Yellow Crane Pagoda, Cui Hao (300 Tang Shi #170)
Tuesday, 31 May 2022 12:29![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lnhammerAn ancient man departed on a yellow crane—
The empty land he left now is Yellow Crane Pagoda.
That yellow crane: it left, returning nevermore—
These white clouds: thousands travel, drifting on forever.
By the clear stream, many so many the Hanyang trees—
The fragrant grasses, lush so lush on Yingwu Island.
It’s sunset, and I wonder, “My hometown—where is it?”
The growing mist above the river makes one anxious.
黄鹤楼
昔人已乘黄鹤去，
此地空馀黄鹤楼。
黄鹤一去不复返，
白云千载空悠悠。
晴川历历汉阳树，
芳草萋萋鹦鹉洲。
日暮乡关何处是？
烟波江上使人愁。
Onward to Part 6* and the next poetic form—regulated verse again, only this time seven-character lines. Which is a lot of information, 40% larger than the five-character version, so I’m expecting more complex images and narratives. And this example doesn’t exactly disappoint.
* Because the apparently simple sequence I tried tackling turned out to be deceptively simple, and getting the interpretation and tone right has been abear lot harder than expected. Which makes this the more relaxing task lol.
We first met the pagoda in question back in #268—it’s a tower in Wuhan overlooking the Yangzi. The man of old is a legendary Daoist who supposedly ascended to immortality in this location on the back of a yellow crane. Hanyang is about 10km/6mi to the west, on the bank of the Han river, and Yingwu (“parrot”) Island is to the southwest.
---L.
The empty land he left now is Yellow Crane Pagoda.
That yellow crane: it left, returning nevermore—
These white clouds: thousands travel, drifting on forever.
By the clear stream, many so many the Hanyang trees—
The fragrant grasses, lush so lush on Yingwu Island.
It’s sunset, and I wonder, “My hometown—where is it?”
The growing mist above the river makes one anxious.
黄鹤楼
昔人已乘黄鹤去，
此地空馀黄鹤楼。
黄鹤一去不复返，
白云千载空悠悠。
晴川历历汉阳树，
芳草萋萋鹦鹉洲。
日暮乡关何处是？
烟波江上使人愁。
Onward to Part 6* and the next poetic form—regulated verse again, only this time seven-character lines. Which is a lot of information, 40% larger than the five-character version, so I’m expecting more complex images and narratives. And this example doesn’t exactly disappoint.
* Because the apparently simple sequence I tried tackling turned out to be deceptively simple, and getting the interpretation and tone right has been a
We first met the pagoda in question back in #268—it’s a tower in Wuhan overlooking the Yangzi. The man of old is a legendary Daoist who supposedly ascended to immortality in this location on the back of a yellow crane. Hanyang is about 10km/6mi to the west, on the bank of the Han river, and Yingwu (“parrot”) Island is to the southwest.
---L.