lnhammer: the Chinese character for poetry, red on white background (Default)
[personal profile] lnhammer
Can a lone cloud, a wild crane,
Dwell within the world of men?
Don’t go buying Wozhou Mountain—
People already know that place.

送上人
孤云将野鹤,
岂向人间住。
莫买沃洲山,
时人已知处。

Wozhou is in Zhejiang Province, and apparently there was a popular Buddhist temple there. (The title used for the addressee is specifically for Buddhist monks.) I do not understand the bit about buying—a place in the temple? But I’ve not heard of a practice like that. This by way of saying, treat this translation as even less reliable than average.

—L.
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As language practice, I like to translate poetry. My current project is Chinese, with practice focused on Tang Dynasty poetry. Previously this was classical Japanese, most recently working through the Kokinshu anthology (archived here). Suggestions, corrections, and questions always welcome.

There's also original pomes in the journal archives.

April 2025

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