My recent publication --- "60 Chinese Poems in English Verse" 《英韻唐詩六十首》

To order, please go to The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press

Brief Description 

This book by Andrew W.F. Wong (the last President of Hong Kong's Legislative Council before sovereignty reverted in 1997 to China) is a collection of 60 Tang dynasty (618–907) Chinese quatrains (4-line poems) he has rendered into English in verse form.  These are all new translations, never published before in book form.

The English verse form he has chosen is that of  “accentual verse” (much like that of hymns, ballads, and nursery rhymes) which counts only the stressed syllables both for the rhythm and for the length of the poetic lines.  This has made his renditions melodious to the English ear --- English being an accentual language.  And so, accentual, must verse in English be.

Melody and rhythmicity are further enhanced by his end-rhyming lines 1, 2, and 4 or just lines 2 and 4, as the case may be in the original, and by the provision of a caesura or pause in or near the middle of the line.

Just listen to his reading of any of these poems, particularly ones of 6-beat or 7-beat lines, to experience the music of this poetry. Please use the QR Code on the top right-hand corner of the poem to gain access to his reading. 

 

權德輿 Quan Deyu: 玉臺體 十二首 其十一 A Poem in the Jade Terrace Style, XI of Twelve

Today, I am posting my rendition of the last of the thirty-seven 5-character quatrains 五言絕句 in the most popular anthology "300 Tang Dynasty Poems" 唐詩三百首.  This poem is by Quan Deyu 權德輿, a Mid-Tang poet, and is the only poem by him collected in the anthology.  Hope you like it,  Here we go:-

Quan Deyu (759-818): A Poem in the Jade Terrace Style, XI of Twelve

 

1         Last night, in sleep, my nightwear’s girdle came loose,  

2         Now dawn, come ladybirds --- be omens of bliss, I pray.

3         My rouge, my powders: my make-up I shan’t neglect,

4         ‘Cos my man is returning and may well be home today.

 

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)    譯者: 黃宏發

6 July 2021 (revised 7.7.21; 8.7.21; 9.7.21; 13.8.21; 16.8.21; 18.8.21; 19.8.21)

Translated from the original - 權德輿: 玉臺體 十二首 其十一

 

1            昨夜裙帶解

2            今朝蟢子飛

3            鉛華不可棄

4            莫是藁砧歸

 

Notes:

 

*Form, Metre, and Rhyme:  The original is a 5-character Chinese quatrain (or jueju絕句) with a caesura after the second character.  The 4 lines are rhymed xAxA.  This English rendition is a quatrain in 5-beat lines with a caesura after the second beat and rhymed as in the original.

 *Lines 1 and 2:  These 2 lines in the original simply depicts two omens of bliss.  At the end of line 2 of this English rendition, I have added “be omens of bliss” (not in the original) to make them readily understood as such.  To end the line, I have further added “I pray” which heightens the persona’s expectation.  In line 1, I have translated 裙 (skirt) as “nightwear” which is more appropriate for the occasion.  In the same line, I have added “in sleep” (not in the original) to make clear the persona did not consciously loosen her girdle as, if she did, it no longer qualifies as an omen.  In my translation of line 2, I have abandoned the imagery of 蟢子 (a long-legged spider) as, although 蟢 sounds the same as 喜 (happiness), a literal translation of it as “spider” may give rise to unpleasant connotations.  I have, therefore, changed the imagery to “ladybirds” (= ladybugs) which is an omen of good luck in English.  The last word 飛 (fly) is rendered as “come”.  This is based on my interpretation of this second omen as the good luck insects “fly to come” to the persona” in which interpretation, the implicit “coming” is much more meaningful than the aimless “flying”.  Further, I suggest reading the word “come” unstressed to keep the line within 5 beats.

 *Line 3:  鉛華 (face powder made of white lead) is rendered as “My rouge, my powders: my make-up”, with “rouge” and “make-up” added.  Here, 棄 is not taken to literally mean “throw away” or “discard”, but understood as “put aside” or “not put to use”.  Hence, 不可棄 means “must not be put aside” or “must be put to use” and is rendered as “I shan’t neglect”.

 *Line 4:  藁砧 is an allusion to an ancient quatrain in the anthology 玉臺新詠 “New Songs from the Jade Terrace” compiled by 徐陵 Xu Ling (507-583).  The quatrain is a riddle in which  藁砧 in line 1 stands for “husband”, and I have rendered it here as “my man”.  In the context of lines 3 and 4, I have interpreted the phrase莫是 (not; is) as identical, in both meaning and phrasing, to 要不是 (if not for or but for) in Modern Chinese.  It can, therefore, be best understood as 因為 (because), either with “Because” or “For” or “’Cos” to begin the line, or even without the word.  Briefly, these 2 lines convey this message: I must not neglect my make-up all because my man is coming home soon.  Line 4 is, therefore, rendered as “’Cos my man is returning and may well be home today”, with “and may well be home today” (not in the original) added to make it a 5-beat line and to complete the “I pray (line 2) – today (line 4)” rhyme.  I had originally considered the more literal alternative of “No, my man is returning and may well be home today”, with the word “No” to translate “莫” and to echo “I shan’t” in line 3, and with the word “is” to translate “是”, but have rejected it as the word “No”, even if read unstressed, distracts and detracts.      

劉長卿 Liu Changqing: 送方外上人 Farewell to the Venerable Buddhist Monk

Here is another beautiful little poem (a 5-character quatrain) by Liu Changqing.  I hope you will enjoy both the original poem and my rendition of it.  

Liu Changqing (714-790): Farewell to the Venerable Buddhist Monk

 

1                A solitary cloud, a crane in the wild,

2                How would you ever, among folks, abide?

3                I pray you buy not: the hills in Wozhou

4                Where folks profane, already reside.  

 

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)    譯者: 黃宏發

28 June 2021 (revised 29.6.2021; 2.7.2021)

Translated from the original - 劉長卿: 送方外上人

 

1                孤雲將野鶴

2                豈向人間住

3                莫買沃洲山

4                時人已知處

 

Notes:

 

*Form, Metre, and Rhyme:  The original is a 5-character quatrain with a semantic pause after the second character.  This English rendition is in tetrameter (4 feet or beats) with a medial caesura (or pause) after the second beat.  The rhyme scheme is xAxA as in the original.

 

*Title:  方外 means “not of (outside) the secular world” and is rendered as “Buddhist Monk”.  上人 (upper; man) is rendered as “the Venerable”.

 

*Line 1:  將 is taken to be the conjunction “and”, and not the verb “to carry”.  It is simply rendered with a comma between “cloud” and “crane”, which obviates the word “and”.  Both the “cloud” and the “crane” are metaphors referring to the Buddhist Monk (the “you” in line 2).  Line 1 can also be rendered as “You’re a solitary …” discarded for brevity.

 

*Lines 3 and 4:  In line 3, I have rendered 沃洲山 (Wozhou; mountain) as “the hills in Wozhou”.  In line 4, I have rendered 時人 (men of the current time) as “folks profane”, with “of the current time” taken as understood and not translated, and with “profane” (which means “secular, lay, common” -- Shorter Oxford) added.  已 and 知 in line 4 are readily understood respectively as “already” and “know”.  處 in line 4 can be understood as either the noun “place” or the verb “to dwell, live, or inhabit”.  Taking 處 as “place”, the advice in lines 3 and 4 can be interpreted as: (i) Don’t buy those “places” in Wozhou which are already known to men of the world! or (ii) Don’t buy any hill in Wozhou, as Wozhou is a “place” already known to men of the world!  The key word in these 2 interpretations of line 4 is the word 知 “know” which does not seem to fit into the context of the poem which is about 住 “to abide” or “to dwell” (see line 2).  Now, taking 處 as “to dwell”, the advice in the same two lines can be interpreted as: (iii) Don’t buy those hills in Wozhou which are already (known to and) inhabited by men of the world! or (iv) Don’t buy the hills of Wozhou, as Wozhou is already (known to and) inhabited by men of the world!  For this rendition, I have decided for (iii) and have rendered line 4 as “Where folks profane, already reside” without translating the word 知 “know” as “to reside” presumes and embodies “to know”.   

劉長卿 Liu Changqing: 逢雪宿芙蓉山主人 In Snow, Lodged at Hibiscus Hill, by Courtesy of the Master

What follows is my latest rendition of a five-character quatrain by the Tang poet Liu Changqing.  I take the poem to be more than just a statement of the poet's plight, but a note subtly expressing the poet's gratitude to the poverty-stricken master of the house for his hospitality without using a single word of thanks.  The magic lies in the ambiguity of the poet's word 歸 in line 4 which suggests 賓至如歸 (guests treated to feel as if at home) and my use of the word "home" to translate 屋 (house) in line 2 (home away from home?) 

Liu Changqing (714-790): In Snow, Lodged at Hibiscus Hill by Courtesy of the Master

1            The day waning, the green hills, a long way away;

2            The weather freezing, a simple, poor home, I sight.

3            At its twiggen gateway, a dog is heard a-barking;

4            In wind, in snow, I come to be lodged for the night.

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)    譯者: 黃宏發

24 June 2021

Translated from the original - 劉長卿: 逢雪宿芙蓉山主人

1            日暮蒼山遠

2            天寒白屋貧

3            柴門聞犬吠

4            風雪夜歸人

Notes:

*Form, Metre, and Rhyme:  This English rendition is a quatrain (4-liner) in pentameter (5 feet or beats) with a medial caesura after the second beat to emulate the original Chinese which is a 5-character quatrain with a semantic pause after the second character.  The rhyme scheme is xAxA as in the original.

*Line 1:  I have taken 蒼山 , literally “green hills”, to be the destination of the poet as sojourner, hence, 遠 (far) is rendered as “a long way away” (rather than “still seem far”) to highlight the sojourner’s situation.

*Line 2:  白屋 (white; house) does not mean white house.  白 (white) should be taken to mean 空白 (blank or empty).  As from the outside one can only find the house (屋) unadorned, simple, or plain, it is, hence, rendered as “plain”.  I have used “home” (which also means house or abode) instead of “house” to render 屋 (house), as “poor house” sounds the same as “poorhouse” which is where poor people on public charity are housed.  I have added “in sight” (which is implied in the situation) for the “sight … night” rhyme in lines 2 and 4 respectively.

*Line 3:  柴門 (door made of faggots or twigs) is rendered as “twiggen gateway”.

*Line 4:  歸 in 夜歸人 (night; return; man) should not be taken to mean “return” as if line 4 says: the master of the house returning in wind and snow late at night.  It should, instead, be taken to mean 向往 (proceed to or inclined to), and in the context of the title “Lodged at (宿) … by Courtesy of the Master (主人)” and the flow of the poem itself, it should mean 入宿 “come to be lodged”.  Hence, line 4 refers to the sojourner in wind and snow coming at dusk to be lodged for the night.    

陶潛 Tao Qian: 飲酒 二十首 其五 (首四句) Drinking Wine, V of Twenty (first 4 lines)

Recently, I had been asked by a friend of mine to translate a 2-line Chinese saying which reads: 小隱隱於野 大隱隱於市.  To this, there is a 3-line contender which turns the second line into 中隱 and adds a third line of 大隱隱於朝 which I do not quite appreciate.  I have attempted a translation which reads:

      Lesser hermits seek seclusion in only the wild,

      The great hermit finds reclusion even in towns.

I must say this is inspired by another great poet of even older vintage than the Tang dynasty masters.  This is Tao Qian or better known as Tao Yuanming of the Jin dynasty, a few hundred years before Tang, who is known as the Grand Hermit.

Below are four of Tao's numerous lines which have to do with hermitage and reclusion.  I hope you will enjoy both his lines and my rendition.  Here we go:

Tao Qian (365-427): Drinking Wine, V of Twenty (first 4 lines)

 

1    I make my abode in the realm of men,

2    Unperturbed by the din of a bustling borough.

3    You ask: “How could it ever be so?”

4    A recluse at heart, my abode, likewise remote.

 

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)    譯者: 黃宏發

29 May 2021

Translated from the original - 陶潛:  飲酒 二十首 其五 (首四句)

       

1    結廬在人境                                 

2    而無車馬喧                                   

3    問君何能爾                                

4    心遠地自偏                     

 

Notes:

*Form, Meter and Rhyme:  The original is a 10-line poem, translated here are the first 4 lines.  This English rendition is in accentual verse of 4-beat (tetrameter) lines.  The rhyme scheme is xAxA as in the original, but in assonance of the vowel ‘ou’ in “borough” (line 2) and “remote” (line 4).

*Line 2:  車馬 (carts; horses) which represent the activities of “the realm of men” (line 1), a town, hence rendered as a synecdoche of a “borough”.  喧 (noise) is rendered as “din of a bustling …”.  而無 (and/but; no) is clarified as “Unperturbed by”.

*Line 4:  心遠 (heart; far away) is rendered as “A recluse at heart”.  地 (ground, place) is rendered as “my abode”, and 自偏 (self; remote) as “likewise remote”.    

劉長卿 Liu Changqing: 送靈澈上人 On Parting with the Buddhist Master Ling Che

Below is my latest rendition.  Lately, I have been busy compiling for publication 60 of my quatrain renditions and can spare no time translating new ones.  The task is now more or less complete, and I am glad I will be back to normal.

I hope you will enjoy this beautiful little poem.  Cheers!

Liu Changqing (714-790): On Parting with the Buddhist Master Ling Che

 

1      O green, so green: your Bamboo Forest Temple,

2       From afar, come faintly: its bell’s evening tolls.

3       Broad hat on your back, while the sun is yet to set,

4       Alone you return to your distant green hills abode.

 

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)    譯者: 黃宏發

29 April 2021

Translated from original - 劉長卿: 送靈澈上人

 

1                蒼蒼竹林寺

2                杳杳鐘聲晚

3                荷笠帶斜陽

4                青山獨歸遠

 

Notes:

*Title, Form, and Rhyme:  The poem is interpreted to refer to the Buddhist Master Ling Che of the Bamboo Forest Temple visiting the poet Liu Changqing.  They were dear friends, and on parting, the poet penned this quatrain, hence, the title “On Parting with …”  The Temple must be some distance away (line 4), but manageable on foot as bell tolls can be heard albeit faintly (line 2).  My English rendition is in pentameter (5 beats or feet) with a medial caesura (pause) after the second beat or foot.  The original’s rhyme scheme is xAxA which I have followed in my rendition, however, not in perfect rhymes but in the ‘ou’ sound “acconance” (should read "assonance") of “tolls” (line 2) and “abode” (line 4).

*Line 1:  The reduplication of 蒼 is rendered as “O green, so green”.

*Line 2:  The reduplication of 杳 is emulated by the ‘f’ alliterations in “From afar, come faintly”.

*Line 3:  帶斜陽 is rendered as “while the sun is yet to set” rather than “in the slanting sun” for the “yet”—“set” internal rhyme.

*Line 4:  I have added “abode” after “green hills” to end the line and the poem.    

祖詠 Zu Yong: 终南望餘雪 Viewing the Snow Tops of Mount Zhongnan

 Zu Yong (699-746):  Viewing the Snow Tops of Mount Zhongnan

 

This is the last of the quatrains I translated some 10 years ago which were never posted on this blog but posted in the Forum website of the Hong Kong Economic Journal.  For the records, this rendition was posted there on 21 January 2011.

I do hope you will like it too:

Zu Yong: Viewing the Snow Tops of Mount Zhongnan

1        Fair is the north face of Mount Zhongnan,

2        Its emergent snow tops floating on clouds.

3        The sky now cleared, the forests glisten,

4        But by dusk the city, a coldness enshrouds.

 

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)   譯者: 黃宏發

14^th June 2010 (revised 18.6.10; 21.6.10; 22.6.10; 18.1.11; 19.1.11)    

Translated from the original - 祖詠: 终南望餘雪

 

1  终南陰嶺秀

2  積雪浮雲端

3  林表明霽色

4  城中增暮寒

 

Notes: 

*     This English rendition is in tetrameter (4 metrical feet) while the original is in 5-

character lines.  The rhyme scheme is xAxA as in the original.

*      Title and lines 1 and 2:  Zhongnan 终南(ultimate, south) is a mountain range south of the capital city Chang-an 長安.  I had considered translating it as “South End”, “South Side” or “Due South”, but have decided for the transliteration “Zhongnan”.  I have taken 餘雪 in the title and 積雪 in line 2 to have the same meaning and had originally translated them into “snow caps” but have now decided for “snow tops”.  I have not ascertained if there are indeed many tops/peaks; but then, if not, I can simply delete the “s” from “tops”.

*      Line 1:  I had considered “north slope/side/range” but had decided for “north face” for alliteration with “fair”.

*      Line 2:  I have deleted “With” which I had originally used to begin the line.  I had also originally used the more literal “Its emergent snow tops floating atop/above the clouds” to translate 浮雲端 but have found it one beat/foot too long and now decided for “Its emergent snow tops floating on clouds”, with “emergent” to mean both “rising above” and “coming into view (appearing)”, and with “floating” to mean both “afloat continuously” and “floating in the eyes (appearing).”. 

*      Line 3:  The 2 words 霽 (means precipitation has stopped as in雨/雪霽 rain/snow has stopped) and 色 (means brightness in this context, not colour) are translated as “The sky now cleared”.  I had considered but rejected both “Now that the sky clears” and “The sky now clears”.  I had originally translated 林表 literally as “tree-tops”, but have decided for “the forests” to contrastingly parallel “the city” in line 4.  I have translated 明 simply as “glisten”.

*      Line 4:  For暮  I had considered and rejected “at nightfall” and “by evening”, then adopted “come evening”, but have now decided for “by dusk”.  For 寒 I had considered “cold air” and “a cold veil”, but have decided for “a coldness”.  I have taken 增 not to strictly mean “to add” but to roughly mean “to layer over” and have translated it as “enshrouds” for the rhyme. 

元稹 Yuan Zhen: 菊花 Chrysanthemum Flowers

POSTSCRIPT (25.2.21):  On further consideration, I would like to have "like Tao Qian's" in the middle of line 1 reverted to "like Tao Qian".  The post is accordingly amended.

ORIGINAL POST:  Here is yet another rendition not posted on this blog.  It was posted on the HK Economic Journal's "Forum" website on 2 October 2010.  I have only made a few slight amendments.  In line 1, "like Tao Qian" now read "like Tao Qian's", and in line 3, "my dear chrysanthemum" now read "O dear Chrysanthemum".  I do hope you like it.

Yuan Zhen (779-831): Chrysanthemum Flowers

 1      Around my cottage, like Tao Qian, autumn flowers I grow,

2      Along the hedges I amble, till the slanting sun sinks low.

3      Of flowers, O dear Chrysanthemum, not that I love you best,

4  Just that once you are gone, there is no other flower to follow.

 Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)   譯者: 黃宏發

12^th May 2010 (revised 13.5.10; 14.5.10; 15.5.10; 9.9.10; 24.2.21)

Translated from the original - 元稹: 菊花

 

1      秋叢繞舍似陶家

2      遍繞籬邊日漸斜

3      不是花中偏愛菊

4      此花開盡更無花

 

Notes:

*This English rendition is in hexameter (6 feet) while the original is in 7-character line. The rhyme scheme is AAxA as in the original.

*Lines 1 and 2:  I am grateful to Xu Yuanchong (XYZ) for the rhyme of “grow-low” in his translation of the same poem entitled “Chrysanthemums” on p. 471 of his “Bilingual Edition 300 Tang Poems”, Beijing: Higher Education Press, 2000.

*Line 1:  Tao is the 晉 Jin Dynasty poet Tao Yuanming 陶淵明 or Tao Qian 陶潛 (365-427) who, in recluse, loved the chrysanthemum.  I have translated 陶家 as “Tao Qian” to pave the way to end the line with the rhyme word “grow”.  I have chosen not to translate 叢 as “bushes/plants” but as “flowers” which chrysanthemums are.

*Lines 3 and 4:  I have changed the third person “chrysanthemum” in the original to the second person in this English rendition which, I hope, makes it much more personal as if the poet is addressing this flowering plant.

*Line 3:  I had considered “not that I love/favour you most” and “not that on you I dote”, and have decided for “not that I love you best”.

*Line 4:  I had considered “Once past your prime, you’re gone”, “Once past your prime and gone”, “Once time is up, you’re gone”, “Once your prime is spent”, “Just that once you’re spent”, “Just that you once gone” and “Only once you’re gone”, but have decided for “Just that once you are gone”.  I had considered the stronger rhyme “blow” (e.g., “no other flower will blow”), but have decided for the weaker “follow” so as to end the line (and the poem) on a falling tune suggestive of a passive acceptance of nature.  I have chosen “follow” also for its ambiguity.  In this context, “follow”, which can mean either and both of (a) no flowers to come after (follow) in sequence of time or 無花再開, and (b) no flowers to go after (follow) as an admirer or 再無花可賞.  The word “follow” aptly translates 再無花.

金昌緒 Jin Changxu : 春怨 A Springtime Plaint

Here is yet another rendition of mine which I had forgotten to post here on the Classical Chinese Poems in English blog.  (It was posted on the Hong Kong Economic Journal's Forum web on 22 July 2011.)

  

I am sure you will at once notice I have added quite a lot of words which are not in the original.  I have done that for various purposes.  For rhyme: I have added "I say" in line 1, "all day" in line 2, "a long way away" in line 4.  For metre (the 5 feet or beats pentameter): I have added all of the above, plus "willow" in line 2, "I fear" and "abrupt" in line 3, and "my man, in" in line 4.  At least some of these additions elucidate the meaning of the line concerned, e.g., line 5's "cannot reach Liaoxi" 不得到遼西    must  have   meant to meet the female persona's lover, hence, "Reach not my man, in Liaoxi ..." in my rendition.  I hope you will find the other additions equally elucidating.  

This is a pretty little poem.  Please enjoy reading it out loud. 

 

Jin Changxu (800’s): A Springtime Plaint

1      O shoo away those yellow birds, I say,

2      Not to trill on the willow twigs all day.

3      Their trills will, I fear, my dream disrupt abrupt,

4      Reach not my man, in Liaoxi, a long way away.

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)    譯者: 黃宏發

10^th November 2009 (revised 12.11.09; 16.11.09; 23.11.09; 26.11.09; 27.11.09; 12.1.10; 2.6.10; 19.7.11; 22.9.11)

Translated from the original - 金昌緒: 春怨

1      打起黃鶯兒

2      莫教枝上啼

3      啼時驚妾夢

4      不得到遼西

Notes:

*  This English rendition is in pentameter (5 feet or beats) while the original is in 5-character lines.  The rhyme scheme is AAxA while the original is xAxA.

*  Line 1:  打起 mean chase away.  I have decided for “shoo away” after consideration “flush away”.  For 黃鶯兒, I have chosen “yellow birds” instead of “golden orioles” as these birds are the cause of the complaint and should be shorn of beauty.  I have interpreted the line to be an instruction to her maids or servants, hence, I have added “I say” (or “I pray” if more genteel, neither in the original) to end the line.  This is done to make line 1 also rhyme (originally not rhymed).

*  Line 2:  For 啼, I had considered “twitter” and “chirp” but have decided for “trill” as this is how orioles sing.  I have added “willow” to echo “Springtime” in the title (willows, by convention, indicate spring).  I have also added “all day” to make clear my interpretation that the persona’s wish is to doze off or take a nap during daytime to dream of her man (= husband).

*  Line 3:  The word妾 should not be literally translated as “concubine”; its correct meaning is “first person feminine”, i.e., “I” or “my” in the feminine gender.  This is how a woman refers to herself.  In the context of this poem, the persona is most likely the wife, although she can be a “concubine” or just a “lover”, hence, the addition of “my man” instead of “my husband” in line 4.

*  Line 4:  For 不得到 (cannot reach …), I have decided for “Reach not my man” with the addition of “my man”, after considering “See not …” and “Meet not …”.  遼西 which means “West Liao” (the western part of Liao) is transliterated as “Liaoxi”.  This has nothing to do with the idea of “west” in most frontier poem, Liaoxi being the north, north-eastern frontier.  I had originally translated it as “at the frontier” but have decided for the transliteration.  I had originally added “far away” to close the poem, but have now decided for “a long way away”.

 

趙嘏 Zhao Jia: 舊感 Nostalgia/ 江樓有感 Brook Tower Nostalgia

Here is a quatrains by Zhao Jia 趙嘏 which I translated some 12 years ago.  It had never been posted/ published anywhere.  

The original is a 7-character quatrain with a caesura (pause) after the fourth character.  This English rendition is in hexameter (6 feet or beats) with a caesura (pause) in the middle (i.e. after the third foot or beat).

This is a poem about friendship expressed in a most subdued and subtle manner.  Here the poem goes:

Zhao Jia (806-875):  Nostalgia/ Brook Tower Nostalgia

1      Alone, I ascend the Brook Tower,  to afar my sentiments fly.

2      The moon still shines on the water,  the water mirrors the sky.

3      (O where tonight is my friend, together the moon we embraced?)

     O where tonight is my fellow with whom the moon we embraced? (revised 23.2.21) 

4      Same but paled is the scenery, to the scene of the year gone by.

Translated by Andrew W.F. Wong (Huang Hongfa)   譯者:  黄宏發

12^th November 2008 (revised 14.11.08; 17.11.08; 18.11.08)  

Translated from the original - 趙嘏:  舊感/ 江樓有感

1      獨上江樓思渺然

2      月光如水水如天

3      同來望月人何處

4      風景依稀似去年

Notes:

*  The original is in 7-character lines.  This English rendition is in hexameter (6 metrical feet).  The rhyme scheme is AAxA as in the original.

*  Line 1:  There is a 悄然 “silently or sadly” version of line 1.  I prefer the 渺然 “afar” version as the poem is a subtle one with sadness pervading, without it ever mentioned.

*  Line 2:  The word 如 (like) should be taken to mean 往 or 赴 (to go to) as in 如廁 (to go to the toilet).  I have, therefore, abandoned possible lines such as “The moonlight is like the water, the water like the sky”.  The line is rendered as “The moon still shines on the water, the water mirrors the sky”, with the word “still” added to show the poet is reflecting on the past.

*  Line 3:  The word “tonight”, which is not in the original but can be reasonably inferred, is added for clarity and for the extra foot needed to complete the 6-beat line.  For 望 (gaze at, behold) I had considered “we gazed” but have decided for “we embraced” to paint a picture of "we embracing the moon" and "the moon embracing us"..

*  Line 4:  “Same but paled … to the scene of …” is not a precise translation of 依稀 (vaguely) 似 (similar), but I find it much more poetic than lines such as “Faintly/ Vaguely/ Hazily similar … to that of …”  In my rendition, I have also played on the difference between “scenery” which is 景 and ”scene” which includes both 景 (scenery) and 情 (sentiments).