Chinese Translations Ii

Chinese Poets: English Translations II These are modern English translations of poems by the Chinese poets Tzu Yeh, Lin Huiyin, Xu Zhimo and Huang E. These are poems about love, passion and beauty. Tzu Yeh (circa 400 BC) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch I heard my love was going to Yang-chou So I accompanied him as far as Ch'u-shan. For just a moment as he held me in his arms I thought the swirling river ceased flowing and time stood still. Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Will I ever hike up my dress for you again? Will my pillow ever caress your arresting face? Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Night descends ... I let my silken hair spill down my shoulders as I part my thighs over my lover. Tell me, is there any part of me not worthy of being loved? Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch I will wear my robe loose, not bothering with a belt; I will stand with my unpainted face at the reckless window; If my petticoat insists on fluttering about, shamelessly, I'll blame it on the unruly wind! Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch When he returns to my embrace, I’ll make him feel what no one has ever felt before: Me absorbing him like water Poured into a wet clay jar. Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Bare branches tremble in a sudden breeze. Night deepens. My lover loves me, And I am pleased that my body's beauty pleases him. Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Do you not see that we have become like branches of a single tree? Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch I could not sleep with the full moon haunting my bed! I thought I heard?here, there, everywhere? disembodied voices calling my name! Helplessly I cried "Yes!" to the phantom air! Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch I have brought my pillow to the windowsill so come play with me, tease me, as in the past ... Or, with so much resentment and so few kisses, how much longer can love last? Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch When she approached you on the bustling street, how could you say no? But your disdain for me is nothing new. Squeaking hinges grow silent on an unused door where no one enters anymore. Tzu Yeh loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch I remain constant as the Northern Star while you rush about like the fickle sun: rising in the East, drooping in the West. The Day after the Rain Lin Huiyin (1904-1955) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch I love the day after the rain and the meadow's green expanses! My heart endlessly rises with wind, gusts with wind ... away the new-mown grasses and the fallen leaves ... away the clouds like smoke ... vanishing like smoke ... Music Heard Late at Night Lin Huiyin loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch for Xu Zhimo I blushed, hearing the lovely nocturnal tune. The music touched my heart; I embraced its sadness, but how to respond? The pattern of life was established eons ago: so pale are the people's imaginations! Perhaps one day You and I can play the chords of hope together. It must be your fingers gently playing late at night, matching my sorrow. Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again Xu Zhimo (1897-1931) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Quietly I take my leave, as quietly as I came; quietly I wave good-bye to the sky's dying flame. The riverside's willows like lithe, sunlit brides reflected in the waves move my heart's tides. Weeds moored in dark sludge sway here, free of need, in the Cam's gentle wake ... O, to be a waterweed! Beneath shady elms a nebulous rainbow crumples and reforms in the soft ebb and flow. Seek a dream? Pole upstream to where grass is greener; rig the boat with starlight; sing aloud of love's splendor! But how can I sing when my song is farewell? Even the crickets are silent. And who should I tell? So quietly I take my leave, as quietly as I came; gently I flick my sleeves ... not a wisp will remain. Sent to My Husband by Huang E loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch The wild geese never fly beyond Hengyang... how then can my brocaded words reach Yongchang? Like wilted willow flowers I am ill-fated indeed; in that far-off foreign land you feel similar despair. “Oh, to go home, to go home!” you implore the calendar. “Oh, if only it would rain, if only it would rain!” I complain to the heavens. One hears hopeful rumors that you might soon be freed... but when will the Golden Cock rise in Yelang? Luo Jiang's Second Complaint by Huang E loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch The green hills vanished, pedestrians passed by disappearing beyond curves. The geese grew silent, the horseshoes timid. Winter is the most annoying season! A lone goose vanished into the heavens, the trees whispered conspiracies in Pingwu, and people huddling behind buildings shivered. Bitter Rain, an Aria of the Yellow Oriole by Huang E loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch These ceaseless rains make the spring shiver: even the flowers and trees look cold! The roads turn to mud; the river's eyes are tired and weep into in a few bays; the mountain clouds accumulate like dirty dishes, and the end of the world seems imminent, if jejune. I find it impossible to send books: the geese are ruthless and refuse to fly south to Yunnan! Broken-Hearted Poem by Huang E loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch My tears cascade into the inkwell; my broken heart remains at a loss for words; ever since we held hands and said farewell, I have been too listless to paint my eyebrows; no medicine can cure my night-sweats, no wealth repurchase our lost youth; and how can I persuade that damned bird singing in the far hills to tell a traveler south of the Yangtze to return home?