lnhammer: the Chinese character for poetry, red on white background (Default)
[personal profile] lnhammer
Eighth Month, lake level with the banks—
The boundless waters merge with the sky,
Vapors rise from Yunmeng Marsh,
Waves shake the Yueyang City walls.
I want to cross—no boat nor oar.
My quiet life—a shame, Great Sage.
I watch a fisher drop his line:
I envy, all in vain, his fish.

望洞庭湖赠张丞相
八月湖水平,
涵虚混太清。
气蒸云梦泽,
波撼岳阳城。
欲济无舟楫,
端居耻圣明。
坐观垂钓者,
空有羡鱼情。

Tl;dr: I can has job pls? Written in 733 during a visit to Chang’an (where he stayed with Wang Wei) to look for a government post. Spoiler: his plea didn’t work. This is addressed to the same Zhang Jiuling as #119, who was the author of #91. Furthermore, this is the same Yueyang as in #114. Yunmeng (“cloud dream”) was north of the city. Idiom: sky is literally the “great clear(ness).” The address for the prime minister is more literally “enlightened sage,” often used as a flattering title for a ruler or superior.

Date: 21 February 2022 18:51 (UTC)
sartorias: (Default)
From: [personal profile] sartorias
I love the first four lines.

Date: 22 February 2022 18:07 (UTC)
sartorias: (Default)
From: [personal profile] sartorias
Yes, I've encountered that verb in the easy-reader Journey to the West I'm slowly working my way through.

Date: 22 February 2022 18:27 (UTC)
larryhammer: floral print origami penguin, facing left (Default)
From: [personal profile] larryhammer
easy-reader Journey to the West

Link please? I could use one of those.

Date: 22 February 2022 18:52 (UTC)
sartorias: (Default)
From: [personal profile] sartorias
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JCQ44YG/

They start off pretty easy, then add more and more vocab. I'm on volume 18, and try to do a page or two (sometimes three, though sometimes I need to repeat a page s couple times) a night.

Date: 25 February 2022 15:35 (UTC)
sartorias: (Default)
From: [personal profile] sartorias
I'm so glad you're enjoying them!

Date: 22 February 2022 08:28 (UTC)
pseudo_tsuga: (Default)
From: [personal profile] pseudo_tsuga
I love these translations; thank you for posting!

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.

April 2025

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