08 February 2010

白居易 Bai Juyi: 夜雪 Night in Snow

It is snowing so heavy in Washington D.C. which I am due to visit on the 10th, that I have decided to post this little poem by Bai Juyi (or Po Chu-I). It was translated last July/August. I hope you like it.

Bai Juyi (772-846): Night in Snow

1 Surprised to find, O so cold, my quilt and pillow,
2 Then light I see through the papered casement window.
3 Deep in the night, so heavy’s the snow, I know, when
4 Bamboos go crack ~ a sound, now ‘n’ then, I follow.

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)     譯者: 黃宏發
22nd July 2009 (revised 23.7.09; 24.7.09; 3.8.09; 4.8.09; 5.8.09)
Translated from the original - 白居易: 夜雪

1 已訝衾枕冷
2 復見窗户明
3 夜深知雪重
4 時聞折竹聲

Notes:
* This English rendition is in pentameter (5 metrical feet) to emulate the original 5-character lines. The rhyme scheme is AABA as I take the original to be. The “pillow, window, follow” rhyme is unstressed (feminine). The internal rhyme of “snow, know” in line 3 is stressed (masculine).
* Line 2: The word 復 here means “then”, not “again”. The word 户 “door” is omitted in the translation as it refers to the Chinese “casement door” which is also a window. The word “papered” is added to make clear it is not a glass casement window/door which did not yet exist.
* Line 4: For the sound of bamboos breaking, I had considered “snap” and “clack”, but have decided for “crack”. For the word 時, I had considered “e’er ‘n’ anon” and “then ‘n’ again”, but have decided for “now ‘n’ then”
`

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I like your translation a lot, thanks!

Frank Yue said...

hi, andrew,

any comments on the following, please. thanks!

【夜雪】 白居易
已訝衾枕冷, 復見窗户明。
夜深知雪重, 時聞折竹聲。

Night Snows Bai Juyi (772-846)
Surprised that my quilt and pillow are cold,
I see light reflect'd on m'window again.
In deep of night, snows are heavy like so;
There come sounds of bamboo break'ng now and then.

Frank Yue said...

oh, andrew,

b t w, of course i read your interpretation of line 2 of the original poem: ' The word 復 here means “then”, not “again”'.

as i see it, there's no reference to a clear moon and line 2 refers to the light, at night, on the window that has been reflected mainly from the white snows on the ground. hence, my line 2 ('i see light reflect'd on m'window again'.) hope this is acceptable.

Jonathan Jay said...

NIGHT SNOW
by BAI JU YI (772-846)

First a gasp from the chill of pillow and down
Then a-glance at the window's papered glim
In the dead of night I knew of snow's heavy crown
When hearing random, snapping, bamboo sounds

Jonathan Babcock 白宗杰

Andrew W.F. Wong 黃宏發 said...

Dear Jonathan, Thank you for sharing your rendtion. Andrew.

 

Classical Chinese Poems in English

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