“Yè Sī” (In the Quiet Night) by Lǐ Bái,
in Phalaecean meter.
(The letters in brackets are short, unstressed vowels syncopated for metrical purposes.)
Strāgulum nitida ante candit hallōs
sōlō crēdita quae gelū tam esse;
relevō caput˜vīsere aeth[e]ra Phoebēn,
consīdō meminisse dē ōlim vīc[u]lō.
床前明月光， 疑是地上霜。
舉頭望明月， 低頭思故鄉。
Notes:
line 3 In caput vīsere, consonantal u in vīsere is considered a labialization of the preceding consonant.
line 4 Vīculus is taken to mean the speaker’s ancestral hometown.
“Yóuzi Yín” (Song of the Traveling Son) by Mèng Jiāo,
in dactylic hexameter.
Ex fīlō genetrīcis mītī lēnis in heirī
usque super filiī formā ad vestem operōsam,
textum texēbat dēnsum ante abitum modo māter,
intimida — ēn! reditī tot tam remorās remorātī.
Quisnam germinis ossa animumque brevis quoque dīcit
compēnsāre ter ā vernō omnino posse nitōrem?
慈母手中線， 遊子身上衣；
臨行密密縫， 意恐遲遲歸。
誰言寸草心， 報得三春輝？
Notes:
line 1 heirī = Gk. cheiri
line 2 Hiatus throws emphasis on both vestem and operōsam
line 5 Ossa is a metonym for cordēs (poetic plural)
line 6 The second vowel of omnīno is systolate
“Chūn Xiǎo” (A Spring Morning) by Mèng Hàorán,
in elegaic couplets.
Vernālis somnus mānī nōn lūmina sentit,
hīc illīc cantūs ālitum inauditi sunt.
vēnērunt vesperā ventī, pluviae sonitīque hiemālīs:
floscula āmissa plūrave, gnārum, inopia?
春眠不覺曉， 處處聞啼鳥。
夜來風雨聲， 花落知多少。
Notes:
line 2 ĭnauditi: the first prefix is with a short vowel (it is not “īn-”)
line 2 The final vowel in inauditī is systolate
line 4 The second “i” in inopia is treated as a palatalization of the preceding consonant.
“Huíxiāng Ǒushū” (Coming Home) by Hè Zhīzhāng,
in elegaic couplets.
Flōre aetāte domō dēmīgrātus, redeō eō
barbātus aevō, grande natū senicā.
Vīcotenor haud mūtātus, coninteger tōtus;
cānīs (āh!) cirrīs, frontea, temporibus.
Bullae mēcum inter oculīs procul aspiciunt hīc,
nōn est agnitiō, nōn habere intrā animō:
rīderogant tot renīdentēs gerulō salutātōre
unde hospes ventus vel [quō] regiōne quidem.
少小離家老大回， 鄉音無改鬢毛衰；
兒童相見不相識， 笑問客從何處來。
Notes:
line 4 Frontea is vocative: “Ah, forehead, with thy locks of hair hoary on the temples!”
line 5 bullae = līberī
line 7 rīderogant = rīdēre + rogāre
Line 7 is hypermetric, with salutātōre in synapheia with unde.
“Dēng Guànquèlóu” (At Heron Lodge) by Wáng Zhīhuàn,
in Phalaecean meter.
Candēns sōl prope montam inesse fessus,
rīvus māre fluit Crocēus intrāns.
Āridā site millemīliā aciēī
ultrā daute apedon diae sup[e]rendum.
白日依山盡， 黃河入海流。
欲窮千里目， 更上一層樓。
Notes:
line 2 The second syllable of Croceus is long by diastole.
line 3 Regard millemīlia as millemīlja and aciēī as acjēī: the vowels are fit in as consonantal palatalizations.
line 4 daute apedon diae = Gk. dê aut’ apedon diai
“Xià Jiānglíng” (Through the Yangzi Gorges) by Lǐ Bái,
in choliambic meter.
Hīc māne aveō nūbe Baedi tinctā inte,
plūs mille mīlia Amnitumbam sōl ūnā.
Ambō ripīs tunc clāmos prenni cercōpum,
levī carīnā trānsitā iugās dēciēs.
朝辭白帝彩雲間， 千里江陵一日還。
兩岸猿聲啼不住， 輕舟已過萬重山。
Notes:
line 1 Hiatus separates māne and aveō
line 1 Baedi = Báidì, a place in China; inte = intrā
line 3 prennĭ = perennis or perenne
line 4 In dēciēs, the “i” is a consonantal variation of the preceding stop consonant, and the first “e” is lengthened by diastole.
Translations ©2006 Lue-Yee Tsang
