinese translation:

Starting For The Front
From cups of jade that glow with wine of grapes at night,
Drinking to pipa songs, we are summoned to fight.
Don't laugh if we lie drunk upon the battleground!
How many warriors ever came back safe and sound?

Where is this poem from? Can you get a citation please?

[stevenest]

It would be good if all of you have posted translation with poems. But thanks anyway!

[shunyadragon]

Where is this poem from? Can you get a citation please?

the reason I needed a citation is because I could not find anything about Wang Han, except he was apparently Tang Dynasty poet that wrote few poems.

[acdu]

黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵　

故人西辞黄鹤楼，烟花三月下扬州。 　　孤帆远影碧空尽， 惟见长江天际流。

[f0ma]

Shrimps and eels roam their ponds and puddles
But know nothing of the great waters rivers of rivers and seas.
Small birds hop on the twigs of the hedges
But how can they know where the wild geese wander?
In worldly affairs it truly is clear
That those with great virtue are few.

One of Cao Zhi's later poems, as translated by Hugh Dunn.