(no subject)
清平調三首之一 李白
雲想衣裳花想容
春風拂檻露華濃
若非群玉山頭見
會向瑤臺月下逢
---
Qing Ping Diao, First of Three
The clouds bring to mind her clothes, the flowers her face;
Spring winds brush the rail where splendid dew gathers.
If you cannot see her at the top of Yushan,
Perhaps you will meet by chance at the Yao Terrace.
--
Um. Tired and melancholy, and this poem always makes me sad. The moon is very bright and beautiful tonight, though, and put me in a Li Bai mood.
玉山 is a place in Jiangnan, I think, and I'm sure 瑤臺 is another actual place or at least some reference to something to something to something to something that happened in the Shang. Or something. ;) 瑤 is in my little dictionaries as mother of pearl, sometimes jade - I almost translated it 'jeweled', but being unsure, left it as yao. Um. This is why I'll never make a fabulous translator. Though maybe someday, with enough experience.
Edit, several days late: my danbanke laoshi said that 瑤臺 is an allusion to some mythical woman who lived towards the west - 瑤臺 is where she put on her makeup. I haven't verified with my dictionary or any other sources, but I have a feeling she's correct in her explanation, so we'll go with that (makes sense with the subject of the poetry).
雲想衣裳花想容
春風拂檻露華濃
若非群玉山頭見
會向瑤臺月下逢
---
Qing Ping Diao, First of Three
The clouds bring to mind her clothes, the flowers her face;
Spring winds brush the rail where splendid dew gathers.
If you cannot see her at the top of Yushan,
Perhaps you will meet by chance at the Yao Terrace.
--
Um. Tired and melancholy, and this poem always makes me sad. The moon is very bright and beautiful tonight, though, and put me in a Li Bai mood.
玉山 is a place in Jiangnan, I think, and I'm sure 瑤臺 is another actual place or at least some reference to something to something to something to something that happened in the Shang. Or something. ;) 瑤 is in my little dictionaries as mother of pearl, sometimes jade - I almost translated it 'jeweled', but being unsure, left it as yao. Um. This is why I'll never make a fabulous translator. Though maybe someday, with enough experience.
Edit, several days late: my danbanke laoshi said that 瑤臺 is an allusion to some mythical woman who lived towards the west - 瑤臺 is where she put on her makeup. I haven't verified with my dictionary or any other sources, but I have a feeling she's correct in her explanation, so we'll go with that (makes sense with the subject of the poetry).