杂诗三首 - miscellaneous poems three by 王维 (Wang Wei, 699 to 759)
其一 | 1: 家住孟津河，门对孟津口。 jiā zhù mèng jīn hé, mén duì mèng jīn kǒu Home is by the Mengjin River, its front doors at the Mengjin River mouth.
常有江南船，寄书家中否？ cháng yǒu jiāng nán chuán, jì shū jiā zhōng fǒu Often, there are boats bound for Jiangnan; has that letter for home been sent?
其二 | 2: 君自故乡来，应知故乡事。 jūn zì gù xiāng lái, yīng zhī gù xiāng shì Sir, you came from my hometown, and of the hometown news, you ought to know.
来日绮窗前，寒梅著花未？ lái rì qǐ chuāng qián, hán méi zhe huā wèi On the day you set off, at that carved window, were the winter plums in bloom?
其三 | 3: 已见寒梅发，复闻啼鸟声。 yǐ jiàn hánméi fā, fù wén tí niǎo shēng Having just seen the winter plums blooming, there came again the sound of birdsong.
心心视春草，畏向玉阶生 xīn xīn shì chūn cǎo, wèi xiàng yù jiē shēng Thoughts burgeon at the sight of grass in Spring, dread for their advance toward the stairway.
我对蝉说：他日再见，要待来年。 wǒ duì chán shuō: tā rì zài jiàn, yào dài lái nián I said to the cicada: For the day we see each other again to come, wait for next year.
蝉对我说：他日重逢，要等来生。 chán duì wǒ shuō: tā rì chóng féng, yào děng lái shēng The cicada said to me: For the day we meet again to come, wait for my next lifetime.
I had once thought about ending it all, because I saw a cat curled up at the harbor staring into the distance; the waves pounded at the shore, again and again in a relentless invasion. [1] May those events of the past disappear, never to be looked upon again.
I had once thought about ending it all. That was because on my birthday, the apricot flowers bloomed once more. In the dazzling sunlight under the tree’s shadow, fallen blossoms slumbered. Can I, as they have, turn to earth, to dust, and never have to wander again? [2]
The expired sweet still in the drawer where it had been placed, the lost bike left behind on the road leading home, [3] and that abandoned typhoon shelter by the seaside, each a reminder that I am just like them. Scenes from last night and today keep surfacing in my mind. Tomorrow approaches; I feel a desperate thirst for some change. ‘You must not despair’, oh I know this, and yet - [4]
I had once thought about ending it all. Everything around me seemed to ask, ‘are you doing well?’ Tears flowed unstoppably, flowing into the barren desert of my heart; the heart that had long ago become an empty husk. [5]
I had once thought about ending it all, [6] because my existence kept bringing disappointment to others. Never having it all means never having to fear pain we may inflict or suffer. Even for something so simple, I still managed to mess up.
I had once thought about ending it all, because of that self-portrait on the wall in which I looked so proud. There was nothing to rebut; kneeling down, all I could say was: [7] ‘for being born into this world, I am truly, truly sorry.’
In the room, light flickers from a dim TV screen, accompanying the late night cacophony outside this house. [8] Those suffocating words from the telephone speaker were a stabbing torment during my time in the cage. [9] In the darkness, I armed myself with Don Quixote’s tenacity; but resisting invisible enemies shattered my resolve into smithereens.
[10]
‘Don’t be afraid’, oh I know this, and yet - [4]
I had once thought about ending it all. [12] Why do they all say that there is no hope for me? [11] I do not demand to be understood, I do not ask for time to turn back, because a long long time ago, there was somebody I once loved.
I used to think about ending it all. [12] That was because I should have been so brilliant and good. Pessimistically, I muddled through, ensnared in those thoughts of leaving.
Closing my eyes, I can feel that a better tomorrow has arrived. You, in that vast sea of people, you smile through your tears, and tenderly begin to sing this song by my ear.
This is a translation of one of my (many) favourite scenes in 《琅琊榜》, the novel from which Nirvana in Fire was adapted. Spoilers within for Chapter 174 of Editions 1 and 2 and Chapter 69 of Edition 3 - you have been warned.
The song played by Gong Yu in this scene was excepted from the poem 南仙吕·傍妆台·自叙 by 夏完淳 (Xia Wanchun, 1631 - 1647), a poet and soldier born at the end of the Ming Dynasty, who died at the age of 17 resisting the Manchu troops. You can read more about him here.
傍妆台 or By the Dressing Table is the name of the fixed melody, played using the 仙吕宫 tuning i.e. 宫 (gong) mode (am I using any of these terms correctly? LOL please!!! I would deeply appreciate advice >.<). From a brief google search, it seems this melody is usually played with the xiao. But just for fun, here is the link to the wikipedia page for Chinese music scales (coincidentally, the origin and inspiration for Gong Yu’s name - see if you can spot it) and Guqin tuning.
This time, the passage was proposed by @laozuyiling and hosted by @dragongirlg-fics on twitter. (Thank you for keeping this fun series of challenges going!!! :D)
Here’s my attempt referencing from zhenhunxiaoshuo’s 魔道祖师, Chapter 10.
His features were fair, his complexion, ashen - more, there was a touch of melancholic ethereality about him. However, because of those eyes that had neither irises nor pupils, only a deathly white surface, and the numerous jagged streaks of black that crawled like cracks from neck to cheek, that melancholic air was transformed into ominous brooding. The sleeves and bottom edge of his robes were in tatters, exposing wrists and ankles just as ashen white as his complexion, around which black iron manacles were clasped. That echoing clinking, clanking sound from before was caused by his chains as he moved. Once he stilled, all returned once more to dead silence.
I am a blue whale that transformed into a deserted island with the most enormous silhouette. Fish and shrimp swim by me, and the flying birds stop by on my back.
I’ve passed by too many of such beautiful, wondrous sights, paradises like Eden; but the ocean, too calm, too quiet, holds untold stories with no one to hear them.
I love the Mediterranean’s clear sky after rain, love the Siberian snowscape, love the eagle soaring high and lofty up above, love the algae blooms below my belly. I’d been loving them with all my heart, until that day:
Your clothes were old and tattered, but your melodious singing was warm and gentle, accompanying me in this aimless drifting from place to place. My back was like a barren hillside, but you smiled and shook your head, claiming it was your entire world.
You wave at the sun and ask after the seagulls, accompanying me in loving the sky and land, roaming everywhere, joyful and free. It’s just a pity though, that in the end you never could lie upon my chest admiring the night sky, boundless and eternal, putting the stars in our eyes.
I am a blue whale that transformed into a deserted island with the most enormous silhouette. Fish and shrimp swim by me, and the flying birds stop by on my back.
I am by nature too cold, too distant; I once had feelings for her up there in the sky, but the clouds were too far, too light, whirling and churning, then parting to each their own destiny.
I have never entered into a world prosperous and flourishing, never heard the sound of crowds bustling, never seen too many living things, never felt scorching, searing feelings. And so, I never noticed out in the middle of the big ocean, how quiet and still it could be.
Your clothes were old and tattered, but your melodious singing was warm and gentle, accompanying me in this aimless drifting from place to place. My back was like a barren hillside, but you smiled and shook your head, claiming it was your entire world.
You wave at the sun and ask after the seagulls, accompanying me in loving the sky and land, roaming everywhere, joyful and free. It is a pity though, that in the end you never could lie upon my chest admiring the night sky, boundless and eternal, putting the stars in our eyes.
The tips of your fingers, lightly, gently, ran over all of my ugly wounds from the battering of the wind and waves. In your eyes there is Spring and Autumn, superior to all I had ever seen and loved, even those mountains and valleys, and meandering rivers.
I had once thought that my shoulders were so sturdy and broad, enough to lift that crystal palace at the bottom of the sea. And yet after you got here, they seem so very slight and thin.
I want to give you a shoreline where you can run free, so you can be like a Queen.
[An English to Chinese translation of Bitterness by theleakypen]
少年时 | In youth 俊杰廉悍 | being heroes, strong and unafraid, 三人结义 | sworn brothers we three became. 群策群力 | Our minds, our strengths, we pooled together, 助君继天立极 | to assist in your ascendance. 奈何不知帝心 | Alas, an Emperor’s mind was not to be known -
弓蛇误 | the bow was mistaken for a snake. 谗邪铺网 | The vilifiers and the wicked laid their net; 君竟顺水推舟 | and you just took that opportunity 削株掘根 | to cut down, to uproot. 名将伏诛 | Thus the good general was killed, 从此声销迹灭 | and from then, gone was all talk of him and all traces too.
Ending song performed by Zhou Shen for the Chinese fantasy period drama 【斛珠夫人】 Novoland: Pearl Eclipse (2021).
Answer me, with a kiss from an unpreoccupied heart. with candor borne of control lost; this is just right for us. A cool breeze assails the moon, swinging vermillion gates; the emptiness isn’t harsh. The peace and stability of present times, are far too befitting of sacrifice.
Watch me, with my willful innocence, shun the golden mean of forbearance wasting away what remains of this life. Even Tyrannical Time must yield to the steel spines of the pure and loyal of heart. Yearning doesn’t require your reciprocation to be always by my side.
Then, in the breeze, blossoms bloomed wild; it ought to have been the best of times, so why sit so stiff and proper in the wind, under the moon, all alone? Within the city like a vivid silk painting, the person who ekes out a living begrudges every ink drop spent. They refuse to perceive with their souls, refuse to reunite.
The vast ocean, with billions of the smallest teardrops, has lifted the little boat; freed and at ease, a few steps are taken. Within the desolation here, may my beloved find their match and never feel alone. The way ahead, whether by river or lake, matters not so long as one can leap forth.
Barefooted, I throw myself into the hazy mist that is you. If liking someone is covetousness, who is free of worldly desires? Listen, all the grass and all the trees, they say every stab to the heart is a blessing. Bitter, then numb, an endless cycle; sweetness was the greater deception unto dusk.
Then, in the breeze, blossoms bloomed wild; it ought to have been the best of times, so why sit so stiff and proper in the wind, under the moon, all alone? Time after time, the moon has risen and the stars have sunk. In lingering tipsiness and fragmented dreams, still, it is asked Will you allow your soul to recognize mine? May we reunite?
Seeing the loneliness shadowing your life left behind as you cross these waters - Don’t heal the space within those pages that I occupy. The road that was smoothed for you, through the drunken haze before my eyes, lands as the loveliest token of a promise.
I can’t imagine that “Wei” can be punned that way like that in Chinese, so what’s the original text? Is it a pun as well?
I was thinking about how it might be possible to keep that excellent pun AND bring its use a little closer to the original sentence. Here’s my rough take on that!
Thanks for asking! Much to my disappointment, the original Chinese looked like it could’ve been a pun but apparently isn’t.
所谓“逢魏必吵”
The Chinese language loves 4-character idioms, so I thought this could’ve been a joke off some existing phrase, but from a quick Google apparently it just means “meet-Wei-must-argue”, or in other words “arguments are inevitable when ‘Wei’ is brought up”.
HOWEVER, if it makes you feel any better (or worse), if you say the above phrase out loud it goes “suǒ wèi 'féng wèi bì chǎo’”… though it is not meant to be a pun 😅
(By the wei, apparently the Chinese fandom has the saying “Inside the book it’s meet-Wei-must-argue; outside the book it’s meet-Xue-must-argue”. Occasionally “meet-Jiang-must-argue” as well.)
How unexpected that despite the many years that had passed, he was still a topic of contention amongst the cultivators, in the storms of their sharp tongued battles, he remained towering above all, the ever unfailing ‘Wei to start an argument’.
MDZS translation: ch 15, WWX’s apology in the Cloud Recesses library
I got to read the first “Lan-er-gege” line from the novel at reading group this week and I feel super lucky! I even got to put my acting skills into it, haha!
My translation below, localized a bit to American English.
[ref text: traditional uncensored raws]
[Ch 15]
Wei Wuxian said again, “Actually, if we’re going sort this out, who was the first person to attack? It was you. If you hadn’t tried to fight first, then we could’ve had a nice chat and clarified things, tsk! But if someone tries to fight me, I have to fight back. You can’t blame this all on me. Lan Zhan, are you listening to me? Look at me. Lan-gongzi?” He snapped his fingers. “Lan-er-gege, bestow on me the honor of your face, look at me.”
Lan Wangji didn’t even glance at him. “Copy it once more.”
Wei Wuxian immediately leaned his body toward him. “Don’t be like that. I was wrong!”
Lan Wangji ruthlessly called him out. “You’re not repentant in the least.”
Wei Wuxian said, completely shamelessly, “Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry. I’ll say it however many times you want. I can even say it while kneeling.”
(Translator’s note: Wei Wuxian is such a brat and I love him! If you enjoyed this, feel free to reblog.)
I saw this and my hands got itchy! xD It’s always so fascinating to see different mental images of the same scene.
We originally did this on twitter! Here’s the link to G’s tweet :)
…………………………………………………………………………..
Wei Wuxian spoke again. “Besides, let’s be reasonable; who was the one that attacked first? It was you. If you hadn’t made the first move, we could’ve talked it out nicely and cleared things up. Tsk-tsk. But when someone strikes out at me, I must retaliate in kind. The blame isn’t entirely mine. Lan Zhan are you listening? Look at me. Young Master Lan?” He snapped his fingers, “Lan-er gege, do us a favor, look at me.”
Lan Wangji did not spare him a glance. He said, “copy it again.”
Wei Wuxian fell sideways. “Don’t be like that. I was wrooong.”
Lan Wangji mercilessly exposed him. “You are entirely unrepentant.”
Wei Wuxian replied without the slightest trace of backbone. “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I can say it any number of times you want. Saying it kneeling down is also fine.”
井底点灯深烛伊， jǐng dǐ diǎn dēng shēn zhú yī, At the well’s bottom, lighting a candle in the deep, illuminating you; At the well’s bottom, lighting a candle, my words for you are heartfelt.*
共郎长行莫围棋。 gòng láng cháng háng mò wéi qí. accompanying you, my dear, in a game of changhang but not weiqi. They’ll accompany you on your journey long. On the promised return-date, do not renege.*
It’s a Nirvana in Fire fic of course AND the longest thing I’ve ever written - even if you consider that approximately 1/5 of it is notes xD (typical lol). I had the most fun writing Xiao Jingyu in this, though he was not supposed to have such a big part, it just happened so naturally that there was no refusing him :)
