Poems Found In Translation: “Du Fu: Lament For a Prince Errant (From Chinese)” |
Posted: 27 Sep 2016 07:33 AM PDT
This poem was written in 756 or shortly thereafter during the An Lushan rebellion. Du Fu was trapped in Chang'an after it had fallen to the rebels. An Lushan had ordered that all Tang royalty be executed. His killing-squads were sweeping the city, hunting down members of the House of Tang, and executing them on sight.
The "stanzaic" divisions in this poem correspond to a formal division in the original. The Chinese is rhymed AAbAcAdA...etc as one might expect. However, each section separated by an empty line in my translation begins with another AA internally rhymed couplet in the original. These seem to correspond to thematic or dramatized shifts in the original and I felt it important to mark them as such. The term used for "prince" here çŽ‹å« (recurring four times throughout the poem) calls to mind the theme, quite old in Chinese poetry, of the "wandering prince." The "wandering prince" is often a man roaming somewhere in the wilderness, being urged by the poem's speaker to return home where he belongs while his wife is yet young. There may also be an echo of a specific wandering prince, Han Xin, who though a grandson of the king of Han, was nonetheless a commoner early in life, and was - so the story goes - saved from starvation by an old woman who saw him fishing by the Huai River and fed him for months out of pity. In Du Fu's poem, both of these tropes are inverted. Here the prince is forced into vagabondage, and dare not return home if he wishes to survive, and is moreover denied the succor that the old woman is reported to have extended to Han Xin. Lament For a Prince Errant By Du Fu Translated by A.Z. Foreman Black in the air the whitehood crows1 from Chang'an's walls took flight   And loud above the Yanqiu Gate called — cawed into the night Then wheeled toward homes of men to peck on mansion roofs in hordes   Warning high ministers below to flee the rebel2 swords The gold whips snapped — horse upon horse galloped till it fell dead   Not all the Emperor's flesh and blood could join him as he fled Blue coral and a precious crest of jade about his waist
  Off by the road I spot a prince  pathetic, teary-faced
I ask his name — he will not say  He dare not be so brave
  But begs me in his misery  to take him as a slave
He has escaped the killing-squads hiding in bush and thorn
  For a hundred days leaving his flesh no shred of skin untorn But the bridged nose of Gaozu's line3 bespeaks the royal clan   The Dragon's seed is not the seed of ordinary man — "Wild dogs now stalk the city streets the Dragon roams the wild
  Preserve Your precious self Your Highness now that the court's exiled
I dare not speak with You too long here in plain roadside view   But for Your royal sake will pause and spare a word or two A spring wind from the east last night  blew blood's stench through the air     And camels from the east filed in to load loot everywhere The Northland troops of Geshu Han good men well-honed in war   So brave and sharp they were back then — such idiots they now are4 The Son of Heaven has abdicated or so the rumors run   And in the north His Royal Virtue has tamed the southern Khan5 They've gashed their faces — vowed to blot all this dishonor out   But careful whom you tell this to with all these spies about6  Alas indeed poor prince — take care  pray the auspicious power
  Of the Imperial Tombs7 remain your guardian every hour"
Notes:
1- White-headed crows were an ominous sign. The direct inspiration here is that of Hou Jing, who usurped the power of the Liang emperors for a brief while. White-headed crows were said to have appeared over the southern gate of the Palace City at the time of takeover. 2- "Rebel" here translates 胡, a word often rendered as "barbarian" or "Tartar" but which in fact could serve during the Tang as a generic term for any ethnic group other than Han Chinese. An Lushan was of mixed Turkic and Sogdian descent. 3- The high-bridged nose was characteristic of the Han imperial house, specifically that of its founder Gaozu. c.f. 4- Geshu Han's troops from Shuofang and elsewhere in the northern frontier commands, though they had done well against Tibet, were badly defeated at the Tong pass against An Lushan due to Geshu Han being forced through intrigue into some tactically unsound maneuvers. 5- Emperor Xuanzong had abdicated in favor of Suzong who had made an alliance with the Uighur Khan. 6- The reference to "gashing faces" is a call-back to the gestural vow of vengeance made by the Xiongnu. 7- The five imperial Tombs of the Tang, whose continued potency would augur the restoration of Tang rule. The Original: (Medieval Chinese transcribed using a slight modification of David Branner's system) 哀王å«ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ei1a ghwang3 swen1
æœç”«ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€duó1a puó3c  
長安城é é 白çƒï¼Œã€€ã€€drang3 an1 dzyeing3b dou1 dou1 beik2a uo1 夜飛延秋門上呼。  yà 3 pi3a yan3b tshou3b men1 dzyà ng3 huo1 åˆå‘人家啄大屋,  ghòu3b syà ng3 nyen3b ka2 trok2 dè1 uk1b 屋底é”官走é¿èƒ¡ã€‚  uk1b téi4 dat1 kwan1 tsóu1 bì3by ghuo1 金éžæ–·æŠ˜ä¹é¦¬æ»ï¼Œã€€ã€€kem3x pan3by twà n1 tsyat3b kóu3b má2 sÃ3c 骨肉ä¸å¾—åŒé¦³é©…。  kwet1 nyuk3b póu3b tek1 dung1b dri3b khuo3c 腰下寶玦é’çŠç‘šï¼Œã€€ã€€au3y ghà 2 páu1 kwat4 tsheing4 san1 ghuo1 å¯æ†çŽ‹å«æ³£è·¯éš…。  khé1 lan4 ghwang3 swen1 khep3x luò1 nguo3c å•ä¹‹ä¸è‚¯é“姓å,  mèn3a tsyi3d póu3b khéng1 dáu1 sèing3b meing3b 但é“困苦乞為奴。  dà n1 dáu1 khwèn1 khuó1 khet3a ghwi3bx nuo1 已經百日竄èŠæ£˜ï¼Œã€€ã€€yÃ3d keing4 peik2a nyet3b tshwà n1 keing3a kek3 身上無有完肌膚。  syen3b dzyà ng3 muo3c ghóu3b ghwan1 ki3cx puo3c 高å¸åå«ç›¡éš†æº–,  kau1 tèi4 tsÃ3d swen1 dzèn3b lung3b tsywén3b é¾ç¨®è‡ªèˆ‡å¸¸äººæ®Šã€‚  lung3c tsyúng3c dzì3c yuó3b dzyang3 nyen3b dzyuo3c 豺狼在邑é¾åœ¨é‡Žï¼Œã€€ã€€dzrei2b lang1 dzèi1a ep3x lung3c dzèi1a yá3 王å«å–„ä¿åƒé‡‘軀。  ghwang3 swen1 dzyán3b páu1 tshan4 kem3x khuo3c ä¸æ•¢é•·èªžè‡¨äº¤è¡¢ï¼Œã€€ã€€póu3b kám1b drang3 nguó3b lem3 kau2 guo3c 且為王å«ç«‹æ–¯é ˆã€‚  tshá3 ghwì3bx ghwang3 swen1 lep3 si3b suo3c 昨夜æ±é¢¨å¹è¡€è…¥ï¼Œã€€ã€€dzak1 yà 3 tung1b pung3b tshywi3b hwat4 seing4 æ±ä¾†æ©é§æ»¿èˆŠéƒ½ã€‚  tung1b lei1a thak1 de1 mán1 gòu3b tuo1 朔方å¥å…’好身手,  srok2 pang3 gà n3a nyi3b háu1 syen3b syòu3b 昔何勇銳今何愚。  seik3b ghe1 yúng3c dwèi1b kem3x ghe1 nguo3c ç«Šèžå¤©å已傳ä½ï¼Œã€€ã€€tshat4 men3a than4 tsÃ3d yÃ3d drwan3b ghwì3cx è–德北æœå—單于。  syèing3b tek1 pek1 buk3b nam1a dzyan3b ghuo3c 花門剺é¢è«‹é›ªæ¥ï¼Œã€€ã€€hwa2 men1 li3d mà n3by tshéing3b swat3b thrÃ3d 慎勿出å£ä»–人狙。  dzyèn3b met3a tshywet3b khóu1 the1 nyen3b tshuo3b 哀哉王å«æ…Žå‹¿ç–,  ei1a tsei1a ghwang3 swen1 dzyèn3b met3a sruo3b 五陵佳氣無時無。  nguó1 leng3 kei2a khì3a muo3c dzyi3d muo3c |
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