江城子·天涯流落思无穷（别徐州）A Traveller of the World, a Seeker for the Soul

江城子·天涯流落思无穷 (别徐州)

原作：苏轼

英译：闵晓红

天涯流落思无穷；

既相逢，却匆匆。

携手佳人，和泪折残红。

为问东风余几许?

春纵在，与谁同!

隋堤三月水溶溶；

背归鸿，去吴中。

回首彭城，清泗与淮通。

欲寄相思千点泪，

流不到、楚江东。

A traveller of the world, a seeker for the soul

(Leaving Xuzhou)

-   to the tune of Jiangchengzi

Written by: Su Shi ( 11^th AC)

English trans. by: Julia Min (2022)

A traveller of the world, a seeker for the soul,

I feel as if we’ve just met; Now I’m set to go.

“How much spring is left me?” I ask East God，

plucking the last bloom for my love, in sorrow.

“And who could be my real friend in Huzhou?”

The March river ripples on along Sui Levees,

I head southward, my back to the returning geese.

Where the Si and Huai converge slips from sight,

and cosy memories begin to unfold, brimming,

how can I flow my tears now to Chu River East?

Notes：

1.     East God: east wind is the main wind direction in spring, also called ‘East God’, another name for ‘Spring God’.

2.     Sui Levees:  the grand canal built in Sui and Tang dynasties to lead water north. Here it refers to the water from the Bian River (a branch of Si River) to the Huai River;

3.     returning geese: the wild geese would fly from south to north in Spring. Although Su Shi was governor in Xuzhou for only two years, he already felt like home, hence ‘returning’. Huzhou is in the south of Xuzhou.

4.     Chu River: the other name for River Si that flows through Xuzhou and joins River Huai in Xuzhou City; But Huzhou is some distance away from the river.

Appreciation:

This is a farewell lyric, a ci song composed upon leaving Xuzhou for Huzhou after Su Shi was appointed governor of Huzhou. In only 23 months in Xuzhou, Governor Su had already established himself as a father-like figure loved by the locals, a memory still fresh among the Xuzhou people. Every school child knows him through his poems listed in their textbooks. For a thousand years, no other governor or mayor has surpassed him in the minds of Xuzhou people. He led the people in building levees (the Su Levees) and the Yellow Tower to combat floods, opened coal mines for the winter, and restored the local iron metallurgical industry, among many other achievements. He also left behind some famous calligraphy and three hundred poems, and this one is probably the last he composed before arriving at his new post in Huzhou.

At the age of 42, Su Shi and his followers were known as ‘the Old Party’ or ‘Yuanyou Party’, a name defined against ‘The New Party’. The New Party was at the peak of implementing the New Law at this time. Disfavoured by the Throne, Su Shi chose to be dispatched from the Court to take on hands-on work in regional administration. He quite enjoyed his stay in Xuzhou, though his political ambition for the Song remained a hard knot, hence the human inquiry: “How much spring is left me? I ask East God.” Indeed, Su Shi, with his temples thinning by the year, aspired to return to the Court with his followers to bring things back to order for a stronger and greater Song. Instead, he was dispatched, travelling north and south, even as far away as Hainan Island, footing the biggest map ever in the entire history of civil servants’ dispatchment in the Song Dynasty. Yet his life was intensely lived with vigour and passion shared by everyone around him. And his artistic vibes have become ever more vibrant over a thousand years. 

Reference:

1. Old version – “Upon leaving Xuzhou” ( I’ve wandered over the world for years, considering everything:/We are no sooner met than I must make plans for leaving./We shake hands tearfully; trees shed the last blooms remaining./How many good times are left me? I ask the east wind;/And who will be my friends in what’s left of Spring?//’Between the Sui Levees the Bian River in March is wide and murmuring./Southward, to Huzhou, I’m bound, my back to the geese returning./Looking back to Xuzhou I see the Si and Huai Rivers joining./I’d send you my lonely tears in the River Huai,/But it doesn’t flow past Huzhou, where I’ll be pining

2. 杰华《苏轼在徐州》

3. 无犀 原创 ( souhu.com)

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