Galleries and Translations > Recent Works / Poetry and Others > Lyrics to Nian Lu Jiao, Commemorating the Battle of Red Cliffs 《 念奴嬌 ∙ 赤壁懷古》
Lyrics to Nian Lu Jiao, Commemorating the Battle of Red Cliffs
by Su Shi
( 蘇軾《 念奴嬌 ∙ 赤壁懷古 》)
75 X 35 cm
Lyrics to Nian Lu Jiao, Commemorating the Battle of Red Cliffs
(《 念奴嬌 ∙ 赤壁懷古 》)
75 X 35 cm in Clerical Script (隸書)
Translation
Original Chinese
English Translation
1. 大江東去,
The mighty River (大江) gushed to the East without turning back whatsoever,
2. 浪淘盡、千古風流人物.
Its waves swept and expended all bygones (千古) of distinguished character (風流人物, 1).
3. 故壘西邊,
On the west side of the old fortress (故壘, 2),
4. 人道是、三國周郎赤壁.
Some said it was the Red Cliff (赤壁) where the Three Kingdoms' (三國) Master Zhou (周郎, Zhou Yu) became victorious.
5. 亂石穿空,
The chaotic rocks at the banks erupted (穿) into the sky,
6. 驚濤拍㟁,
Assaulting the shores were the frightening tides,
7. 捲起千堆雪.
Which rolled up thousands of snowdrifts (雪) tall and high.
8. 江山如畫，
The homeland (江山, 3) was as magnificent as a painting,
9. 一時多少豪傑.
Those were the days when many (多少, 4) distinguished heroes (豪傑, 5) were living.
10. 遙想公瑾當年,
Remembering the distant past (遙想, 6) when Gong-jin (公瑾, Zhou Yu) was in his prime (當年, 7),
11. 小喬初嫁了,
Lord Qiao's stunningly beautiful younger daughter (小喬) had just wedded him at that time,
12. 雄姿英發.
FOR FURTHER TRANSLATION AND CORRECTIONS TO COMMON MISINTERPRETATIONS, REMARKS, AND FOOTNOTES, PLEASE SEE :
13. 羽扇綸巾,
14. 談笑間、
15. 強虜灰飛煙滅.
16. 故國神遊,
17. 多情應笑我、早生華髪.
18. 人間如夢，
19. 一尊還酹江月.
(translated by KS Vincent POON, October 2024)
The Correct Interpretations and English Translations of Tang Poems and Song Lyrical Poems - Accompanied with Calligraphy and Vernacular Chinese
唐宋詩詞正解並英譯 附書法白話 NEW
by KS Vincent POON & Kwok Kin POON (May. 2025)
ISBN 978-1-989485-39-2
This book provides concise and correct translations of several popular Tang poems (唐詩) and Song lyrical poems (宋詞), including those by Li Bai (李白, 701-762 AD), Bai Juyi (白居易,772-846 AD), Xue Ying (薛瑩, ?-? AD), Su Shi (蘇軾, 1037-1101 AD), Li Qingzhao (李清照, 1084 - 1151 AD), and Lu You (陸游, 1125-1210 AD). Annotated line-by-line translations are presented in neat and simple words that are easy to understand, with each line's true meaning revealed by extensive research. Vernacular Chinese translations are also given. In addition, every poem is accompanied by Chinese calligraphy to enhance readers' appreciation of traditional Chinese culture.
Tang poems and Song lyrical poems are known for their elegant and straightforward language. Yet, Chinese interpretations often contain critical mistakes. Most English translations additionally suffer from excessive fancy language that is hard to follow. This book aims to fix all these maladies of arbitrariness, which is relatively common in both Eastern and Western academia.
WorldCat/Library: Coming Soon.
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