Friday, 8 April 2022

lnhammer: the Chinese character for poetry, red on white background (Default)
Another repost of a redo.


Carrying clear from seven strings—
Silent, I hear cold wind through pines.
This ancient tune, although I love it,
Few people play it still today.

弹琴
泠泠七弦上,
静听松风寒。
古调虽自爱,
今人多不弹。

The mood the playing evokes alludes to a qin tune “Wind Through the Pines” (风入松), also later used for ci poetry.

(Which is to say, he’s not playing a tune called “Cold Wind Through the Pines,” and 调 means the actual “tune” here and not a “style” that’s out of fashion.)

---L.

About

Warning: contents contain line-breaks.

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.

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