white camellia
08-30-2005, 11:13 AM
(The Original)Zhe4 Gu1 Tian1
Ji4 Li3 Zhi1wen4
Nie4 Sheng4qiong2
Yu4 can3 hua1 chou2 chu1 feng4 cheng2
Lian2 hua1 lou2 xia4 liu3 qing1 qing1
Zun1 qian2 yi2 chang4 Yang2 Guan1 hou4
Bie2 ge4 ren2 ren2 di4 wu3 cheng2
Xun2 hao3 meng4 meng4 nan2 cheng2
kuang4 shei2 zhi1 wo3 ci3 shi2 qing2
Zhen3 qian2 lei4 gong4 lian2 qian2 yu3
Ge2 ge4 chuang1 er di1 dao4 ming2
(The Note)The author of this poem was a young woman, Nie Shengqiong, who lived on singing for official men. A man, named "Li Zhiwen", came to the capital city on a mission, and there he encountered Qiong. Despite the humble profession, she was endowed with intelligence and passion for poetry. In her heart of hearts, life was still worthy of confidence as well as reverence. The woman was so pleasant to know that the love for her was kindled in him. Qiong was famous among the peer, especially those men promised official titles that she frequently entertained, yet she was devoted to Li. The time of being together seemed to be a lapse between two spells of bitterness in her life, the vacant depression distressing her before the acquaintance and the tormenting lovesickness fading the flush of red on her cheek after the departure of Li. Later she versified her hankering and sent it to him. He received it on his way home and kept it safe in a secret place. Yet his wife found it that caught her eye at once. "I like the sound of the prose, distinct and affecting." She said, and soon urged her husband, Li, to marry Qiong. To become concubines of esquires', for those women like Qiong, should be the result of their fates handed over to God's mercy. Nevertheless, merely few of them could be his favored child, that is to say, they had rare chances to change their lives by love that was gone with the wind blowing through the nobiliary sleeves' of the infatuated. The women seldom knew their inherent power of becoming the masters of their own destinies while the men always assumed an air of being invulnerable and formidable, yet defeated unconsciously.
Here is my simple translation of the poem:
Zhe Gu Tian(Indicating the tune of this poem, a sort of symbol)
To Li Zhiwen
By Nie Shengqiong
I was seeing him leaving the Phoenix City at the sight of dismal jade and sorrowful flowers.
I sended him off at the Lotus Pavilion where grew the willows with blue green leaves.
Along with the end of the song "Yang Guan" that I was singing for the noble man in front of me,("Yang Guan" was a song often sung by the parting ones)
I took leave of him whose long journey was got under way with my sighs.
Yearning for his presence in my dreams, there was nothingness but the wilts of those flowers.
Who would be there dwelling in my mind at the moment of loneliness.
The rain beyond the curtain going along with my weeping wetting the pillow at nights,
The daylight crept in the ceaseless dripping inside and outside the windows.
Ji4 Li3 Zhi1wen4
Nie4 Sheng4qiong2
Yu4 can3 hua1 chou2 chu1 feng4 cheng2
Lian2 hua1 lou2 xia4 liu3 qing1 qing1
Zun1 qian2 yi2 chang4 Yang2 Guan1 hou4
Bie2 ge4 ren2 ren2 di4 wu3 cheng2
Xun2 hao3 meng4 meng4 nan2 cheng2
kuang4 shei2 zhi1 wo3 ci3 shi2 qing2
Zhen3 qian2 lei4 gong4 lian2 qian2 yu3
Ge2 ge4 chuang1 er di1 dao4 ming2
(The Note)The author of this poem was a young woman, Nie Shengqiong, who lived on singing for official men. A man, named "Li Zhiwen", came to the capital city on a mission, and there he encountered Qiong. Despite the humble profession, she was endowed with intelligence and passion for poetry. In her heart of hearts, life was still worthy of confidence as well as reverence. The woman was so pleasant to know that the love for her was kindled in him. Qiong was famous among the peer, especially those men promised official titles that she frequently entertained, yet she was devoted to Li. The time of being together seemed to be a lapse between two spells of bitterness in her life, the vacant depression distressing her before the acquaintance and the tormenting lovesickness fading the flush of red on her cheek after the departure of Li. Later she versified her hankering and sent it to him. He received it on his way home and kept it safe in a secret place. Yet his wife found it that caught her eye at once. "I like the sound of the prose, distinct and affecting." She said, and soon urged her husband, Li, to marry Qiong. To become concubines of esquires', for those women like Qiong, should be the result of their fates handed over to God's mercy. Nevertheless, merely few of them could be his favored child, that is to say, they had rare chances to change their lives by love that was gone with the wind blowing through the nobiliary sleeves' of the infatuated. The women seldom knew their inherent power of becoming the masters of their own destinies while the men always assumed an air of being invulnerable and formidable, yet defeated unconsciously.
Here is my simple translation of the poem:
Zhe Gu Tian(Indicating the tune of this poem, a sort of symbol)
To Li Zhiwen
By Nie Shengqiong
I was seeing him leaving the Phoenix City at the sight of dismal jade and sorrowful flowers.
I sended him off at the Lotus Pavilion where grew the willows with blue green leaves.
Along with the end of the song "Yang Guan" that I was singing for the noble man in front of me,("Yang Guan" was a song often sung by the parting ones)
I took leave of him whose long journey was got under way with my sighs.
Yearning for his presence in my dreams, there was nothingness but the wilts of those flowers.
Who would be there dwelling in my mind at the moment of loneliness.
The rain beyond the curtain going along with my weeping wetting the pillow at nights,
The daylight crept in the ceaseless dripping inside and outside the windows.