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).

王建 Wang Jian: 十五夜望月/ 寄杜郎中 Beholding the Moon on the Night of the Fifteenth/ Sent to Secretary Du

Here is yet another poem I translated years ago, posted on the HKEJ 信報 website on 17 September 2010 but never posted here on blogspot. I have now somewhat polished it. Here we go: 

Wang Jian (766?-830?): Beholding the Moon on the Night of the Fifteenth/ Sent to Secretary Du

 

1 The ground in mid-yard whitens, tree boughs, crows embower, 

2 Dewdrops stealthily gather, dampening the osmanthus flower. 

3 Tonight, the moon shines bright, for one and for all to behold, yet 

4 I know not my autumn feelings are shared in who else’s bower.

 

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

24th March 2009 (revised 25.3.09; 26.3.09; 3.4.09; 8.6.09; 10.6.09; 19.6.09; 9. 9.10; 3.11.2020)

Translated from the original - 王建: 十五夜望月/ 寄杜郎中 

1 中庭地白樹棲鴉 

2 冷露無聲濕桂花 

3 今夜月明人盡望 

4 不知秋思落誰家 

Notes: 

* The original is in 7-character lines. This English rendition is in hexameter (6 feet or beats). The rhyme scheme is AAxA as in the original. * Title and Line 4: The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th of the 8th lunar month on which night the moon is the fullest, brightest. This has been taken to symbolize: (a) full union for those who are together which calls for celebration, and (b) yearning for reunion for those who are apart. This, I hope, explains the “autumn feelings” in line 4. 

* Line 1: I have coined “mid-yard” to translate 中庭 in line with common usage of “backyard”, “back yard”, “rear yard”, “front yard”, etc. 

* Line 2: I have chosen “stealthily” over the literal “silently”. I have dropped the word 冷 in the translation because “dew” is by nature “cold” and because expressions like “cold dew” or “cool dew” sound odd. I have added the word “gather”, which implies that the night is getting cooler or colder, to partially compensate for the loss of the word “cold”. I had used “moisten” but have now decided for the harder and colder word “dampen”. I think “osmanthus” is the correct name for 桂花 and not “cassia” which is 桂皮.

 

* Lines 3 and 4: I have changed the expression “for one and all” which means “all” or “everyone” into “for one and for all” to quicken the pace of the line and to subtly (less than subtle would be “for me and for all”) pave the way to my interpreting line 4 not as a simple question of “whose” but as “who else’s”, i.e. in addition to the poet’s family reunion sentiments. I had originally used “Who knows” to translate 不知 in line 4, but have now decided to use the literal “I know not”. For 秋思, I had used “autumn yearnings/ sentiments” but have now decided for “autumn feelings”. For 落, I had considered “fall ”, “descend” and even “shower” (which rhymes with “bower” but, unfortunately, it seldom rains in autumn), and have decided to render it as “are shared in”.

張泌 Zhang Bi: 寄人 To Someone

Here is yet another old rendition of mine not posted on this blog.  (It was first posted in the "Forum" website of the "Hong Kong Economic Journal" 信報網站 on 8 October 2010.) Here we go:

Zhang Bi (Tang Dynasty, years unknown): To Someone

 

1      Departed, I return in dream, to linger at your house once more ---

2      Turning, merging, zigzagging: that same balustrade corridor.

3      O none but the moon so loving, o’er the autumn courtyard shines,

4      Still shines for me, the absentee, on the flowers lie fallen a-floor.

 

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

19^th April 2010 (revised 20.4.10; 21.4.10; 22.4.10; 16.9.10; polished 22.9.2020)

Translated from the original - 張泌: 寄人

 

1      別夢依依到謝家

2      小廊迴合曲闌斜

3      多情只有秋庭月

4      猶為離人照落花

 

Notes:

*  Form, Metre and Rhyme:  This English rendition is in hexameter (6 metrical feet) while the original quatrain is in 7-character lines.  The rhyme scheme is AAxA as in the original.

*  Line 1:  I have taken 依依 to mean 依依不舍 which means reluctant, cannot bear to be separated and have used “return … to linger at (after considering “to cling to”) … once more” to convey this meaning.  謝家 (Xie house) refers to the abode of the addressee’s family and is rendered simply as “in your house”.  It may be of interest to note that 謝 (Xie) could have been used by the poet to allude to the high and mighty Xie family of the Eastern Jin (東晉) dynasty (317-420) to suggest it was the lady’s powerful and rich family (with Xie to stand for high social standing) and not the lady herself who rejected the poet’s marriage proposal.  In my view, this poem as a whole should be taken as a lament of love unrequited for whatever cause, and not of the evil of 門當户對 (well-matched in social status) marriages which is only obliquely alluded to in the one single word Xie.  I believe my decision to omit this possible allusion is entirely reasonable.

*  Line 2:  I have taken 小廊 (little corridor) and 闌 (railing) to mean a covered passageway with railings connecting the buildings and/or the gardens and grounds, hence, rendered as “that same balustrade corridor”.  I have taken the remaining 4 characters: 迴 (go round, turn) 合 (join, merge) 曲 (crooked, angular) and 斜 (slant), to refer to a zigzag or crisscross pattern advancing diagonally and have decided for “Turning, merging, zigzagging” after considering “Parting, joining, zigzagging” and “Diverging, merging, crisscrossing”.

*  Line 3:  多情 is not taken to mean amorous, but caring, full of love, etc., hence, rendered as “in empathy”.

*  Line 4:  For 落花, I had considered “flowers strewn/ scattered” and have decided for “flowers lie fallen”.  I have coined the word “a-floor” to mean on the ground or floor, which is added for the ‘-or’ end rhyme. 

岑参 Cen Shen: 磧中作 Written in the Desert

Here is another old rendition of mine which had not been posted on this blog.  (It was posted on the "Forum" website of the "Hong Kong Economic Journal" 信報論壇 on 25 February 2011.)  This is Cen Shen's "Written in the Desert" which, in plain and simple language, gives one a picture of the west as sky-high (line 1), as 2 months' distance away (line 2), as resting in tents if not the open air (line 3), and as a vast, uninhabited desert.  Here we go: 

Cen Shen (715-770): Written in the Desert

1      To the west I’ve come on horseback, to this a sky-high terrene;

2      E’er since I left my homestead, the moon, twice full, has been.

3      I know not where, tonight, shall we camp and rest for the night;

4      ‘Tis a land of sands so boundless, no human dwellings be seen.

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

21 January 2009 (revised 22.1.09; 23.1.09; 18.2.09; 23.2.11; 11.6.12; 27.3.13; polished 10.9.2020)

Translated from the original - 岑参: 磧中作

1      走馬西來欲到天

2      辭家見月兩回圓

3      今夜未知何處宿

4      平沙萬里絕人煙

  Notes:

*  The original is a quatrain in 7-character lines.  This English rendition is in hexameter (6 metrical feet).  The rhyme scheme is AAXA as in the original.  The English rhyme of “terrene”, “been” and “seen” is fortuitously close to the Putonghua pronunciation of the Chinese rhyme of 天, 圓 and 煙.

*  Line 1:  I have added “terrene” 地 not just for the rhyme, but also to meet common sense. I had originally penned “to find this/a sky-high terrene”.  But the word 欲, in this context, does not mean “wish to” but “about to”, e.g. 搖搖欲墜 “so precarious that it is about to fall”, hence, 欲到天 actually means “to reach a land which is about to reach the sky” or simply “sky-high” .

*  Line 2:  To begin the line, I had considered “From when”, “Since when” and “O since” but have now decided for “E’er since”.  For the word見, please note 見 (see) and 現 (appear) have the same root in Chinese and are often used rather interchangeably.  Although the original line reads 見月 “I’ve seen the moon” and not 月見 “the moon has appeared”, I have changed the literally correct “I’ve seen” to “has been” meaning “has appeared”, for not wishing to repeat “seen” which I need to end line 4. 

*  Line 3:  I have used two words “camp” and “rest” to translate 宿 in order to complete the hexameter and to make clear in the English rendition the fact that the poet was on an army expedition to the west.

*  Line 4:   The word “sands” (in plural) here means “sandy or desert wastes” (Shorter Oxford).  I have used “boundless” to translate the hyperbole 萬里 “10,000 li (or 3,000 miles)”.  I had originally used “sign” or “trace” to loosely translate 煙 (literally “smoke”, but in this context, smoke from cooking and/or heating in human homes), but have now come to consider these 2 words inferior to “homes” or “dwellings”.  Instead of “no sign/ trace of man be seen”, 無人煙 is now rendered as “no human dwellings be seen”.