Poems in Translation- German and Chinese, H. Hesse and Du Fu- by A.Z. Foreman

I know Hermann Hesse basically as the author of a couple of books, chiefly "Siddartha" I have never heard of Du Fu before  Both rendered with beautiful simplicity    Poems Found in Translation: “Hermann Hesse: I love women (From German)” plus 1 more

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Hermann Hesse: I love women (From German) Posted: 14 Feb 2014 09:06 PM PST "I love the women" By Hermann Hesse Translated by A.Z. Foreman I love the women singers once extolled In verse of love through centuries of old. I love the cities where a lost wall tells The sorry tales of olden citadels. I love the cities that will one day stand When no one of today is in the land. I love the women, beautiful, sublime Who rest unborn yet in the womb of time. They will someday send forth a star-pale beam of beauty like the beauty that I dream. The Original: "Ich liebe Frauen..." Ich liebe Frauen, die vor tausend Jahren Geliebt von Dichtern und besungen waren. Ich liebe Städte, deren leere Mauern KÃnigsgeschlechter alter Zeit betrauern. Ich liebe StÃdte, die erstehen werden, Wenn niemand mehr von heute lebt auf Erden. Ich liebe Frauen schlanke, wunderbare, Die ungeboren ruhn im Schoss der Jahre. Sie werden einst mit ihrer sternebleichen SchÃnheit der SchÃnheit meiner TrÃume gleichen.

Du Fu: On a Moonlit Night while Imprisoned in Chang'an (From Chinese) Posted: 14 Feb 2014 09:06 PM PST During the An Lushan rebellion, the Emperor had fled the capital of Chang'an which had fallen to the  rebels. Du Fu was away at the time and took his wife and children (the oldest of them maybe 5 years old) to safety at FÅ«zhōu, in present day Fùxiàn, about 140 miles north of Chang'an on the river Luo. Du Fu then headed for the frontier town of Lingwu to join the new court. But he was intercepted by the rebels and taken to Chang'an, and imprisoned. There, he wrote this poem. On a Moonlit Night while Imprisoned in Chang'an By Du Fu Translated by A.Z. Foreman Click here to hear me recite the original in Modern Chinese pronunciation Click here to hear me recite it in my reconstruction of what Medieval Chinese sounded like Tonight this same moon rises on Fuzhou where she, alone, will watch it with me gone.  My heart here races for our children there     too young to learn what she knows of Chang'an1 In fragrant mist, her cloud-coiffed hair is dewed.  In the chill light, her jade-white shoulders swoon.   When shall we lean together by one window drying our tear-scarred cheeks by one bright moon? 1: i.e. that Du Fu is being held there. The Original, transcriptions: Han Characters　 月夜　　　　　 杜甫　　　　　 今夜鄜州月，　 閨中只獨看。　 遙憐小兒女，　 未解憶長安。　 香霧雲鬟濕，　 清輝玉臂寒。　 何時倚虛幌，　 雙照淚痕乾。　　 Middle Chinese　 ngwat3a yà3 dúo1 púo3c kem3x yà3 phuo3c tsyou3b ngwat3a kwei4 trung3b tsyí3b duk1b khan1 yau3 lan4 sáu3 nyi3b núo3b mì3a ghèi2a ek3 drang3 an1 hang3 mùo 3c wen3a ghwan2a syep3     tsheing3b hwi3a nguk3c pì3by ghan1 ghe1 dzyi3d Ã­3bx huo3b ghwáng1 srong2 tsyàu3 lwì3c ghen1 kan1 Modern Chinese　　 Yuè yè　　 Dù Fǔ　　 JÄ«nyè fÅ«zhōu yuè　　 GuÄ« zhōng zhǐ dú kān　　 Yáo lián xiÇŽo ér nǚ　　 Wèi xiè1 yì cháng'ān　　 Xiāng wù yún huán shī　　 QÄ«ng huÄ« yù bì hán　　 hé shí yǐ xÅ« huÇŽng　　 shuāng zhào lèi hén gān　　 Notes on the Chinese: 1- the normal reading of this character in modern Chinese (as well as most recitations I would imagine) is jiÄ›. A traditional literary reading of this character, when it means "understand," would be the more etymologically consistent xiè which is what I went with.