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notes to translations from the tanglish 

- the english translations here are my own, and are mainly literal translations rather than literary ones - most of my artifice is reserved for the book. *these are work-in-progress and should be completed by point of publication.
- i have provided limited english notes particularly on cultural or location-specific references.
- all the original chinese texts are linked in the title to their respective baidu pages, which provide extensive and detailed annotations, bai hua / plain Chinese versions, and in most cases, textual analyses / commentary.

thoughts, silent night / 静夜思 - 李白
Quiet Night Thoughts

Before the window, the light of the moon
As if frost on the ground
Raising my head, I look at the moon
Lowering my head, I think of my hometown

uprising / 登鹳雀楼 - 王之涣
Climbing Guan Que Tower*
 
 The sun disappears beneath the mountains
The Yellow River flows into the ocean
To maximise your view, even up to a thousand miles
Go up another level

*Guan Que Tower: or Stork Tower, located by the banks of the Yellow River in the ancient city of Puzhou in modern Shanxi. The tower was built in ~557-571 AD. Wang Zhi Huan visited in ~704 and wrote this poem, enshrining its place in Chinese history. It was burnt down in the Jin Dynasty, and rebuilt in the 1990s - it is now a popular tourist destination with a great view of the Yellow River.

red beans / 相思 - 王维
Longing
 
The red saga seeds* originate in the southern lands
In spring, how many branches will grow?
I wish you would pick more of them
These things remind us most of longing

*The saga tree (Adenanthera pavonina) grows in the tropics. The seeds of the tree are bright red and heart-shaped, and are known as 相思豆 ("longing bean") - they are a symbol of love in China. The seeds are mildly toxic when raw and should not be confused with the beans of red bean soup.

kira-kira filter / 蝶恋花·春景 - 苏轼
Butterfly Romance Flowers
 
The apricot blossoms have withered and the green apricots are still small
As the sparrows fly, clear waters encircle the houses of people.
On the willow branches, the catkins have been blown sparse.
Where in the world is there no fragrant grass?
Within the walls, a swing; outside the walls, a road.
Outside the walls, a passerby; within the walls, the laughter of a beautiful girl.
Her laughter fades until it can no longer be heard.
The one with more feelings is vexed by the thoughtless one.

*The title is the name of a ci. Most ci are equivalent to standard tunes to which poets fill in multiple versions of lyrics, which become known by separate titles distinct from the ci, or in the absence thereof, by the opening line of the lyric. Each ci​ has specific requirements of length, meter, and rhyme, but have uneven line lengths as contrasted to the 4-line jueju and the 8-line lüshi. 

ellipsis / 鹿柴 - 王维

Lu Zhai*
 
The hills are empty with no trace of humankind
But the sound of human voices can be heard.
The evening sun, refracted through clouds, enters the deep forest
And shines upon the green moss.

*Lu Zhai, or Deer Camp – a landscape feature in Wang Chuan Bie Ye (辋川别业), a private garden constructed by Wang Wei in the Wangchuan valley, in modern Shaanxi.

morning after / 春晓 - 孟浩然

Waking in Spring
 
Sleeping in spring, and before I realise it, dawn.
All around I hear the call of birds.
I remember last night the sound of wind and rain.
How many flowers have fallen?

the comments / 赋得古原草送别 - 白居易
For the farewell on the grass of the old plains

Green and verdant the grass on the plains
Every year it withers and regrows
The wild fires cannot fully burn it away
When the breeze of spring blows, it grows again
Its far-reaching fragrance occupies the old pathways
Verdant in the morning, it reaches the abandoned cities
Again I send my friend off for a long journey
The grass is lush and full of the feeling of departure

kalsarikannit / 月下独酌 - 李白
Drinking alone beneath the moon
 
Amidst the flowers, a flask of wine
Drinking alone with no dear friends
I lift my glass to invite the moon
My shadow makes us three
The moon does not know how to drink
My shadow aimlessly follows my body
For now, accompanied by moon and shadow
Carrying out enjoyment for the sake of spring
I sing, as the moon walks back and forth
I dance, as my shadow flickers uncertainly
While sober, we party together
While drunk, we each go our own way
Forever let us join this journey, feelingless
And arrange to meet in the heavens

redhead / 满江红·怒发冲冠 - 岳飞
The Whole River is Red* - Anger, Bristling Hair

Raging, my hair bristles and dislodges my headgear; standing at the banister; the rapid rain comes to a stop. i raise my eyes, and cry out to the heavens; my feelings, ambitions fill my chest. at the age of thirty, my accomplishments are worthless as dust and dirt; eight thousand miles of campaigning under the clouds and moon. don't dwell in ease, until young men's heads turn white, and mourn in vain.

The shame of Jing Kang**, has not been redressed. the anger of this courtier, when will it be extinguished? drive a battle chariot and trample a gap through He Lan Mountain***. my aspirations are resilient, and while hungry, i will dine on the flesh of the Hu Lu****; i will laugh and talk and while thirsty, drink the blood of the Xiong Nu****. i will return, recapture all the old territory, and report to the emperor!

*the title is the name of a ci.
**Jing Kang: this is the year-naming convention of the Qinzong emperor. In his second year (1127), the Jin troops conquered the Northern Song capital Bianliang and captured Qinzong and his abdicated father Huizong, ending the Northern Song Dynasty. The remnants of the kingdom moved south to begin the Southern Song Dynasty under the Gaozong emperor. The two former emperors were brought back to the Jin capital and died in captivity. This incident caused great shame to the Song Dynasty officials, including Yue Fei.
***He Lan Mountain: a mountain range running between modern Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. Its high ground made it militarily significant, and it was held by the Jin Dynasty throughout its struggle with Song.
****Hu Lu: A derogatory term, "barbarians", usually referring to the northern Nüzhen tribes that raided the Song (and eventually became the Qing Dynasty) ;  Xiong Nu: One of the many northern tribes that raided the Song Dynasty - both of these terms are here used to refer to the Jin invaders.


one more round / 将进酒 - 李白

evening, mohd sultan / 凉州词 - 王翰
Song of Liangzhou
 
Fine wine of grapes and a luminous jade cup
About to drink, but the sound of battle* calls me to my horse
If I lie drunk on the battlefield, don’t laugh at me
Since olden days, how many return from battle anyway?

*琵琶 pí pá: a traditional string instrument akin to a lute. The poet could be alluding to the sounds of pi pa as a call to battle, though the pi pa is not a traditional military instrument, or they could mean that the pi pa is being played with urgency at a farewell feast before the battle, evoking the sense of horseback and war.

independent store / 春望 - 杜甫
Spring Views
 
The capital has fallen, but the mountains and rivers of the country remain
Outside Chang An city in spring, the grass grows deep
Ruing the times, even seeing flowers, I shed tears
Bemoaning departure, even a bird can startle my heart
The fires of war burning for three months
A letter from home worth ten thousand gold bars
White-headed, I scratch till it’s even shorter
Until I cannot even pin it down*.

*簪: zān, a hairpin used to pin down the hair of adult males in ancient China.

the drone operator / 旅夜书怀 - 杜甫

night travel, feelings

fine grass in the light wind by the shore
precipitously high masts. i alone moored in a boat by night.
the stars droop towards the vastness of the wilderness,
the reflected moon surges as the great river flows.
my name has been made through the essays i've authored,
i retire from my official rank because of age and sickness.
what does my floating, drifting life resemble?
a lone gull between heaven and earth


susurrus / 声声慢·寻寻觅觅 - 李清照

slow sounds - searching and searching

searching and searching, cold and deserted, miserable, wretched, sad. in this time of sudden warmth yet returning to cold - it's hard to rest.  two or three cups of weak wine - how can they stand against the late-coming, rushing wind? wild geese fly past, and it hurts me, for they were my friends in the old times.

the floor is covered with mounds of chrysanthemums, haggard and withered, and who can pick them up? guarding the window, how will i make it to nightfall alone?  the parasol tree as well as the light rain, even till sunset, still drips its droplets. looking at this scene, how can i - sum it all with the word "sorrow"?

This piece is most distinct for the first fourteen repeated words, conveying the almost obsessive-compulsive emotions of the poet with onomatopoeia.
*The title is the name of a ci.

6.59pm / 乐游原 - 李商隐

getting towards evening, i feel discomfited,
and drive my cart up to the old garden
the sunset is infinitely beautiful,
except it is near to the dusk.

*the "old garden" and the title refer to 
乐游原 Lè yóu yúan: an elevated park in the south of modern-day Xi An - the highest point in the old Tang capital of Chang An with a good view of the city. 原 (plains) is sometimes confused with 苑 (park/garden).

translating li yu / 虞美人·春花秋月何时了- 李煜*

the beautiful lady yu** - when will spring flowers and autumn moon end?

the flowers that bloom in spring and the moon that shines in autumn - when will this come to an end? the things of the past - how much do we know of them? in my small apartments last night, the east wind again; my former nation does not bear relooking at in the clear moonlight. 

the sculpted columns and jade steps should still be there, only the beautiful faces have changed. if you ask me how much sorrow i have - just as a river of spring water flowing to the east. 


*Li Yu is the last ruler of Southern Tang, which was conquered by the Song Dynasty. This was his final poem, written as a fallen noble living on the benevolence of a foreign kingdom. The references to the east wind and water flowing east (a reference to his former kingdom) triggered the foundering emperor of Tang, who executed Li for this poem. 
**the title is the name of a 
ci.
​
translation / 乌衣巷 - 刘禹锡
Wu Yi Lane

by the Zhu Que bridge*, wild grass and flowers
at the mouth of Wu Yi lane**, the sunset slants
the swallows that nested in the halls of Premiers Wang and Xie***
now fly into an ordinary person's home

*Zhu Que bridge: Zhu Que is the vermillion bird, one of the four mythical animals of Chinese legend. The bridge is a large and well-traversed historical bridge  over the Qin Huai river, situated in modern Nanjing (former Jian Kang / Jin Ling, capital of the Six Dynasties and then the largest city in the world).

**Wu Yi lane: Wu Yi, or dark clothing. The lane is thus named because of the former royal guards camp situated here - the royal guards all wore dark uniforms.

***Wang and Xie: Wang Dao and Xie An were former premiers in the Six Dynasties, whose large and powerful families all lived in Wu Yi lane. Their homes were known for accumulating many swallows. After the Six Dynasty period and the rise of Tang, the lane and the houses were all abandoned and became ruins.



Section II

your message is taking longer than usual to send / 送远 - 杜甫

sending, on a distant journey

warriors in armor fill heaven and earth, 
why am i still traveling, now!
my friends and family all in tears,
i saddle my horse away away from this lone city.
the grass and trees are withering as we enter the late seasons,
the rivers in the high territory are quiet and clear with frost and snow.
even though our parting was yesterday,
i still feel the sorrow of my ancestors at this scene.

a bandwidth song / 水调歌头·明月几时有- 苏轼
song of water* - when will we see the moon?

when will we see the moon?
holding my cup, i ask the heavens.
and who knows, in that heavenly palace,
what year it is today?
i would ride back there on the winds,
but i fear those carved walls and jade floors,
and the unbearable cold at those heights.
rising to dance at play with shadows,
how can that compare with this mortal world?

turning past the red passages,
dipping beneath the embroidered windows,
shining on the sleepless one.**

you should not bear any grudges,
why do you always wax to fullness at the point of parting?***
men have their sorrow and joy, their parting and joining,
the moon has her dimming and brightening, waxing and waning,
never have these things coincided.
i only wish that the ones i love are well,
and across a thousand miles, we can together appreciate the beautiful moon.

*the title is the name of a ci.
**in this stanza, the moonlight turns and dips and shines on the poet.
***in this stanza, the poet turns to address the moon.


of the garden / 过故人庄 - 孟浩然

passing an old friend's home

an old friend has prepared a feast of chicken and fine rice*
and invited me to his home
the green trees meet bordering the village
the verdant mountains slant beyond the city walls
opening the windows to face the fields
we hold our winecups and talk of the day's trivialities
until the 9th of the 9th*
i'll return to appreciate the chrysanthemums

*chicken and rice was one of the best feasts a farmer could provide for his guests. the rice here, 黍shu, is yellow rice, considered premium for the times.
**重阳日 chóng yáng rì is the 9th day of the 9th month in the lunar calendar (chong yang meaning double "yangs", and 9 being the number symbolising "yang"), the auspicious date of a traditional Chinese festival, where people climb high places, carry sticks of dogwood with them, pray to their ancestors and local deities, and gather to appreciate the flowers of the season (chrysanthemums) or drink chrysanthemum wine. see "eid al-adha" in this selection.


a dream of pears (an extract) / 白雪歌送武判官归京 - 岑参

in the snow, sending off official Wu with song on his journey back to the capital*

the north wind blowing through the ground, bending the white grass**
in these distant lands, in the eighth month, already there is flying snow
suddenly, as if a night of spring wind,
thousands of trees burst forth with pear blossoms***

*this is a four-line extract from a longer 18-line poem, chosen for its distinct and striking imagery.
**白草: Fountaingrass or pennisetum centrasiaticum Tzvel. is a kind of grass that grows in the Chinese northwest - after it is dried it turns white.
***the pear blossom or pyrus spp. is a white flower that only blooms in spring. in this case the poet is describing the visual effect of snow-laden branches.

poxless pox / 花非花 - 白居易

flower / not flower

like a flower but not a flower, like mist but not mist.
arriving at midnight, departing at dawn.
it comes like a dream in spring - how long could it last?
it goes like a cloud at daybreak - without a trace.


leaving wuhan in march / 黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵 - 李白

on the yellow crane tower*, sending meng haoran** to guangling*

my old friend departs west from the yellow egret tower
in this third month of mist and bloom, down the river to yangzhou*
a lonely sail and his distant figure disappears into the blue
i only see the yangtze, flowing towards the end of the sky

*黄鹤楼 / yellow crane tower, a famous landmark in wuhan with a view of the yangtze, made even more legendary by this poem and several others. guangling and yangzhou are areas/cities in the prosperous suzhou district, eastwards down the yangtze from wuhan.
**孟浩然 / meng haoran, a notable tang dynasty poet. see "morning after", "in the garden" in this selection.

Section III

morning at joo chiat / ​枫桥夜泊 - 张继

eid al-adha / 九月九日忆山东兄弟 - 王维

off day / 登岳阳楼 - 杜甫

qing ming / 清明 - 杜牧

phillips investor centre / 江雪 - 柳宗元

motorcycles, woodlands / 送友人 - 李白

girl at yio chu kang road / 如梦令·昨夜雨疏风骤 - 李清照

ikea conversations / 宿建德江 - 孟浩然

wandersong / 游子吟 - 孟郊

sending off second son / 送元二使安西 - 王维

returning / 回乡偶书 - 贺知章

cannot find boss / 寻隐者不遇 - 贾岛

the queue / 登幽州台歌 - 陈子昂

sim lim / 遗爱寺 - 白居易

red ink / 赤壁 - 杜牧

neither civil nor servant / 侠客行 - 李白

bukit ho swee / 茅屋为秋风所破歌 - 杜甫

memories by the bay / 念奴娇·赤壁怀古 - 苏轼

junction of ulu pandan and clementi road / 滁州西涧 - 韦应物

over the PIE / 登高 - 杜甫

a dream of sentosa cove / 浪淘沙令·帘外雨潺潺- 李煜




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  • Home
  • art
    • poetry >
      • sonnets from the singlish
      • making love with scrabble tiles
      • footnotes on falling
      • SingPoWriMo
      • A Luxury We Cannot Afford
      • Unfree Verse
      • Twin Cities
      • call and response
      • Ipster Cafe @ The Middle Ground
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