Translation / December 2013 (Issue 22)


Excerpts from Derangements of My Contemporaries

by Li Shangyin, translated by Chloe Garcia Roberts

Displeasure

Cutting something with a dull knife.
Plying the wind with a ragged sail.
Tree shadow obstructing the view.
Building a wall that hides the mountains.
Blossom season, no music.
A high-summer banquet held out of the breeze.
Mincemeat, no vinegar.
Summer months wearing hot clothes.

不快意 

   


钝刀切物。

破帆使风。

鲙醋不中。

筑墙遮山。

树阴遮景致。
花时无音乐。

暑月背风排筵。 
夏月著热衣服。
:::::


Scenery-Killers

Amongst pines, ordered to make way.
Looking at flowers, tears falling.
A mat spread over moss.
A weeping willow, felled.
Underthings drying below blossoms.
Carrying weight on a spring outing.
A horse tethered to a stone pillar.
Bringing a flame into moonlight.
A high-ranking officer on foot.
Raising a tower on the ridge of a mountain.
Vegetables planted in a fruit orchard.
Under a flowered arbor, rearing poultry.
Speaking of mundane affairs at a cabaret.

煞风景
  

松下喝道。

看花泪下。

苔上铺席。    
斫却垂杨。

花下晒裩。

游春重载。    
石笋系马。

月下把火。

步行将军。

背山起高楼。

果园种菜。

花架下养鸡鸭。  

妓筵说俗事。
:::::


Unbearable to Hear

A magpie, after failing the imperial examination.
A roadside inn, in autumn: an anvil banging.
Gibbons wailing at a lonely house.
The coarse language of the marketplace.
While performing mourning rites, strains of music.
A young wife weeping for her husband.
Still of night: the sounds of beggars.
News of someone dying upon passing the imperial examination.
The elderly weeping for a son.

不忍闻 
 
     
落第后闻喜鹊。
旅店秋砧声。

孤馆猿啼。

市井秽语。   

做孝闻乐声。

少妇哭夫。
夜靜闻乞儿声。
才及第便卒。
老人哭子。 
:::::


Squanderings

Humiliation, distress, on a joyful occasion.
Blossom season, copious rain.
A good family business in constant discord.
A eunuch with a beautiful wife.
A holiday in an impoverished home.
Lovely scenery, not reciting.
A magnificent dining hall not used for banquets.
A derelict home with fine flowers, trees.
A prosperous household, neglected.

虚度


好时节褊迫。 
花时多雨。
好家业常厮吵。
阉官有美妇。     
贫家节日。
好景不吟。
好厅馆不作会.
贫家好花树.
富家不会使用。

:::::


Unlucky

Reclining while eating food.
No concerns: sighing with regret.
Sleeping laid out like a corpse.
Sitting on an offering mat.
Eating food bareheaded.
Sticking a spoon, chopsticks, into an empty bowl.
Urinating or defecating under the sun, moon.
Lying in bed singing songs, melodies.
Swearing an oath, implicating parents.
Married women, hair hanging down, ungathered.
Writing characters bareheaded.
To beat one’s breast while cursing another.

不祥  

                                
卧吃食。
无事嗟叹。
寝如尸。
荐上坐。
露顶吃食。
对日月大小便。
未食碗中先插匙箸。
卧床上唱歌曲。 
牵父母作咒誓。 
妇人发垂下不收。  
露顶写字。
捶胸骂人。 
:::::
 
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