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.
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