This month I am posting #3 of Lu Lun's 6 Border Songs. Songs #1 and #2 were respectively posted here in August 2014 and January 2015. In my January post, in my discussion with Ray Heaton and Frank Yue, I suggested that these 6 songs can be understood as 6 scenes in the life of an anonymous general. Now that you have read three of the six, are you inclined to agree?
Lu Lun (748-800?): Border Song, 3 of 6
1 A moonless sky, wild geese flown out of sight;
2 (The Huns beaten, their prince at night takes flight.)
The Hun beaten, their prince by night takes flight. (revised 3.3.15)
3 (Our cavalry light, all set and due to pursue;)
Our cavalry light, all set to duly pursue---- (revised 6.3.15)
4 (Our bows and sabres, laden with snow despite.)
Our bows, our sabres, laden with snow despite. (revised 6.3.15)
1 A moonless sky, wild geese flown out of sight;
2 (The Huns beaten, their prince at night takes flight.)
The Hun beaten, their prince by night takes flight. (revised 3.3.15)
3 (Our cavalry light, all set and due to pursue;)
Our cavalry light, all set to duly pursue---- (revised 6.3.15)
4 (Our bows and sabres, laden with snow despite.)
Our bows, our sabres, laden with snow despite. (revised 6.3.15)
Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang
Hongfa) 譯者: 黃宏發
15th
May 2013 (revised 4.6.2013; 22.12.14)
Translated
from the original - 盧綸: 塞下曲 6首 其3
1 月黑雁飛高
2 單于夜遁逃
3 欲將輕騎逐
4 大雪滿弓刀
Notes:
* This English rendition is in pentameter (5
metrical feet) while the original is in 5-character lines. The rhyme scheme is AAXA as in the original.
* Line 1:
To translate 月黑 I had considered “Moonless and dark”, “The
moon shrouded”, “A moonless night” and have now decided for “A moonless sky”.. I have interpreted 飛高 as 高飛遠走 or 遠走高飛 which literally mean “fly high”
and “go far” but figuratively mean “out of sight”, hence, my “wild geese flown out of sight” for 雁飛高 instead of the literal “geese fly high”..
* Line 2:
單于 is the
title of a prince or chieftain of the 匈奴 Xiongnu (or Hun) nation and is translated
as “The Huns … their prince” instead of the transliteration “Chanyu”. 逃 is translated as “takes flight”. I have added “beaten” which is not in the
original but is implied in the word 遁.
* Line 3:
I have inversed the order of “light cavalry” 經騎 both
for the daDUM (iambic)-dadaDUM (anapestic) meter of the line, and for the mid
rhyme of “light” to rhyme with the end rhyme of “sight-flight-despite”.
* Line 4: I had considered “heavy” to translate滿 but have decided for “laden”.