In the “Jade Terrace” Style #8, Quan Deyu

[lnhammer]

My empty room, the candle snuffed—
Behind gauze curtains, time to sleep.
Cried out, I long to slash my guts.
Wisdom—that man doesn’t know it.

玉台体 之八
空闺灭烛后，
罗幌独眠时。
泪尽肠欲断，
心知人不知。

This one’s a little different from the previous “lonely lady” poems. Lost in translation: she’s “alone” inside the bed-curtains. Tricky bit: the last line has a bunch of possible alternate readings, including “my heart knows but that man doesn’t” or “my heart knows what that man doesn’t” or “my heart, people don’t know it.” Suggestions welcome.

---L.

Comments

[sartorias]

I think it's more interesting read male.

[lnhammer]

Meaning “that male doesn’t know it”?

[sartorias]

No, male POV. (I haven't matched your translation with the Chinese--which I usually have to do one or two characters at a time, I am such a tyro) just reading the English.

[lnhammer]

Ah, okay. Hmmm. So something like:

Her empty room, the candle snuffed—
Behind gauze curtains, time to sleep.
Cried out, she longs to slash her guts.
Her heart—men do not know it.

Hmmm. You have a point.

(And how do you think I'm reading this stuff, but one or two characters at a time? Some of the headnotes, I can almost do a whole phrase without looking something up, but the poems, ha!)

[sartorias]

YES! At least, I find that has slightly more punch?

I'm slowly reading James J. Y. Liu on Chinese poetry now--slowly because I am aware that I am almost as stupid with poetry as I am with math. (And Chinese poetry has elements of both, at least in my cheese-holes excuse for aa brain.)

[lnhammer]

Which of Liu's books?

[sartorias]

The Art of Chinese Poetry. Unfortunately the Chinese is transliterated in Wade-Giles, which plays havoc with my dyslexia, and traditional characters, making it especially slow going. Worth it, though.

[lnhammer]

👍🏼

Haven't gotten to that yet, but I've heard it hasn't aged all that badly.