Translation
Han Hong (~754) | 韓翃 |
Reply to Cheng Yan’s “Feelings of an Autumn Night” | 酬程延 秋夜即事見贈 |
The long bamboo mat welcomes a morning wind; | 長簟 迎風早 |
The moonlight is tranquil and the town is empty. | 空城 澹月華 |
A river of stars—the Milky Way— a wild goose alone on an autumn night | 星河 秋一雁 |
Among the beating mallets and washing stones of a thousand homes. | 砧杵 夜千家 |
The climate feels late this season; | 節候 看應晚 |
My sleep is likewise late as our souls entwine in tune. | 心期 臥亦賒 |
Earlier I was singing your elegant verse | 向來 吟秀句 |
Unaware the birds had begun to caw. | 不覺 已鳴鴉 |
Commentary
This is a reciprocating poem: Cheng Yan wrote a poem, “Feelings of an Autumn Night,” and presented it to Han Hong. He cherished the poem because they understood each other’s soul and he enjoyed it all night, not realizing that the birds had already begun cawing in the morning. His description of night is full of vivid imagery—a bamboo mat welcoming the wind, an empty town below the moonlight, the Milky Way as a river of stars, and the sounds of people washing their clothes in the ancient way of beating them with mallets on a stone block. A wild goose is a classical Chinese symbol of someone alone, thus Han Hong is referring to himself. Wild geese were also thought to be of noble character.
Original Chinese
Traditional | Simplified | Pronunciation |
韓翃 | 韩翃 | Hán Hóng |
酬程延秋夜即事見贈 | 酬程延秋夜即事见赠 | Chóu chéng jìn qiū yè jí shì jiàn zèng |
長簟迎風早， | 长簟迎风早， | Cháng diàn yíng fēng zǎo， |
空城澹月華。 | 空城澹月华。 | Kōng chéng dàn yuè huá 。 |
星河秋一雁， | 星河秋一雁, | Xīng hé qiū yī yàn， |
砧杵夜千家。 | 砧杵夜千家。 | Zhēn chǔ yè qiān jiā 。 |
節候看應晚， | 节候看应晚， | Jié hòu kàn yīng wǎn， |
心期臥亦賒。 | 心期卧亦赊。 | Xīn qī wò yì shē 。 |
向來吟秀句， | 向来吟秀句， | Xiàng lái yín xiù jù， |
不覺已鳴鴉。 | 不觉已鸣鸦。 | Bù jué yǐ míng yā 。 |
Literal Notes
韓翃 | Fence To-Fly/To-Swarm [=Han Hong (~754)] |
酬程延秋夜即事見贈 | Reply-to-a-poem Cheng/journey Yan/prolong Autumn Night Current/at-once Affairs/matters See Bestow [Cheng Yan = a person’s name. Some editions write his name as “Cheng Jin.”], [Current Affairs = immediate currents and emotions], [Note: Cheng Yan wrote a poem and presented it to Han Hong and the title was “Autumn Night Current Affairs” (秋夜即事); i.e., writing down the current emotions and affairs on an autumn night. So Han Hong replied to that poem with this poem] |
長簟迎風早， | Long bamboo-mat receive/welcome wind/air early/morning [receive wind = “in the wind” or “facing the wind”], [wind = here it refers in particular to autumn wind.] |
空城澹月華。 | Empty/deserted city/town calm/quiet/tranquil moon illustrious/flowery [moon illustrious = moonlight] |
星河秋一雁， | Stars river/stream autumn one wild-goose [Stars river = the Milky Way] |
砧杵夜千家。 | Flat-stone/hammering-block mallet/baton-used-to-beat-clothes night/dark thousands houses/homes [Note: in ancient times when Chinese people washed clothes, they would put the wet clothes on a hammering block, and then beat the clothes with a mallet so that the clothes will be soft and easy to wash. So “flat-stone mallet” refers to beating the clothes. Beating clothes on an autumn night often symbolically indicates preparing the winter clothing in classical Chinese literature.] |
節候看應晚， | Section wait look/see should/must late [Section wait = season and climate], [This line means it felt like late autumn already.] |
心期臥亦賒。 | Heart/mind/soul period-of-time lie-down/leisure/sleep/sick-in-bed also/too/likewise late/for-a-long-time/distant [Heart period-of-time = two people understand each other], [Some editions write “亦”(also) as “已”(already)] |
向來吟秀句， | Toward come type-of-poetry/sing/hum elegant/luxuriant/refined/graceful verse [Toward come = “just now” or “previously.”], [elegant verse = Cheng Yan’s poem] |
不覺已鳴鴉。 | Not conscious already/finished/stop cry-of-bird crow/raven [Not conscious = unaware], [cry-of-bird crow = the cawing sound of crows at dawn.], [Note: the last two lines mean the author relished Cheng Yan’s poem for so long that he did not notice it was already daybreak.] |
Year:
2012
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