温庭筠 柳絲長，春雨細，花外漏聲迢遞。O Long leave-ribbons of willow, Spring rain coming down soft and low -- From beyond the flower plots come sounds of “plop”... Tears of the ever-dripping Water-clock.

《更漏子 其一本意》唐 • 温庭筠


柳絲長，春雨細，花外漏聲迢遞。
驚塞雁，起城烏，畫屏金鷓鴣。


香霧薄，透簾幕，惆悵謝家池閣。
紅燭背，繡簾垂，夢君君不知。


TITLE: GENG LOU ZI -- “The Water-Clock” (No. 1 of 6)
TUNE: The Water-Clock
-- WEN TINYUN (812-870)
-- Translated by Frank C Yue


O Long leave-ribbons of willow,
Spring rain coming down soft and low --
From beyond the flower plots come sounds of “plop”...
Tears of the ever-dripping Water-clock.
They startle wild geese from border,
Bring to flight city crows yonder,
Mesmerize the quails on the screen folder --
In gold -- (that aren't one moment older).

All's covered by fragrant mist light,
It permeates the curtains tight --
Over the pretty lady's ornate pavilions and pond,
The heavy air of Melancholy just lingers on.
Red candle flames a-flickering,
Embroidered curtains still hanging.
O How I dreamed and dreamed of you, My Dear,
But you know not, being faraway from here! 




< 波浪男兒: 《謝家池閣》的 “謝家” 是泛指女子所居住之地方。

温庭筠是花間派詞人，其詞多寫花前月下，幽怨閨情。詞充滿香澤脂粉味，艷麗香軟，讀罷使人感到古代深閨女子之空虛孤寂和愁怨。>

Now, let's see how a very able translator, C K Ho, would render this into English verse below, vide his "Chinese Poetry of Tang and Song Dynasties: A New Translation", The Commercial Press (HK) Ltd., page 140, February 2012:

... "The fragrant smoke is thin:
It penetrates the curtain and the screen,
Saddening the Xie's (1) pool
    and pavilion from within." ... 

"(1) Originally it was the family name of a famous singing girl. Later this was generally to indicate the home of a girlfriend."
(-- I was a little surprised that he didn't 'interpret and translate' this particular term in the body of his rendition for the benefit of his readers.)



< 波浪男兒:  據我所知，温庭筠 填有六首《更漏子》詞，其中以《更漏子 • 本意》 填得最好，此詞被收錄在 白香詞譜 作為範例詞, 供初学者填詞用。>


(更漏子)  温庭筠

其一 (本意)
柳絲長，春雨細，花外漏聲迢遞。驚塞雁，起城烏，畫屏金鷓鴣。
香霧薄，透簾幕，惆悵謝家池閣。紅燭背，繡簾垂，夢君君不知。

其二
星斗稀，鐘鼓歇，簾外曉鶯殘月。蘭露重，柳風斜，滿庭堆落花。
虛閣上，倚欄望，還似去年惆悵。春欲暮，思無窮，舊歡如夢中。

其三
金雀釵，紅粉面，花裏暫時相見。知我意，感君憐，此情須問天。
香作穗，蜡成淚，還似兩人心意。山枕膩，錦衾寒，覺來更漏殘。

其四
相見稀，相憶久，眉淺淡煙如柳。垂翠幕，結同心，侍郎燻繡衾。
城上月，白如雪，蟬鬢美人愁絕。宮樹暗，鵲橋橫，玉籤初報明。

其五
背江樓，臨海月，城上角聲嗚咽。堤柳動，島煙昏，兩行征雁分。
京口路，歸帆渡，正是芳菲欲度。銀燭盡，玉繩低，一聲村落雞。

其六
玉爐香，紅蠟淚，偏照畫堂秋思。眉翠薄，鬢雲殘，夜長衾枕寒。
梧桐樹，三更雨，不道離情正苦。一葉葉，一聲聲，空階滴到明。