《楓橋夜泊》 唐 • 張繼
月落烏啼霜滿天，
江楓漁火對愁眠。
姑蘇城外寒山寺，
夜半鐘聲到客船。
Fēng Qiáo Yè Bó:
MAPLE BRIDGE NIGHT MOORING
-- by Zhang Ji (733?-779)
-- Translated by Frank C. Yue
Moon sets, crows cry, snows in all the skies;
River maple, fisher's light stare at my sad eyes.
Outside Suzhou, sounds of the Cold Hill Temple bell,
At midnight, reach traveller's boat as well.
(Slightly longer version:)
The Moon sets, crows cry, snows falling in all the skies;
River maple, fisher's light stare at my sad eyes.
Outside Suzhou, where the Hanshan Temple lies,
Tolls of its midnight bell reach traveller's boat here tied.
1. 姑蘇: Gusu: present-day 蘇州: Suzhou.
2. 寒山: Hanshan: Cold Hill/Mountain. Also the name of a famous Buddhist monk.
the following information is copied from "millionbook.net":
< 張繼，字懿孫，襄州人。他的生平不甚可知。據諸家記錄，僅知他是天寶十二年（公元七五三年）的進士。大歷中，以檢校祠部員外郎為洪州鹽鐵判官。劉長卿有《哭張員外繼》詩，自注云：「公及夫人相次沒於洪州。」大約就在大歷末年。他的朋友，除劉長卿以外，有皇甫冉、竇叔向、章八元、顧況，都是詩人。高仲武編《中興間氣集》，選錄至德元年至大歷暮年詩人二十六家的詩一百三十二首，其中有張繼詩三首。高仲武評云：「員外累代詞伯，積習弓裘。其於為文，不自雕飾。及爾登第，秀髮當時。詩體清迥，有道者風。如『女停襄邑杼，農廢汶陽耕』，可謂事理雙切。又『火燎原猶熱，風搖海未平』，比興深矣。」從評語看來，可知他家世代是詩人，現在我們已無法知道他是誰的子孫。他的詩見於《全唐詩》者，只有四十餘首，其中還混入了別人的詩。但宋人葉夢得曾說：「張繼詩三十餘篇，余家有之。」（《石林詩話》）可知他的詩，在南宋時已僅存三十餘首了。
在唐代詩人中，張繼 不是大家，恐怕也算不上名家，《唐詩品彙》把他的七言絕句列入「接武」一級中。如果這首《楓橋夜泊》詩沒有流存下來，可能今天我們已忘記了他的名字。這首詩首先被選入《中興間氣集》，題目是《夜泊松江》。以後歷代詩選，都收入此詩，直到《唐詩三百首》，使這首詩成為唐詩三百名篇之一，傳誦於眾口了。 >
... <「月落烏啼霜滿天」，第一句說明了季候。霜，不可能滿天，這個「霜」字應當體會作嚴寒；霜滿天，是空氣極冷的形象語。因為嚴寒，烏鴉都無法睡眠，所以還在啼喚。半夜裡已經月落，想必總在深秋或初冬的下弦。旅客在船中睡眠，這不是愉快舒服的睡眠，而是有羈旅之愁的睡眠。這一夜的睡眠又無人作伴，只有江上的楓樹和夜漁的火光和旅人相對。這一句本來並不難解，只是把江楓和漁火二詞擬人化。對愁眠，就是伴愁眠之意。後世有不解詩的人，懷疑江楓漁火怎麼能對愁眠，於是附會出一種講法，說愁眠是寒山寺對面的山名。直到現代，還有人引此說來講此詩，大是謬誤。接下去，詩人說在這樣光景之下，旅客已經不容易入睡了，何況又聽到蘇州城外寒山寺裡的鐘聲，鏜鏜地傳來。...>
... < 寒山寺本來只是蘇州城外一座小寺，自從 張繼 此詩流傳之後，成為一處名勝古跡。...>
i'm quite pleased with the above renditions, my "best effort" so far. i believe i've made some progress after these years, when i first tried to translate some of my favourite chinese classical poems. (and i can't remember when was the last time i looked up the on-line rhyming dictionary.) now, i finally realize that the choice of style, rhyme, rhythm etc. are all trumped by the singular need to "most faithfully reproduce as much as possible" the contents (and in the most appropriate context, incl. background, mood etc.) of the poet's original piece.
so, minimalism is in order (-- no "snake-leg", however minor, or "interpretative translation"). the less said, the better. of course, this is easier said than done.
for the e-readers' enjoyment , now may i re-post a masterpiece below:
(i won't get a lawyer's letter from my mentor and friend, that i know --)
英譯 張繼 <楓橋夜泊> Andrew Wong’s English Rendition of Zhang Ji “Moored for the Night by the Maple Bridge”
“Moondown: crows caw. Frost, a skyful.” Last weekend in reply to <AI>, I quoted this line written by the famed translator/scholar Yip Wai-lim as a fine example of the montage 蒙太奇 style of translation. For copyright reasons, I cannot reproduce here his complete rendition (p. 241 of his “Chinese Poetry”, Duke University Press, 1997). I personally favour a style with rhyme and rhythm. Here is how I have done mine (first posted 25 June 2008 on www.chinesepoemsinenglish.blogspot.com):-
Zhang Ji (?-780): Moored for the Night
by the Maple Bridge
1 The moon is down, ravens caw, a frostiness fills the sky;
2 By the riverside maples and fishing lights, sad, insomnious I lie.
3 Beyond the walls of Gusu City, where Hanshan Monastery stands,
4 Bong, goes the bell at midnight to touch the boat of the passer-by.
Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong
(Huang Hongfa) 譯者: 黃宏發
5th June 2008 (revised 6.6.08; 11.6.08; 13.6.08; 18.6.08; 12.3.09)
The original poem:
張繼: 楓橋夜泊
1 月落烏啼霜滿天
2 江楓漁火對愁眠
3 姑蘇城外寒山寺
4 夜半鐘聲到客船
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