The Captain and the Cabin Boy - 船長與船艙童

This is such a wonderful story that I cannot resist from translation from English into Chinese. I had corrected and refined the English version.

https://www.italki.com/notebook/6027610/entry/976516

The Captain and the Cabin-boy - A translation from Russian into English

船長與船艙童 - 俄語英文翻譯

The cabin boy wondered and asked,  “Pray tell Captain Sir, why we cannot see the shore?  Why aren't any albatross cry above the waters? Where are we heading? Why don't our cannons fire? And why is the old cook not making meals for the crew? When will we return home? Why aren't there any order from you yet?” 

船艙童子疑問着「船主大人, 借問海岸何不見? 信天翁水上何不哭? 船向何處? 為何船炮莫嚮? 火頭軍為何工停? 何日家歸? 傳令未發矣?」

The captain replied, “We don't see the shore for it's too far away.  Albatross don't live here and our course is  to the south-east. The old cook doesn't feel well.  There is no enemy around and so our cannons remain silent. We are going to West-India  and when the cargo's unloaded,  we shall then be heading home.” 

船長微答「陸岸不見, 悠遠也. 信天翁在此莫居, 船向東南, 老火之工停, 身不舒. 敵人莫存, 何因發嚮? 船向西竺, 卸貨家還.」

“Oh Captain Sir, there's no wind here at all!”

「船長大人啊, 此處無風矣! 」

" A calm sea for sure...” came the reply.

「必定風靜浪平喲... 」一笑答而至.

“I see neither stars nor the sun in the sky.”

「天上日月星辰不見也.」

“Tonight's fog will be heavy tonight then.” 

「今夜烟濃霧厚吧」

“Alas Captain Sir! I have a sudden feeling that we won't see land anymore.  Perhaps we are amissed? Captain Sir, are we not going anywhere?  For what are we waiting for?” 

「船長大人, 船長大人啊, 我心血來潮, 陸地再難見, 或許有不對之處呢? 是否何處莫去? 等待何時? 」

"The ship had gone down with all hands on board a long time ago. We are at the bottom of the seabed and  ten thousand nights had passed.  We keep on speaking of the same things with the  same old words uttered."

「舟沉全沒, 時久已去, 海底萬夜之過. 你我以相同對答非止, 就此永恆同句一問一答矣. 」

Monday, February 25, 2019

After the Los Angeles Rains - 羅省雨後

Finally the rains are over and the sun is shining in Los Angeles... The feel of spring is here with the ending of Chinese New Year celebrations.

春水鴛鴦戲 Mandarin ducks frolicking in the waters of spring,

池塘柳風微 Pond willows sway in the gentle breeze.

日落蓮葉棲 And when the sun sets, nestling under the lotus leaves,

共夢永不離 Sharing dreams of being together forever more.

一瞥枕上繡 One glance at the embroidery on the pillows,

多年莫須理 Many a year with mending unneeded.
綫光仍如舊 For the threads remain shiny like in the days of old,

寢寂無限淚 Loneliness filled the bedchamber of tears without end.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

A Life Of Its Own - 其生自倉

Sometimes, a poem can take on a life of its own. It had been raining nonstop for the past few days in Los Angeles. I was listening to the rain; listening to the sounds of my brush strokes when suddenly an idea came. And In no time, paper piled up like small hills as drafts upon drafts and refinement upon refinement, the poem unceasingly took shape. However, it would not bend to the way I had envisioned. But then, as if it had its own mind; slowly but surely, forming and coalescing according to its will and I, its mere instrument, an invisible hand to which this work finally composed.

有時一首詩可自創其生.羅省在這幾天中,雨下不停.聽着聲滴,聽着毛筆隨習之寫音.忽然間,一念頭不意而臨. 頃刻紙積如山, 稿上加稿,精上鍛青, 漸漸墨黑成體. 雖此,為其心所意,不服我預念. 慢緩緩地,莫停停地,把其思維聚結,而我呢?只不過一木儡也,為其無形之手替作,終斷定此文.

雨後聲滴若心拍
The rain's gone but like the beating of my heart, sounds a drip,
壺暖杯空待路客
To the traveller, a warm pot and an empty cup await.
昔日商女昔日曲
Same old songstress with same old tunes,
景前只是春色隔
Only the scene before me are spring colors apart.

弦盡音斷幾銅錢

The strings are done; the melody broken; measly coppers paid,
想當眉鎖千金刻
To think that once upon a time, a thousand gold pieces for her brows in knit.
難留嵗月更難請
Difficult it is to stay the leaving years; impossible to invite back,
休憐今景己髮白
So pity not the scene of now when one's very own hair too, is white

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

日月星辰 - The Sun, the Moon, the Stars and the Hours.

This poem was inspired from the line, 日月星辰.

日落楓紅黄屋金, Red are the maple leaves with the setting sun and yellow houses turning into gold, 

月升林暗烏江銀. The forests grew dark with the rising moon and the black river shimmers in silver. 

星垂何踪借一問, Where may the stars drape I dare asked, and
辰盡宿殘醉誰人? When the hours are gone; the constellations dissipated; to whom they inebriate?

While watching a video on Youtube, I came across this poem but found no result on the internet.  So I suppose it must be written by some non famous person...

青草橋頭景物微 Green is the grass by the bridge's end and things around seemed small
珠琿塔邊雁難飛 Difficult it is for the geese to fly by the Pagoda of Pearl and Jade.

蒸湘緩緩輕流動 The gentle River Jing meanders lazily,

汗灑石鼓濕頸圍 And upon the stone drums sprinkled, are sweat from my wet collar.

I quite like the first four character combo and decided to try my hand at it...

青草橋頭水流東 Green is the grass by the bridge's end as the waters flow east,

船舟漸別影成夢 The boats are slowly departing and shadows turn into dreams.
回顧襟前淚一滴 Turning back for one last look, upon the bosom, a tear dropped,

杯中自有重相逢 In my wine cup I shall see you once more.

As I wrote this poem with a brush, a three character combo came into my mind and reversing the first four characters...  Since, the last character no longer fits the rhyming scheme, might as well rewrote the poem to something different.

橋頭青草岸邊花 Green grasses by the bridge's end and flowers fragrant on the banks,

相別時到心又怕 As the hour of departure drew near, the heart gives in to fear.

赴京榮幸路程惡 Taking the Imperial exams is a privileged honor but the road is fraught with danger,

朝望夜夢早日家 Mornings I hoped; nights I dreamt that you will return home safely.

Strangers that We are Now

Waking up from a dream at 12:23am, during my semi-consciousness, I found myself reciting two poetic lines that were in my dream. At this transitioning moment in regaining full consciousness, I was momentarily distracted.  The first line became a total blackout and was forever lost in slumberland. What remained was the second line and became the first line of this resulting poem.

Without this background of information, the poem can be interpreted differently.

Got up and wrote it down before going back to sleep, lest I would forget everything the next day upon reawakening.  Sure enough, when I woke up again, the last two lines were hazy in my mind.

初醒夢盡魂烟散 Upon wakening, my dream had ended;  my soul and haziness dissipated,

心神未清半身還 Half my body had returned and my mind befuddled.

脚踏雙界時一忘 Still straddled in both worlds, a momentarily forgetfulness beget,

陌道重見認識難 Even if we were to see each other again, strangers we're on a road newly travelled.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

秦淮舊夢 - Dreams of Old Chin Huai

  
These poems took a relative short time to complete. The first two were finalized on 17 Jan 2019.  The first poem was inspired along the lines of 歌醉銀河曲遍林from the previous poem, 

http://jeffinous.blogspot.com/2019/01/first-poem-of-2019.html

秦淮岸泊樂無窮, Unbounded joy as the boat is being moored to the banks of Chinhuai

明珠萬花夜通紅.Bright are the flaming pearls and flowers galore turning the night red

歌醉銀漢酒迷神,Songs inebriate the Milky Way and wine befuddles the soul.

金雞一叫碎人夢.One crowing of the golden cockerel shatters dreams of men.

Chinhuai (Qinhuai) was an adult Disneyland for ancient Chinese males.  Flaming pearls refer to the red lanterns burning bright throughout the night and flowers are the painted faces of courtesans in rogue. 神 can either mean the "spirit/soul" or the "gods"

Monday, January 14, 2019

何物可轉,甚事難移 - Things that can Change and Those that Cannot..
  
秦月昨夜又今晚, Once more, tonight's moon of the Chin times rose from last night,

東流江去水復難. Difficult it is for the east flowing waters returning to the same spot.

銀漢未移地先改, The Milky Way has yet to change but the mortal world already had.

寂寞仍舊仙界間. Still in the realm of immortals, loneliness remain.

Thursday, January 15, 2019

This one was inspired by the single character 秦 from the previous poem as I doodled on writing this character properly.  This in turn made me think of Wang Chang Lin's 秦時明月漢時関.

The next one came about because of one character change in the first line.  The rhyming scheme had to be changed because it happened at the last line.  Technically, it does not matter since the first line don't have to be rhymed.  However, I would like to push myself further and see what I can come up with. At the same time, to have some variation.

秦月昨夜又今宵 Once more, tonight's moon of the Chin times rose from last night,

東流江去水復潮 Gone is the east flowing river but the morning tide brought it back.

銀漢豈移恩仍舊 How can the Milky Way change when the Love remained the same?

飛燕長守廷陵寥 Like the flying swallow guarding eternally the loneliness at the Tomb of Prolongation.

The love in the Milky Way alludes to the legend of the Cowherd and the Divine Spinning Maid where they can only meet once a year.

In the Chinese mindset, Chao Fei Yen (Chao Flying Swallow) is better known for her beauty than her palace intrigues that took place in the Han Court of Emperor Cheng. When he died, her fortunes was like a burst of fireworks. From empress, she became a dowager empress as honored by the succeeding emperor. However, when he died, she was demoted back to empress and later sentenced to guard the tomb of her deceased husband. On that very day, she committed suicide than to face the loneliness of the place. Hence the last line is a sarcasm.

Continuing with the idea of 秦月漢時, and some doodling, here's one of a totally different nature.

初醒夢盡魂烟散 Upon wakening, my dream had ended;  my soul and haziness dissipated,

心神未清半身還 Half my body had returned and my mind befuddled.

脚踏雙界時一忘 Still straddled in both worlds, a momentarily forgetfulness beget,

陌道重見認識難 Even if we were to see each other again, strangers we're on a road newly travelled.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

弄玉夢 - A Playful Jade for Me?

This poem is one of the most time consuming from its inception to its final form of now. It started as I doodled with the first line on the fourth day of this year, Two days later,

月暗星稀江水沉, The moon is dark and stars a few as the river flows forebodingly,

風冷微波夜半音. The wind is cold, the ripples are the midnight song.

廣寒情意非弄玉, The feelings of the Lunar Palace are not of those of Playful Jade,

笛曲獨解夜半心, Only the flute can set my  midnight heart free.

Playful Jade was the daughter of the Duke of the Chin State (The First Emperor's ancestors).  Being the favorite child, when she saw a tributary jade and never stopped playing with it.  Hence her name.  She was skilled in the playing the panpipes to which her father built the Phoenix Tower for her. The traditional Chinese panpipe has two long pipes represent the wings of the phoenix.  However, one is just for symmetric beauty and is not used.  When she became of age, she declared she would marry no one but the one who could  understand her music.  Her doting father acquiesced to her demand. 

One night on her tower, she heard flute music wafting into hers. A duet began. Immediately she knew who was to be her husband.  The next day, the Duke sent the prime minister to inquire the whereabouts of the source of the music.  A local told the minister that a young man had taken up residence on top of a nearby mountain recently and flute music was heard ever since.  Eventually, the young couple were married and led a happy life.  In the intervening years, their musical skills became so accompolished that during a full moon, as they played, a dragon and phoenix descended from the heavens.  She mounted on the phoenix while the husband on the dragon and both flew away to become immortals.

解 means "to release", "to solve", "to loosen" and by extension, "to understand".  The last line can therefore also be translated as "Only the flute can understand my midnight heart".  But given the context, "releasing" is a better translation.

As I was still not quite satisfied with the second line, eventually it morphed into,

船上橫曲冷風吟 A flute song upon a boat and the winds are sighing cold.

I did not like 吟 as it is homophonous with 淫 (lasciviousness) and so back to the drawing board I went. Finally, to save time, I asked a friend for suggestions as I was getting nowhere.  His advice was changing my "dark moon" into a "bright moon" for its glow will fade out the stars. It made sense.  At the same time I was asked why the usage of 沉.  The more obscure meaning is water moving slowly.  As such not good word choice on my part.  His other suggested changes were,

月冷星稀江水沉 The moon is bright, the stars are scattered and the river moves slowly
船上橫笛冷風吟
情濃意寒非弄玉 The passion is thick but the feelings are cold, not those of Playful Jade
曲獨解愁半夜音 Only the melody lifts the forlornness of these midnight sounds.

I like his changes, especially the last two lines but did not agree with the first.  I felt that if the moon was bright, one can see clearly the speed of the river and therefore not as foreboding.  After some  monkeying around,

月冷星稀漸西沉 The moon is cold and the scattered stars descend slowly into the west,
愁曲河泊山伴林 Sad songs moored by the river and the mountains by the forest.
廣寒非意作弄玉 Feelings of the Lunar Palace are not of those of Playful Jade,
休笛獨解奏人音The abandoned flute can only set free the midnight sounds.

All my concerns about the state of the brightness of the moon is now eliminated. This time my friend changed the second line to,

曲愁江弯山伴林 The melancholy song winds with the river by the forest

Again I like it very much but pride got in way for to me to use it. Also I don't want others to think that this is mine. I just have to come up with something better.  With this impetus, a total of nine days since the poem's inception, this version is something I can live with for the time being.

月冷星稀漸西沉,The moon is cold and scattered stars are setting slowly into the west,

歌醉銀河曲遍林. Inebriating the Milky Way with my song and my meolody overfloweth the forest,

廣寒非意作弄玉,But construe not the feelings of the Great Cold Palace as those of Playful Jade's,

伴笛獨解夜半音.Close to my flute to set my midnight feelings free.

After reading out aloud for a few times, the tones of second line doesn't seem quite right to me.  After more brain racking, I still had no luck when I decided to try rearranging the lines instead.  In the end, after many permutations and some changes, this one is finalized for time being.  Only the future knows.

月冷星稀夜半音,The moon is cold with the midnight music and scattered stars,

曲醉銀河漸西沉. And inebriating the Milking Way as it descends to the west.

廣寒非意並弄玉,Construe not the feelings of the Great Cold Palace as those of Playful Jade's,

笛韻更愁奏人心.The traverse flute plunges the player's saddened heart into greater depths.