This morning
I faced up to one of the challenges that I have been avoiding for a long while – I finally translated
Qing Ping Melody, which is one of Li Bai’s most famous poems. There are a number of legends surrounding this poem. It
was written in tribute to Yang Guifei who was the chief consort of the Emperor
Xuanzong and regarded as the paragon of beauty during the Tang Dynasty, much as Helen was among the ancient
Greeks. Supposedly Li Bai wrote the poem
on the spur of the moment, upon being roused from a drunken slumber by the Emperor's messenger, who came to request a new poem about his favorite mistress. Composed in the moment, the poem thus
epitomizes an important part of the Tang aesthetic, being a prime example of what I like to describe as spontaneous verse.
Long as I
have planned to translate this poem, when I finally got around to tackling
it this morning, I tried to work quickly, hoping the translation would stay as true as possible to
the spirit (if not the letter) of Li Bai’s original undertaking.
Here’s what I came up with:
1
Clouds
recall her clothing
The flowers
recall her grace
Spring
breeze upon the threshold
Brings a fragrance
beyond fresh
If not for
the crowd on Jade Mountain
Perhaps you
would see her standing
Atop of the
jasper platform
In the
moonlight bathing
2
A branch
laden with gaudy blossoms
Where the
nectar’s aroma collects
Clouds and
rain shroud Wu Mountain
As the heart
strains to the breaking
Go and ask
at Han Palace
Is there
anyone who compares
Pity the
poor swallow flying off
To make
herself afresh
3
A flower of
renown
A kingdom
overthrown
Both take
equal delight as
The
sovereign lord gazes
With a smile
of longing
How to explain
The spring
wind
So unbounded
with yearning
At Sandalwood Pavilion facing north
Leaning on
the railing
* * *
清平调词三首
李白
云想衣裳花相容 春风拂槛露华浓
若非群玉山头见 会向瑶台月下逢
一枝秾艳露凝香 云雨巫山枉断肠
借问汉宫谁得似 可怜飞燕倚新妆
名花倾国两相欢 长得君王带笑看
解释春风无限恨 沉香亭北倚阑干
One of the reasons I love this poem is the way it illustrates the subtlety and complexity that a poet can achieve from simply being in the moment; the present, as such, ends up being far from a simple thing. In that sense, it's hard to imagine any greater contrast between the
mode and subject of Li Bai's poetic composition – in the rush of being rudely awakened, he nonetheless shows the presence of mind to fully grasp the truth of
beauty that is unattainable. Thus, he seems almost effortlessly able to capture one of the great paradoxes
that lies at the heart of the Tang aesthetic, being very much in the moment and yet
transported far beyond it at the same time.
 |
| A Tang painting of Yang Guifei surrounded by her attendants |
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