首页 > 中国诗歌 > 中诗翻译
中国诗文外译┃刘禹锡《陋室铭》║总第10期


  导读:编者语: 一样的《陋室铭》,别样的韵译。古文的《陋室铭》,如何以英文诉说?请看七星译诗社奉上的七版韵译。The same original is rendered into seven different rhymed versions. Let's see how an ancient Chinese prose-poem finds its expression in the form of English verse!

 


译古今 传经典



陋室铭
唐 刘禹锡
山不在高,有仙则名。
水不在深,有龙则灵。
斯是陋室,惟吾德馨。
苔痕上阶绿,草色入帘青。
谈笑有鸿儒,往来无白丁。
可以调素琴,阅金经。
无丝竹之乱耳,无案牍之劳形。
南阳诸葛庐,西蜀子云亭。
孔子云:何陋之有?


  张蛟生画作

1. Inscription to My Humble Abode

A hill need not be high,

Immortals give its name;
A rill need not be deep,
A dragon wins its fame;
Be it ever a humble abode,
I have an honor to claim.
A touch of moss on steps seen,
Through curtain grass is green.
Great scholars share laughing words;
Those who come and go aren’t nerds.
They can fondle a stringless zither,
And read a golden sutra hither,
Free from noisy music to ear,
Or official documents to fear.
In Nanyang lives Zhuge, the wise,
In Xishu the hut of Ziyun lies.
“Is it humble?” Confucius replies.




2. Ode to my Humble Cottage

The hill need not be high,
Immortals lure all to come by.
The rill need not be deep,
Dragons lure all to worship.
Here is my humble cottage,
With virtue its only vantage.
Moss creeps onto the steps green,
Grass lends luster to the screen.
Great scholars enlighten me,
Ignorance isn’t my company.
I can play the air zither,
Or read any golden Scripture;
Where no string and wind disturb my ear,
No red tapes tire my old flesh dear.
As for Yang Xiong’s Arbor ’nd Zhuge’s Hut,
“Not humble at all!” Confucius’d rebut.




3. My Humble Abode

A mountain, be it high or not,
If gods reside therein,
Its mightiness will be shown;
A river, be it deep or not,
If a dragon resides therein,
Its deity will be known.
This is a humble residence,
But my virtue fills it with fragrance.
Moss patches the steps green;
Grasses lustre the bamboo screen.
Heartily chatting with me are all great scholars;
None of my guests is a vulgar commoner.
Here, I can play my stringless zither,
Or read sutras at leisure.
No noisy music makes my ears suffer;
Nor government affairs turn me a toiler.
It is like Zhuge’s or Ziyun’s cabin we all know.
“Who can describe it as humble?”Confucius once said so.





4. Inscription for My Humble Abode

A mount need not be high; it'll be famous if there's an immortal abiding.
A river need not be deep; it'll be miraculous if there's a dragon residing.
Humble as my abode is, it has a good name because of my virtue and learning.
The steps are coated with green moss; the grass gives the screen an emerald lining.
I converse and laugh with great scholars, but never associate with know-nothing.
I can either play my crude zither or enjoy golden scripture reading.
There's no noisy music ringing in my ears, nor office work to tax my physical well-being.
It’s just like Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage or Yang Ziyun's pavilion dwelling.
To quote Confucius: "How can it be called humble?"




5. Inscription for My Humble House

Mounts are famous not for their heights,
But for immortals living there.
Rivers famous not with their depths,
But with the dragons dwelling here.
Although my house is so humble,
Inscriptions make me known everywhere.
Moss spreads to steps and makes them green,
Grass seen through bamboo screens somewhere.
I only discourse with scholars,
Those with no ranks are found nowhere.
I play the zither with no strings,
Read Diamond Sutra anywhere.
No strings and pipes bother my ears,
No documents tire me here 'nd there.
Zhuge Liang's cottage in Nanyang,
Yang Ziyun’s in Sichuan 're still there.
“They aren't humble.”Confucius says here.




6. Inscription to My Simple Cabin

High or low, a mountain
with immortals will great fame win
Deep or shallow, the water
with loongs will have a divine mien
Simple as my place is
My character is clean
Moss tinges the steps jady green
Grass gives the screen a virid sheen
With scholars erudite I talk
No guests illiterate here seen
I can play the stringless lyre
Or read Gold Scripture serene
No lute or flute to tear my ear
No paperwork to rack my spleen
Yes my hut is as simple as Zhuge Liang's and Yang Xiong's had been
But for gentlemen like Confucius,
"It is by no means poor or mean!"


7. My Simple Lodge

Renowned Mount doesn’t lie in height but in immortal;
Divine Ocean not in extent but in dragon oriental.
Though a simple lodge, it’s noble for a hallow.
Steps greening with moss, screens look some grassy.
Some savants chatting here, intellects arrive classy.
They either play raw zither or read rare sutra.
Neither instrument noises my ears nor official paper brings me ado.
For Zhuge Hut in Nanyang or Ziyun Pavilion in West Shu,
Confucius says, “The lodge isn’t simplistic, is it?”




本期译者
七星译诗社
The Seven Stars Translating Poetry
About Seven Stars
      Seven Stars refers to both The Society of Seven Stars Translating Poetry and its seven members, six teaching at universities and one working as a translator in a company. They write and publish poems in Chinese and/or English, with several of them winning the Han Suyin Award for Youth Translators.
      Its members are brought together by their common love for poetry and devotion to poetry translation. Ever since the founding of the Society, they have been advocating faithfulness to the original by translating rhymes into rhymes and free verse into free verse, for the purpose of preserving the beauty of the original. They post their English translations on their WeChat official account “Seven Stars Translating Poetry”, thus making it a forum for discussing translation theory and sharing experience in translation.
Their motto is as follows:
We get together because of poetry translation! (因译诗而结缘)
We unite in a society for versified translation! (因韵译而结社)
七星译诗社(以北斗星名为序)
次序 星名(原名) 英文星名
1 天枢(史潘荣) Celestial Pivot
2 天璇(王昌玲) Celestial Gem
3 天玑(石永浩) Celestial Pearl
4 天权(王如利) Celestial Scale
5 玉衡(魏红霞) Celestial Ruby
6 开阳(张俊锋) Celestial Light
7 瑶光(黄金珠) Celestial Shine



本期画家

      张蛟生,号枕波居士,河南洛阳人。喜山水,好书法,书画双修,尤擅花鸟,主攻写意牡丹画,其画构图险绝,意境深远,画面典雅、脱俗;承历代名家书画遗风,创古都传统文化积淀的一代博古画风,倍受同行青睐。其书画作品在全国展赛中屡获大奖,并被国内外权威典籍书刊征用,文博单位收藏。现为,世界和平总会书画委员会委员;中国书画艺术研究院专业画家;中国美术家协会河南分会会员;河南科技大学书画客座教授等;文化部授予“中原艺术大师”,人称“中原一支笔”。

 



 

《中国诗文外译》

 

策划:周占林、宛城卧龙
顾问:何功杰、李正栓、张智中、卓振英
主 编:王 磊
副主编:黄金珠、蔡铁勇
题 字:郭文章
责任编辑: 山野
要喝就喝纯贵坊