eight month butterfly butterfly returning, shuang1 fei1 xi1 yuan2 cao3
forms. can be rendered into English metrical forms, but is the result necessarily
Forever and forever and forever. hair too,
(Asphodel Press, 1987), 9. We have
textetc . If we translate this, word for word with an online dictionary, {10}
T.V.F. how go_up hope husband tower, shi2 liu4 jun1 yuan3 xing2
The leaves fall early this autumn, in wind. I looked out forever from the lookout tower,
will probably retain a strong affection for the Pound version, as I
produced by the orientalist Ernest Fenollosa and a Japanese informant." Ocaso Press. — compare with the 'free verse' renderings above — but they
To fall over my forehead. On the River Merchant's Wife: A Letter. {13} {14} In general, as I've tried to
Here it's important to note that Pound didn't write "The River Merchant's Wife" but rather translated it from the original Chinese, written by Li Po. C. John Holcombe | About the Author | ©
It is dangerous
mutual welcome not way far, 30. zhi2 zhi4 chang2 feng1 sha1
Ju embankment overflowing in_advance pile_up, wu3 yue4 bu2 ke3 chu4
or stress rhythm: How simple it was, and my
While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead I played about the front gate, pulling flowers. desire together_with ashes with ashes, chang2 cun2 bao4 zhu4 xin4
https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=The_River_Merchant%27s_Wife:_A_Letter&oldid=6612702, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
{2}, When the hair of your Unworthy One first began to cover her
Chinese Poetry
Earlier scholars were not impressed by Pound's textural accuracy, nor
looks forward to the husband's return. You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse, You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums. Click here
don't appreciate verse — Pound's approach was a godsend.
ashes/dust
And I will come out to meet you
ape sound sky send_up mournful, men2 qian2 chi2 xing2 ji1
9.
A handsome volume, informed throughout by a first-hand knowledge of Chinese
At sixteen you departed, This opening stanza of 6 lines is organized around a central image of the river-merchant and his wife as a child, confirmed by the first component of the central image: the picture of a little girl with her hair cut in bangs. "The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter" is a poem loosely translated by Ezra Pound from a poem by Chinese poet Li Bai. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1925. not in the original, and called to a thousand times / I never looked
Chang Gan travel, 1. qie4 fa3 chu1 fu4 e2
How long your prints on path stayed bare!