满庭芳.归去来兮Farewell to Huangzhou

满庭芳.归去来兮

（元丰七年四月一日，余将去黄移汝，留别雪堂邻里二三君子，会仲览自江东来别，遂书以遗之。）

原作: 苏轼（11世纪北宋）

新英版修改: 闵晓红(2023)

旧英版: 戈登.奥赛茵, 闵晓红, 黄海鹏(1990)

归去来兮，吾归何处？

万里家在岷峨。

百年强半，来日苦无多。

坐见黄州再闰，

儿童尽、楚语吴歌。

山中友，鸡豚社酒，

相劝老东坡。

云何，当此去，

人生底事，来往如梭。

待闲看秋风，洛水清波。

好在堂前细柳，

应念我、莫剪柔柯。

仍传语，江南父老，

时与晒渔蓑。

Farewell to Huangzhou

—To the tune of Mantingfang

(On 1 April, 1084, I’m about to leave Huangzhou after being reappointed to another post in Ruzhou. It’s an unforgettable moment to say farewell to my Snow Hall, my good neighbours, and a few gentleman friends. My friend Zhongluan also came all the way from River East.)

Chinese original: Su Shi (1084)

new Eng. version: Julia Min (2023)

Old Eng. version: G. Osing, J. Min & H. Huang (1990)

Go back to my mountains, but where are they?

—A thousand miles away, Mt. Min and Mt E Mei.

I’m half a hundred now, not much left of my days,

Yet still here in the second leap year, idling away.

My kids have embraced Wu songs and Chu lingo.

And I have many village friends from nearby hills.

With wine for the shrine, gifts of poultry and swine,

They’re tempting me to grow old at my East Slope.

Yet, I’m taking my leave today. What can I say?

Time flies faster than a weaver’s shuttle game.

I’d forget the hustle and bustle, and float away

For the autumn breeze and Luo’s rippling waves.

My willows by the Snow Hall will miss me, I know.

Please spare the tender boughs and let them sway;

And tell my fishing buddies on the river south also,

To air out my straw raincape often, come what may.

Notes:

1.     Mt. Min and Mt. Emei: the two major mountains (Sichuan Province) where our poet’s native place, Meishan, is located;

2.     leap year: A calculation based on the Chinese Calendar, where every four years there’s a leap month. During his time in Huangzhou, there were two leap years -- 1080 and 1084.

3.     Wu songs and Chu lingo: Huangzhou was a town of the Chu people during the Warring States (475-221 B.C.) and of the Wu people during the Three Kingdoms (228-265 A.D.).

4.     Luo’s rippling waves: River Luo in central China;

Appreciation:

This ci was written in 1084, just as Su Shi was leaving Huangzhou after being assigned a post in Ruzhou, which was closer to the Royal Court. He had lived here for over four years and had seen his children speaking the local dialect. Being Su Dongpo, he could make friends wherever he went, even with the local villagers. The Huangzhou people loved him and helped him in the fields and with many other tasks. They honoured him as ‘the Big Scholar’. With their help, Su Shi built the Snow Hall, where he taught local students. Many years later, although Su Shi never returned, the local descendants continued to rebuild his favourite place —Dongpo’s Red Cliff by the Yangtze River.

Today, Huangzhou is home to some of China’s best high schools. I was born in a nearby town, a half-hour drive from Red Cliff, which was linked to my first teaching venue, Huanggang Normal Institute. For three years, my students joined me for morning exercise and reading at Red Cliff every school day. I feel as if my life has been arranged for this translation mission. What can I say? It’s such an honour and privilege indeed!

This poem opens with “Go back to the mountains!” (“归去来兮”), a famous line from the great poet Tao Yuanming. It reflects a strong Daoist inclination toward a return to nature and rural life, away from the fame-seeking world. This theme runs straight through to the end. At this first downturn, Dongpo’s mind had begun drifting away from the hustle and bustle of society towards a simple village life.

Reference:

1. Older version： Alone in Winter by Gordon Osing, Julia Min and Huang Haipeng，published by the People's Publication House Henan Province in 1990 (《寒心未肯随春态》戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红，黄海鹏) (""{Go back to the mountains! But where are they?/It’s more than a thousand miles back to Min and E Mei./I’m half-a-hundred now, my days are numbered./I’ve already stayed here past two leap years./My children all speak your lingo, sing your songs, too./Friends in from the hills, with chickens, pigs, sacrificial wine,/Tempt me to grow old out at Dong-po. //As I take my leave what can I say?/In life, things fly by like the shuttle in the loom./I’ll watch the autumn wind’s waves on the Luo River in days to come./Who’ll take care of my slender willows at Snow Hall?/If you remember me, don’t cut their delicate branches down./Tell my old fishing buddies, too, on the south side of the River,/To air-out my straw rain cape for me, and do it often...")

2. painting from https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/（知乎）；

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