读书笔记之外国人眼里的中国古诗(二)

读书笔记之外国人眼里的中国古诗(二)

下面这几首中国古诗出自Love Poems。

1. Willow by Li Shang-Yin

Awakening in spring: how many leaves!

Rusting dawn: how many branches!

Does she know the pangs of love?

Never a time she wouldn’t dance.

Pussy willows aflutter – hide white butterfly,

Tendrils hanging limp – bare yellow oriole.

All-conquering beauty, perfect through and through:

Who would enjoy just the brows of her eyes?

《柳》作者: 李商隐

动春何限叶，撼晓几多枝。解有相思否，应无不舞时。

絮飞藏皓蝶，带弱露黄鹂。倾国宜通体，谁来独赏眉。

我手中李商隐的诗集里有好几首题目为柳的诗，可惜都不是。我又用‘白蝶’，‘李商隐’，‘柳’为关键词百度，还是不行。最后在诗词名句网里找到了李商隐全集，终于找到了这首诗。

我一直很喜欢李商隐的诗，最爱的有‘锦瑟无端五十弦’，‘相见时难别亦难’，‘昨夜星辰昨夜风’，很多很多。这首诗是我第一次读到。凭心而论，这首诗的翻译还算不错，颇有意味。可是李商隐描写爱情的诗那么多，为什么选这一首？

 

2. A Song of Chuang Ching-Yuan Picking Lotus Flowers by Wen Ting-Yun

Essence of orchids in her tumbled hair, a goddess of spring,

She takes the swallow hairpin from her nape, loosens coiled tresses.

Under the willows by west gate, near the bridge at dusk,

Moated waters past doorways, dabbled, riffled flow.

A prince of rare talents, visitor to the imperial count,

Shell fitting on his saddle all a-jangle, cross the spring lane.

Dancing effortlessly on an open palm, her sheer skirt,

Tailored shagreen dress, best the colors of spring.

Like wafting smoke embracing the moon, waist one measure round,

Scent of musk and dragon marrow, how lovely, gracefully is she!

Clouds like autumn curtains brush the water – fragments of bright movement;

Dew-laden, flowers in profusion, their fragrance unfading.

Mandarin ducks go to and fro on the brimming pond,

`Midst duckweeds green like tassels, and short lotus stems.

One evening the west wind comes bring showers,

Scaring, stripping bare the flowers, a melancholy pale red.

Boat prows sever lotus stems, but strands unseen hold fast.

For lotus roots, lotus seeds, preserve a mutual bond.

His heart is like the moon, a moon not yet on the wane,

Clear, bright and full of mid-month days.

《相和歌辞·张静婉采莲曲》 作者: 温庭筠

兰膏坠发红玉春，燕钗拖颈抛盘云。城西杨柳向娇晚，门前沟水波潾潾。

麒麟公子朝天客，佩马珰珰度春陌。掌中无力舞衣轻，翦断鲛绡破春碧。

抱月飘烟一尺腰，麝脐龙髓怜娇饶。秋罗拂衣碎光动，露重花多香不销。

鸂鶒胶胶塘水满，绿萍如粟莲茎短。一夜西风送雨来，粉痕零落愁红浅。

船头折藕丝暗牵，藕根莲子相留连。郎心似月月易缺，十五十六清光圆。

 

这首诗的名字里有采莲，所以搜出来还是很容易的。只是真的不出名啊！即便是中文原诗，也很一般，太雕琢堆砌了。我看书里那些英美诗，选得都挺好的，怎么中国诗就没选好呢？

 

3. In The Moonlit Chamber by Wen Ting-Yun

 

In the moonlit chamber, always she thinks of him.

Soft wisps of silken willows, languor in the air of spring.

Verdant were the grasses beyond the gate;

At their parting, she heard the horses neigh.

 

Draperies patterned of gold kingfishers;

Within, fragrant candle melts in tears.

Falling petals, the morning plaints of the cuckoo,

Green-gauze windows – fragments of an illusive dream.

 

菩萨蛮·玉楼明月长相忆 作者: 温庭筠

 

玉楼明月长相忆，柳丝袅娜春无力。门外草萋萋，送君闻马嘶。

画罗金翡翠，香烛销成泪。花落子规啼，绿窗残梦迷。

 

温庭筠最著名的菩萨蛮应该是‘小山重叠金明灭，鬓云欲度香腮雪。懒起画蛾眉，弄妆梳洗迟。 照花前后镜，花面交相映。新帖绣罗襦，双双金鹧鸪。’。这首‘玉楼明月长相忆’也很精致，只是‘玉楼明月’给译成了‘Moonlit Chamber’，让我在诗集里找了半天‘月宫’，白费一番力气。

 

4. The River-merchant’s Wife: A Letter by Li Po

 

While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead

I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.

You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse,

You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums.

And we went on living in the village of Chokan:

Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.

 

At fourteen I married My Lord you.

I never laughed, being bashful.

Lowing my head, I looked at the wall.

Called to, a thousand times, I never looked back.

 

At fifteen, I stopped scowling,

I desire my dust to be mingled with your

For ever and for ever and for ever.

Why should I climb the look out?

 

At sixteen you departed,

You went into far Ku-to-yen, by the river of swirling eddies,

And you have been gone five months.

The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead

You dragged your feet when you went out.

By the gate now, the moss is grown, the different mosse

Too deep to clear them away!

The leaves fall early this autumn, in wind.

The paired butterflies are already yellow with August

Over the grass in the West garden;

They hurt me. I grow older.

If you are coming down through the narrows of river Kiang,

Please let me know beforehand,

And I will come out to meet you

As far as Cho-fu-Sa.

 

长干行

妾发初覆额，折花门前剧。郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅。同居长干里，两小无嫌猜。

十四为君妇，羞颜未尝开。低头向暗壁，千唤不一回。十五始展眉，愿同尘与灰。

常存抱柱信，岂上望夫台。十六君远行，瞿塘滟滪堆。五月不可触，猿声天上哀。

门前迟行迹，一一生绿苔。苔深不能扫，落叶秋风早。八月蝴蝶来，双飞西园草。

感此伤妾心，坐愁红颜老。早晚下三巴，预将书报家。相迎不道远，直至长风沙。

 

‘十四为君妇’翻译成‘At fourteen I married My Lord you’实在是太生硬了，非要用‘My Lord’来硬译‘君’，可见译者不通中国文化。‘常存抱柱信’给译成了‘For ever and for ever and for ever’，完全意译，典故全失。‘岂上望夫台’的‘望夫台’译成‘look out’其实不错，可是语气全错了，‘Why should I climb the look out?’意思是为什么我要上望夫台，有不情愿的感觉，译成‘Why shouldn’t I climb the look out?’ 应该更准确一些。‘感此伤妾心，坐愁红颜老。’变成了‘They hurt me. I grow older.’，韵味全无，感觉从小清新，小伤感的悠悠闺怨变成了撕心裂肺的咆哮。

 

说实话，很不习惯看国外出版的各种诗集，除了专集会在前言中介绍评价一下作者外，一般的诗歌选集，既没有作者简介，又没有背景知识，更何况注释解析了，一点儿也不 Reader Friendly。简直要为这里的诗歌爱好者鸣不平了，也怨不得诺大的书店，诗集只占了不到一个书架。

外国人和中国人选诗的口味实在不同，那么多在中国家喻户哓的名篇不选，他们的选择，真让人不可理解。常常怀疑，那些译者真得懂中文吗，他们是从中文直接翻译的，还是从别的语言（日语？）转译的？

虽然没有买下Chinese Love Poetry，可是我从图书馆里借到了一本Chinese Erotic Poems，中国爱情／情色（？）诗选， 听起来是不是更性感一些？我准备好好研读，看看老外们是如何理解中国的爱情／情色诗。

 

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1. Love Poems (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets)

Publisher: Everyman's Library; First Edition Thus edition (November 2, 1993)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0679429069

ISBN-13: 978-0679429067

 

 

2. Chinese Erotic Poems by Tony Barnstone(Editor), Chou Ping(Editor)

Publisher: Everyman's Library (Oct. 16 2007)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0307265676

ISBN-13: 978-0307265678