Galleries and Translations > Recent Works / Poetry and Others > An Inscription Regarding the Ba Yong House《 題八詠樓 》
An Inscription Regarding the Ba Yong House
(《 題八詠樓 》)
Translation
English Translation
Original Chinese
Aeons (千古, 1) of carefree grace (風流, 2) linger at the Ba Yong House (八詠樓, 3),
1. 千古風流八詠樓,
2. 江山留與後人愁.
Let's leave the motherland (江山, 4) to our descendants (後人, 5) to grieve about.
The grand waterways (水) traverse (通) the southern territories (南國, 6) for thousands (三千, 7) of lis (里, 8),
The magnificent sceneries (氣, 9) surpass (壓, 10) all the Fourteen Prefectures' (十四州, 11) river cities (江城, 12).
3. 水通南國三千里，
4. 氣壓江城十四州.
(translated by KS Vincent POON, November 2024)
Remarks
(I)
This poem was composed by Li Qingzhao (李清照, 1084 – 1151 AD), one of the greatest poets in Chinese history (13). It was written in 1135 AD when the Song Dynasty faced an aggressive invasion by Jin (14). During that same year, Li also wrote her masterpiece, Lyrics to Wulin Chun, Late Spring (《武陵春∙春晚》), while fleeing Lin'an (臨安) to Jinhua (金華) (15).
(II)
Li was born into an aristocratic family. Her father, Li Gefei (李格非, 1045-1105 AD) was a renowned literati (16) and a revered government official (17). Her mother was also adept at writing (18). At a very young age, Li married Zhao Mingcheng (趙明誠, 1081-1129 AD), who was a scholar (19) and the son of senior statesman Zhao Tingzhi (趙挺之, 1040-1107 AD) (20). After marriage, Li helped Zhao Mingcheng finish his masterpiece Catalogue of Bronze and Stone Inscriptions (《金石錄》) before his death in 1129 AD (21).
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(1) "千古" here means "aeons past (久遠的年代)", as in 酈道元《水經注∙睢水四》: "追芳昔娛, 神遊千古, 故亦一時之盛事." See《漢語大詞典》. Shanghai: 上海辭書出版社, 2008, p.834.
(2) "風流" here means "carefree grace (灑脫放逸, 風雅瀟灑)", as in 牟融《送友人》："衣冠重文物, 詩酒足風流." Ibid., p.611.
(3) The renowned "Ba Yong House (八詠樓)" was constructed in 494AD at today's Jinhua (金華) in the province of Zhejiang (浙江省). Ibid., p.17.
(4) "江山" here means "motherland (國家的疆土)", as in《三國志∙吳志∙賀劭傳》: "割據江山, 拓土萬里." See 《漢語大詞典》. Ibid., pp.915-916.
(5) "後人" here means "descendants (子孫/後裔)", as in 《書∙太甲上》: "旁求俊彥, 啟迪後人." Ibid., p.956.
(6) "南國" here means "the southern territories (國之南方)", as in《楚辭∙九章∙橘頌》："受命不遷, 生南國兮. " 王逸注: "南國, 謂江南也." Ibid., p.898.
(7) "三" here means "多數或多次 (many or multiple times)", as in "三思者, 言思之多, 能審慎也". See 《重編國語辭典修訂本》(Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary). Taiwan: Ministry of Education, R.O.C, 2021, online edition. Thus, "三千" here means "many thousands", not "three thousand".
(8) "Li (里)" is a unit measure of distance, which is approximately three hundred or three hundred sixty footsteps. See《漢語大字典》. Wuhan: 崇文書局, 2010, p.3923.
(9) "氣" here means "sceneries (景象)", as in 杜甫《秋興》: "玉露凋傷楓樹林, 巫山巫峽氣蕭森." Ibid., p.2157.
(10) "壓" here means "surpass (超越)", as in 柳宗元《與蕭翰林俛書》："才不能踰同列, 聲不能壓當世." See《漢語大詞典》. Shanghai: 上海辭書出版社, 2008, p.1232.
(11) "十四州" refers to the "Fourteen Prefectures of Wuyue (吳越十四州)" occupied by Qian Liu (錢鏐, 852-932 AD) during the later years of the Tang Dynasty. See 尤袤《全唐詩話》Vol.6. Published by 伊蔚堂, year and place unknown, pp.36-37. Geographically, "十四州" is now the entire province of Zhejiang (浙江全省), the southeastern part of Jiangsu (江蘇東南部) and the northeastern part of Fujian (福建東北部). See 張傳璽, 《中國古代史教學參考地圖集》. Beijing: 北京大學出版社, 1984, p.39.
(12) "江城" here means "cities beside large rivers (臨江之城市)", as in 崔湜《襄陽早秋寄岑侍郞》："江城秋氣早, 旭旦坐南闈." See《漢語大詞典》. Shanghai: 上海辭書出版社, 2008, p.919.
(13) 鄭振鐸, 《中國文學史》. Shanghai: Shanghai Commercial Press, 1932, p.505.
(14) 徐培均, 《李清照集笺注》. Shanghai: 上海古籍出版社, 2002, pp.141, 241-242.
(15) Ibid..
(16) As in footnote (13).
(17) 脫脫 ,《宋史》Vol.444, 李格非傳. Taipei: 藝文印書館, 乾隆武英殿版, Book 7, pp.5390-5391.
(18) 鄭振鐸, as in footnote (13), p.506.
(19) Ibid..
(20) 《宋史》, as in footnote (17), p.5391.
(21) 趙明誠,《金石錄》, Li Qingzhao's Epilogue 《金石錄後序》. 欽定四庫全書 史部, 乾隆四十一年版, pp.1-6.
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