Listening to Chen Leishi's Zither

In EastSouthWestNorth Comment 2006#016,

In Hong Kong, the next generation of middle-school students rejoice at the announcement that the modern poem 聽陳蕾士的琴箏 will be removed from the syllabus next year. Students from the era of the 1990's remember their bewilderment at a poem which manages to turn music into words, musical scores into poetic verse and sound into sight. The poet Wong Kwok-pun (黃國彬) apologized today to all the 16/17-year-olds who had to study the poem which he admitted was "a bit complicated."

The Chinese text was then reproduced at EastSouthWestNorth with the following epilogue: "You want a English-language translation? Well, you won't get it from me because I am pleading incompetence."  However, a reader "Looffence" has forwarded a bold attempt. 

聽陳蕾士的琴箏

他的寬袖一揮,萬籟
就醒了過來。自西湖的中央
一隻水禽飛入了濕曉,
然後向弦上的漣漪下降。
月下,銀暈在鮫人的淚中流轉,
白露在桂花上凝聚無聲,
香氣細細從睡蓮的嫩蕊
溢出,在發光的湖面變冷。
涼露輕輕地敲響了水月,
聲音隨南風穿過窗櫺
直入殿閣。一陣盪漾
過後,湖面又恢復了平靜。
他左手抑揚,右手徘徊,
輕撥著天河兩岸的星輝。
然後抑按藏摧,雙手
遊隼般俯衝滑翔翻飛。
角徵紛紛奪弦而起,鏗然
躍入了霜天;後面的宮商
像一隻隻鼓翼追飛的鷂子
急擊著霜風衝入空曠。
十指在急縱疾躍,如脫兔
如驚鷗,如鴻雁在大漠陡降;
把西風從竹林捲起,把木葉
搖落雲煙盡歛的大江。
十指在翻飛疾走,把驟雨
潑落窗格和浮萍,颯颯
如變幻的劍花在起落迴舞,
彈出一瓣又一瓣的朝霞。
雪晴,山靜,冰川無聲。
在崑崙之巔,金色的太陽
擊落紫色的水晶。紅寶石裏
珍珠如星雲在靜旋發光。
然後是五指倏地急頓……
水晶和融冰鏗然相撞間,
大雪山的銀光驀然在高空
凝定。而天河也靜止如劍。
廣漠之上,月光流過了
雲漢,寂寂的宮闕和飛檐
在月下聽仙音遠去,越過
初寒的琉璃瓦馳入九天。
Listening to Chen Leishi's Zither

The World wakes, as his fluttering cuff sweeps swiftly in motion.
From the midst of the West Lake a water bird flies into the misty moist;
And upon the ripples of the strings it then descends.
Beneath the Moon, silvery clouds turn, round and round in the tears of the lonely.
Silently gathers upon the floras are whitish dews,
From the baby buds of dreaming lotus beams the aroma
And turns cold upon surface of the glittering Lake .
Chilled dews mildly knocking upon shadow of the Moon,
And the sound glides with the South wind through the window frames
Direct, into Palace Court . Shaking, but for a moment,
And calm restores to surface of the Lake .
Up and down, his left hand goes; whilst his right, hesitating;
And caressing, starlights on both sides of the Milky Way;
And then, abstaining into hiding, both hands
Gently, popping fluttering and gliding.
In turn, they force their way up. And hopping, alas,
Into the frosty sky; followed, one by one, by darting flying squeals,
Targeting, and the chilly wind sweeps into the Void.
Jumping and dancing up and down are his ten fingers, like a hare, escaping,
Like a gull, frightened; or in a desert, a hovering giant bird suddenly descending;
Flipping up the West wind within the bamboo seas; so that the leaves came
Down, pouring all and vanishing in the River in haze.
Flipping still are his fingers, like rain, dropping
Onto the window panes and floating lily leaves, or dancing,
Like that of the ever changing shadows and shades of swords in a duel,
Emitting pedals and pedals of morning mist,
Like crystal snow, and hills mute, and silent frozen brooks.
At Cliffside, where crystals in purple are
Defeated by the golden Sun. Where rubies and pearls gleam
And shine, revolving quietly amidst the cloudy Stars.
But behold, suddenly up come five fingers…..
As crystal and ice collides,
As silvery lights of the Iced Mount, got suddenly halted in the Skies;
Come to a standstill. So is the Milky Way, dead as a sword.
Upon the vast Desert, the Moon floats past
The Clouds, Quietly and fading, departing farewell are
Musical notes of fairies of the Palatial Court . And over
The early winter roofing tiles, unto Eternity.