It is high time for a poem about the story of Liu Lang which I had been used as an allusion to some of my poems. Took me quite a number of days to put it into the right language, how to declutter the details etc.
02 背柴路歸錯 Firewood on my back, I was lost in finding my way home.
03 愰然洞府見 When suddenly a grotto mansion was came into sight,
04 求宿此夜過 And begged lodging for the night.
05 門開丫鬟引 The door opened and a maid led me in,
06 主人賽嫦娥 Mistress of the place, more beautiful than the goddess of the moon.
07 魂遊九霄外 Further than the Nine Heavens, my soul was whisked away,
08 如夢醉瑳瑳 Like a dream, smiling silly in a drunken dream.
09 但愁一朝到 Alas, one fateful morning came a knocking,
10 問君事如何 Asking my fretful husband what the matter was.
11 只為憶鄉歎 “It’s only because I was longing for my home”,
12 默許暗淚多 Acquiesced in silence, my hidden tears were a plenty.
13 烟飛百年去 The mists had cleared and a hundred years had passed,
14 水流無回波 Flowing waters where none can surge backwards.
15 追向舊道還 Quickly I sought to return whence I came on the old path,
16 雲盡散南柯 Alas the clouds had dispersed and so is the Dream of the Southern Bough.
01 Where there are purplish mists, a fairyland is bound to be nearby.
10 問君事如何 Asking my fretful husband what the matter was.
11 只為憶鄉歎 “It’s only because I was longing for my home”,
12 默許暗淚多 Acquiesced in silence, my hidden tears were a plenty.
13 烟飛百年去 The mists had cleared and a hundred years had passed,
14 水流無回波 Flowing waters where none can surge backwards.
15 追向舊道還 Quickly I sought to return whence I came on the old path,
16 雲盡散南柯 Alas the clouds had dispersed and so is the Dream of the Southern Bough.
01 Where there are purplish mists, a fairyland is bound to be nearby.
02 This line tells us that he is a woodcutter.
03 Grotto mansion is a either a house built inside a grotto or a euphemism where immortals live.
04 It was common for travelers to ask for a lodging as there were no hotels and inns of today.
05 Actually a servant girl.
06 The master of the place would often welcome the traveler as a matter of courtesy and to satisfy his curiosity. In this case, the owner is a young lady.
07 The woodcutter was obviously smitten by her beauty.
08 This is an elegant way of skipping over the details. Obviously, I am sure it is by design on the part of the lady. After all, fairy grottos don’t appear out of nowhere.
09 Obviously a long time had ensued. Was it he had grew tired of her? Was it as if he had awakened from his drunken state?
10 The fairy wife had to know the reason for his sadness. I am sure she must know that their destiny is coming to an end. She does not want to part but Heaven’s will cannot be denied and yet cannot tell him of the real reason for her tears.
13 The woodcutter by now had realized what had happened, a short time in fairyland is equivalent to a hundred years in the mortal world.
14 Time can only go forward. Rivers cannot flow back to their sources.
03 Grotto mansion is a either a house built inside a grotto or a euphemism where immortals live.
04 It was common for travelers to ask for a lodging as there were no hotels and inns of today.
05 Actually a servant girl.
06 The master of the place would often welcome the traveler as a matter of courtesy and to satisfy his curiosity. In this case, the owner is a young lady.
07 The woodcutter was obviously smitten by her beauty.
08 This is an elegant way of skipping over the details. Obviously, I am sure it is by design on the part of the lady. After all, fairy grottos don’t appear out of nowhere.
09 Obviously a long time had ensued. Was it he had grew tired of her? Was it as if he had awakened from his drunken state?
10 The fairy wife had to know the reason for his sadness. I am sure she must know that their destiny is coming to an end. She does not want to part but Heaven’s will cannot be denied and yet cannot tell him of the real reason for her tears.
13 The woodcutter by now had realized what had happened, a short time in fairyland is equivalent to a hundred years in the mortal world.
14 Time can only go forward. Rivers cannot flow back to their sources.
15 Retracing his steps back to his fairy wife but could not find the place.
16 The Dream of the Southern Bough is another story about a life long experience in a dream to show that everything is ethereal and can never last.
https://jeffinous.blogspot.com/2011/02/dream-of-southern-bough-chinese-antz.html
Wednesday June 30, 2021
16 The Dream of the Southern Bough is another story about a life long experience in a dream to show that everything is ethereal and can never last.
https://jeffinous.blogspot.com/2011/02/dream-of-southern-bough-chinese-antz.html
Wednesday June 30, 2021
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