Category Archives: versions

たますず (jade bells) by Yasunari Kawabata Translator’s note: The Japanese title of Kawabata’s story is たますず (tamasuzu), composed of たま (“jade”) and すず (“bell”). The story appears in 《川端康成全集》（新潮社）. One further note: my younger sister, who passed away about ten years ago, was named 玉玲 (“sound of jade”). For reasons I cannot fully explain, IContinue reading “Tamasuzu”

The Fighting Cricket A story from Liaozhai Zhiyi (Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio) During the Xuande reign, the palace grew fond of cricket fights and ordered the people to provide fighting crickets every year. These creatures weren’t native to the western parts, yet a magistrate in Huayin, eager to curry favor with his superiors,Continue reading “The Fighting Cricket”

余作《阿霞依婼》既竟，经旬日而心犹未释。夫感物伤时，固性情之常，然余怀之郁结，殆有甚焉。昔留仙氏尝谓“自鸣天籁，有由然矣”，今乃深然其说。偶观莎翁诗，有 “That time of year…” 之咏，叹其萧瑟之情，暗合右军临文嗟悼之思。玩诵再四，因命笔译之。 晋谢安尝谓逸少曰：“中年以来，伤于哀乐，与亲友别，辄作数日恶。”羲之曰：“年在桑榆，自然至此。正赖丝竹陶写，恒恐儿辈觉，损其欢乐之趣。” 朝廷以其誓苦，亦不复征之。及中丞符坚闻其名，欲起为吏部郎，羲之初不应命，后遗书谢安曰：“吾老矣，不愿复为樊笼中人。” 吏部者，今之组织部是也；吏部郎者，组织部干事之谓。“吾老矣，不愿复为樊笼中人。”于此事，所谓吾与点也乎哉。曰若稽古。曰仁远乎哉吾欲仁斯仁至也。又曰：“唯女子欤？小人为难养也！”天之苍苍，其正色耶？其远而无所至极耶？其视下也，亦若是则已矣。年月日。 Sonnet 73 That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. In me thou see’st the twilight of such dayAs after sunset fadethContinue reading “You May in Me Behold”

A-Xia, from Volume 3 of Pu Songling’s classic Liaozhai Zhiyi, presented here in a complete English translation. In Wendeng there lived a man named Jingxing, known from youth for his good reputation. His neighbor was a certain Chen, the two houses separated only by a low wall. One evening Chen was passing through an abandonedContinue reading “Axia: A Strange Tale from a Chinese Studio”

A Toast to the Moon ~ A Grand Canal Label Mid-Autumn, ninth year of the Xinin Reign. Feasted till dawn; wrote these lines in drunken haze. Sorely missed my brother, whom I have not seen for the last seven years. “Bright one, whence comest thou?”Here to you, I raise my toast.“What year is this night,InContinue reading “A Toast to the Moon”

俺是河南驻马店嘞！这诗可不是俺写嘞，是英国那个叫啥…啥时比亚迪嘞人写嘞。咱国家现今强了，造的车嘎嘎好，连老外起名都蹭咱嘞牌子！英国俺是真冇去过，这老啥到底是哪朝哪代嘞人俺也闹不清。俺家孩儿上大学嘞，冇学理工，学嘞是文科，暑假回来俺瞅见他桌上放个这，俺一读，咦～咋觉着说嘞跟俺家里人恁像嘞！俺发出来大家都瞅瞅呗！要是咱婶儿咱叔瞅见，准得说：“咦～这味儿就对了！” 拿给咱驻马店嘞老乡亲看，准得嚷：“咦～这咋跟俺天天说嘞话一模样嘞！” 😆

河南大学英语系大二暑期作业 / 英翻中

商嘞诗一百三十号

Sonnet 130

01 My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,

莎士比亚这首诗，你要是从来没有读过，去找来读一下；你要是从来没有听人朗诵过，一定要点击一下下面这个录像，听一下。你要是听不懂，那就去学习，学到你能听懂为止。 我觉得 Harriet Walter 的朗诵，属于顶级的了吧。终究是英国诗，还是只有英国人会念。 朗诵人的简介：Dame Harriet Mary Walter is an English actress. She is the receiver of an Olivier Award and nominations for a Tony Award, five Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011, Walter was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to drama. 有些人认为诗歌不能翻译。我也不是说他们不对。但是翻一翻也没什么错，大不了不就是被人叫做多此一举吗？谁在乎去。Continue reading “如是我闻”

1. Four Meters in English Poetry There are four basic meters in English poetry: Iambic = da-DUM da-DUM (a single foot is an iamb)Trochaic = DUM-da DUM-da (a single foot is a trochee)Anapestic= dada-DUM dada-DUM (a single foot is an anapest)Dactylic = DUM-dada DUM-dada (a single foot is a dactyl) Iambic meter is the mostContinue reading “Chinese Poems in English Meters”