Sunday, October 21, 2012

Chinese Poetry in Japanese

It is said that this is one of Japanese people's favorite Classical Chinese poems...

楓橋夜泊(ふうきょうやはく)
張繼

月落ち「つきおち」 烏「からす」啼「な」いて 霜天「しもてん」に満「み」つ
江楓漁火「こうふうぎょか」 愁眠「しゅうみ」に対「たい」す 
姑蘇城外「こそうじょうかい」 寒山寺「かんざんじ」
夜半「やはん」の鐘声「しょうせい」客船「きゃくせん」に到「いた」る



Here's an English translation which I think hardly make sense...

Zhang Ji (mid 700's): Moored for the Night by the Maple Bridge

1 The moon is down, crows caw, a frostiness fills the sky;
2 By the riverside maples and fishing lights, sad, insomnious, I lie.
3 Beyond the walls of Gusu City, where Hanshan Monastery stands,
4 Bong, goes the bell at midnight to touch the boat of the passerby.

translated by Andrew W.F. Wong
5 June 2008 (last revised 18.6.08)

Original text in Chinese:

張繼: 楓橋夜泊

1 月落烏啼霜滿天
2 江楓漁火對愁眠
3 姑蘇城外寒山寺
4 夜半鐘聲到客船

2 comments:

  1. Hello Im Yuya Fujitani.
    I see your Japanese is very good.
    Well, how come you are interested in Japanese?

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    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot for your comment! I just started to learn Japanese last semester. I didn't translate the poem...

      I think Japanese is a beautiful language and I am interesting in Japanese art and culture. That's why I wanna learn it! :D

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