Chinese Translations Iii
Chinese Translations III
Quiet Night Thoughts
by Li Bai aka Li Po
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Moonlight illuminates my bed
as frost brightens the ground.
Lifting my eyes, the moon allures.
Lowering my eyes, I long for home.
The Solitude of Night
by Li Bai
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
At the wine party
I lay comatose, knowing nothing.
Windblown flowers fell, perfuming my lap.
When I arose, still drunk,
The birds had all flown to their nests.
All that remained were my fellow inebriates.
I left to walk along the river—alone with the moonlight.
Lines from Laolao Ting Pavilion
by Li Bai
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The spring breeze knows partings are bitter;
The willow twig knows it will never be green again.
A Toast to Uncle Yun
by Li Bai
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Water reforms, though we slice it with our swords;
Sorrow returns, though we drown it with our wine.
Li Bai is also known as Li Po, Li Bo, Li Pai, Li T'ai-po and Li T'ai-pai.
"Lu Zhai" ("Deer Park")
by Wang Wei (699-759)
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Uninhabited hills ...
except that now and again the silence is broken
by something like the sound of distant voices
as the sun's sinking rays illuminate lichens ...
Chixiao (“The Owl”)
by Duke Zhou (c. 1100-1000 BC)
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Owl!
You've stolen my offspring,
Don't shatter my nest!
When with labors of love
I nurtured my fledglings.
Before the skies darkened
And the dark rains fell,
I gathered mulberry twigs
To thatch my nest,
Yet scoundrels now dare
Impugn my enterprise.
With fingers chafed rough
By the reeds I plucked
And the straw I threshed,
I now write these words,
Too hoarse to speak:
I am homeless!
My wings are withered,
My tail torn away,
My home toppled
And tossed into the rain,
My cry a distressed peep.
The Duke of Zhou (c. 1000 BC), a member of the Zhou Dynasty also known as Ji Dan, has been called “probably the first real person to step over the threshold of myth into Chinese history” and he may be the first Chinese poet we know by name and the spiritual ancestor of Confucius. He has also been credited with writing the I Ching and the Book of Songs, also called the Book of Odes, and with creating yayue (“elegant music”) which became Chinese classical music. Keywords/Tags: China, Chinese, translation, hills, mountains, nature, animal, animals
Copyright © Michael Burch | Year Posted 2022
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