Thursday 21 January 2016

元好問 問世間情為何物 I ask of the world, "What is love" and why

【雁邱詞】

元好問 (1190-1257) ,字裕之,號遺山。

太和五年乙丑歲(1205年),赴試并州,道逢捕雁者云:『今

旦獲一雁,殺之矣。其脫網者悲鳴不能去,竟自投地死。』

予因買得之,葬之汾水之上,累石為識,號曰雁邱。時同行

者多為賦詩,予亦有《雁邱詞》。


問世間情為何物,直教生死相許。          1

天南地北雙飛客,老翅幾回寒暑。          2

歡樂趣,離別苦,就中更有癡兒女。       3

君應有語,渺萬里層雲, 

千山暮雪,只影向誰去。                         4


橫汾路,寂寞當年簫鼓,荒煙依舊平楚。 5

招魂楚些何嗟及,山鬼暗啼風雨。            6

天也妒,未信與,鶯兒燕子俱黃土。         7

千秋萬古,為留待騷人,

狂歌痛飲,來訪雁邱處。                           8


《雁邱詞》:邱,同丘。

1 問世間情為何物:有版本為…'問世間情是何物'。

   直教:竟使。

   生死相許:生死相從。

2 雙飛客:大雁雙宿雙飛。

3 就中:當中。

4 君:指大雁。

   只影向誰去:隻影孤單為誰奔波。

5 橫汾:葬雁的汾水。

   寂寞當年簫鼓:如今寂寞,當年漢武帝簫鼓鳴兮。

                         漢武帝«秋風辭»: ˹泛樓船兮濟汾問,橫中流兮
                         
                         揚素波,簫鼓鳴兮發棹歌。˺

   平楚:楚指叢木,意謂平原上的樹木。

6 招魂:為雁招魂。

   楚些:«楚辭•招魂»: 句尾皆有‘些’字。

   何嗟及:嗟嘆無濟於事。

   山鬼:«楚辭•九歌•山鬼»: 指山神,此指雁魂。

天也妒,未信與,鶯兒燕子俱黃土:
   
   天也妒︰蒼天見到這情景該也會既羡且妒。
   
   未信與: (與,同歟) 不相信嗎?  (請看...)
   
   鶯兒燕子俱黃土:殉情雁子不 與普通鶯燕寂寂無名變為黃  
  
   土。

8 騷人:詩人。


Song of the "Wild Geese Mound"

-- by Yuan Haowen (1190-1257)

-- Translated by Frank C Yue

Prologue

In the fifth year of Tai He (1205), on my way to the official 

examination at Pengzhou, I chanced upon a wild-geese 

hunter who said, "I caught a goose this morning and killed it. 

The other goose that escaped from my net wailed sadly and 

would not leave. Then it committed suicide by crashing onto 

the ground." So I bought the dead fowls, buried them by the 

Feng River, piled rocks on the site as a marker and called it 

the wild geese mound. At the time, most of my companions 

wrote poems about this incident. I also wrote the "Wild-

Geese Mound Ci (Song)" as follows:    


 "The Wild-Geese Mound Song" 

I ask of the world, "What is love" and why

Love just moves some creatures to live or die?

To the north and to the south too,

The pair of travellers flying --

Many a winter and summer through,

The loving old couple been winging.

O Such joy and fun,

But sorrow follows when the parting's done.

These are obsessed soul-mates also.

The surviving fowl would ask (with a bitter smile) --

Through cloud layers stretching thousands of miles,

Above myriad hills and evening snow,

To whom should this lonely shadow go?


By the Feng River (where they're buried),

Gone are the songs and music merry; 

Above the woods on the plain rolling,

Desolate smoke still a-rising.

Calling forth the ghosts of the geese dead,

I sigh and sigh in vain instead.

Amidst the wind and rain,

I seem to hear the geese cries again.

Heaven may be jealous too,

Won't you believe it? (I'll tell you true):

When orioles, swallows die they'd never

Gain anything like glory;

But the lover-geese shall live forever

In our hearts and our stories.

From here to eternity,

Poets would come to the Wild Geese Mound

To drink and sing praises mighty

To the Faithful Couple by great Love bound.


Monday 11 January 2016

若要功夫深 鐵杵磨成針 To train for supreme skills and be fit as a fiddle


若要功夫深,
鐵杵磨成針。

To train for supreme skills and be fit as a fiddle,
You'll have to grind the iron rod into a sharp needle!



台上一分鐘,
台下十年功。


Just one minute's performance on the stage (in the spotlight)
Demands ten years off-the-stage hard training (with no oversight).

Monday 4 January 2016

王维 輕舸迎上客 悠悠湖上來 A fast boat to welcome my guest supreme

《輞川集 • 臨湖亭》 唐 • 王维

輕舸迎上客,  

悠悠湖上來。
當軒對尊酒,  

四面芙蓉開。

Lín Hú Tíng:"Pavilion by the Lake"
-- by WANG WEI  (701-761)
-- Translated by Frank C Yue

A fast boat to welcome my guest supreme --
In leisure, crossing the lake gracefully.
By the railing ready's the wine (smooth as cream),
On four sides blooms many a water lily.


Sunday 3 January 2016

李益 腰垂錦帶佩吴钩 With embroider'd ribbon running down our waist

【邊思】  唐 . 李益

腰垂錦帶佩吴钩,    走馬曾防玉塞秋。
莫笑關西將家子,    只將詩思入凉州。

        腰垂锦带佩吴钩,     走马曾防玉塞秋。
       莫笑关西将家子,     只将诗思入凉州。

Remembering the Borderland
-- by Li Yi (748-829)
-- Translated by Frank C Yue

With embroider'd ribbon down our waist running,

And razor-sharp curved sword in hand,
On horseback we defend our border-land,
For many Autumns, beyond the Pass stretching.

My friend, away your derisive laughs stow --

These sons of the Guanxi family do show
The General's exemplary bravery
That lives forever in Liangzhou history!