Year Sat, 2012-01-14 12:00 Translation Meng Jiao (751-814) 孟郊 Song of a Traveling Son 遊子吟 Tender mother,thread in hand to mend 慈母手中線 The jacket and clothes of her traveling son. 遊子身上衣 He’s leaving soonand she’s working diligently, carefully 臨行密密縫 Worried abouthis slow return: 意恐遲遲歸 Whoever said the heart of tiny grass 誰言寸草心 Could repaythe sunshine of spring’s three months? 報得三春輝 Notes: 1. The poem was written when Meng was working in Liyang, Jiangsu Province, as a county official. He welcomed his mother’s visit to Liyang. He was already 50 when writing this poem. 2. This poem about a mother’s sincere love for her children, is widely spread from generation to generation. Almost every Chinese remembers this poem, showing its popularity. The last two verses are now a common metaphor of motherly love. Original Chinese Traditional Simplified Pronunciation 孟郊 孟郊 Mèng jiāo 遊子吟 游子吟 Yóu zǐ yín 慈母手中線， 慈母手中线， Cí mǔ shǒu zhōng xiàn, 遊子身上衣； 游子身上衣; Yóu zǐ shēn shàng yī; 臨行密密縫， 临行密密缝， Lín xíng mì mì fèng, 意恐遲遲歸。 意恐迟迟归。 Yì kǒng chí chí guī. 誰言寸草心， 谁言寸草心， Shuí yán cùn cǎo xīn, 報得三春輝？ 报得三春辉？ Bào dé sān chūn huī? Literal Translation 孟郊 Eldest-brother Suburb=Meng Jiao(751-814) 遊子吟 Travelling son hum[hum= Ying, a genre of poetry] [Traveling son= man travelling away from home] 慈母手中線， Kind/tender mother hand midst-of thread 遊子身上衣； Traveling son body on clothes [body on clothes= the clothes wearing; on clothes = jacket or outer garments] 臨行密密縫， Upon/on/close/near travel/leaving dense/close dense sew/mend[dense/close dense= the mother she’s sewing carefully and diligently] 意恐遲遲歸。 Meaning/feeling worry late/slow late return 誰言寸草心， Who said inch/tiny grass heart 報得三春輝？ Reward/recompense for three spring sunshine/splendor [three spring sunshine= metaphor as mother’s love; three months of spring sunshine/splendor] The notes, character table, and literal translation were prepared with the assistance of Liane Rui of Shanghai, China. Rating Select ratingGive it 1/5Give it 2/5Give it 3/5Give it 4/5Give it 5/5 No votes yet Rate