I recently learned a Chinese poem that was awesome! I love the depth encapsulated by this poem. So, I have translated it with an explanation below.
半亩方塘一鉴开，天光云影共徘徊。
问渠那得清如许？为有源头活水来。
Bàn mǔ fāng táng yī jiàn kāi, tiānguāng yún yǐng gòng páihuái.
Wèn qú nà dé qīng rúxǔ? Wèi yǒu yuántóu huóshuǐ lái.
A large oblong pool opens as a mirror,
Light, cloud, and shadow linger through the sky,
When asked: whence comes such clarity (of thought)?
One’s answered that living water flows from the source.
The author is using a metaphor to explain what it feels like to read books. He likens the mind to a large pool of crystal-clear water. It opens as a mirror before the onlooking author. He looks into the mirror of water and sees light, clouds and shadow drifting across the sky. He asks why the pool of water is so clear (in other words, why are his thoughts so clear?), and he’s answered that it’s because living water is flowing into it — which by the name of the poem directly implies that new ideas are flowing into his mind because he reads frequently.
I could not agree more with this sentiment and have never in my life heard it articulated so beautifully.
第三句的“渠”是通假字，“渠”同“佢”。所以这是一语双光。
Sorry for my limited English ability that I cannot explain what is “Tongjia words” to you. Here they used “Qu” to refer to both the water and him. How artful it is! We still use “Qu佢” in modern Cantonese as he/she, which is no longer used in mandarin.
Hi Shawn,
I was directed to your website when I was researching a good translation of ChunXiao. I was given a copy of a poetry booklet recently which I used when I was a small child. I was flooded with emotions. Now I am trying to incorporate Chinsee poetry into my art-making, mainly collaged paintings. Just want to pop up to say hi, and to let you know your translation of that poem is among the best I’ve enjoyed. Thank you. I will link your page when I quote it in my substack letters.
Also, just quickly to mention it, the Tongjia words probably can be explained as words that are phonetically same are borrowed to replace the original, creating another dimension of meaning that adds to the original expression. The ability to find just the right word for a loan to say more than one thing highlights the writer/speaker’s mastery of the language.
Hope this helps. It may not be the studied way of describing it; I’m simply interested in giving it a try, if nothing else. 🙂 Keep up with the reading and sharing!
Thanks for your comment Mary
thanks for talking about this poem, i just recited it in my AP chinese class and my teacher really liked it. I have you to thank! it is awesome
Thanks Lena! Best of luck with your Chinese class