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Su Shi. "To the tune “Water Dragon Chant”—Matching the Rhymes of Zhang Zhifu’s Song about Willow Catkins." Global Medieval Sourcebook.Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965, 358. .
水龍吟 | To the tune “Water Dragon Chant”
Source Information
水龍吟 | To the tune “Water Dragon Chant”
by Su Shi
Text Source:
Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965, 358.
Responsibility Statement:
- Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965, 358.
- Translation by Qian Jia
- Notes by Nina Du, Runqi Zhang, and Dante Zhu
- Encoded in TEI P5 XML by Manya Bansal and Dante Zhu
Editorial Principles:
Texts are translated into modern English with maximum fidelity to the original text, except where it would impair comprehension or good style. Archaisms are preserved where they do not conflict with the aesthetic of the original text. Creative translation choices are marked and discussed in the critical notes.
The original text of this ci is based on the edition by Tang Guizhang 唐圭璋 (Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965). Punctuation follows the edition. Since ci poetry rarely includes personal pronouns, and gender-differentiated pronouns did not exist in Classical Chinese of this period, the gender of the speaker as well as their perspective (e.g. first, second or third person) must often be deduced by the translator from context.
Punctuation follows the edition.Publication Details:
Published by The Global Medieval Sourcebook.
The Global Medieval Sourcebook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
水龍吟 To the tune “Water Dragon Chant” 次韻章質夫楊花詞 Matching the Rhymes of Zhang Zhifu’s Song about Willow Catkins
似花還似非花 They
c
look like flowers but also do not look like them. Critical note:
Refers to the willow catkins.
也無人惜從教墜 No one treasures them, letting them fall.
拋家傍路 They were tossed to the side of the road near home.
思量卻是 Yet, when you think about it,
5
無情有思 although they seem insentient, they do have thoughts. 縈損柔腸 They are the gentle heart, worn out by worries,
困酣嬌眼 drowsy charming eyes,
欲開還閉 closed again as they are just about to open.
夢隨風萬里 Their dreams ride with the wind for a thousand miles,
10
尋郎去處 searching for where their men have gone, 又還被鶯呼起 Yet, they are woken by the orioles.
不恨此花飛盡 I do not regret that these flowers have all flown away
恨西園 but regret that in the western garden,
落紅難綴 The fallen flowers
c
cannot be stitched back together. Critical note:
The literal translation of 落紅 is “fallen red”. When "red" is used as a noun, it often refers to flowers, so here the translator chooses to translate the phrase as “fallen flowers”. The flowers refer to the willow catkins.
15
曉來雨過 After the rain at dawn, 遺蹤何在 where are their traces now?
一池萍碎 There is a pool of shattered duckweed
c
. Critical note:
It was believed that when catkins fell into water they became duckweed.
春色三分 The spring charm
c
divides into three, Critical note:
Refers to the catkin.
二分塵土 two become dust,
20
一分流水 one turns into flowing water. 細看來 Look at them carefully:
不是楊花 those are not willow catkins,
點點是離人淚 the little dots are the tears of leaving men
c
. Critical note:
The “leaving men” here are not men willfully abandoning others, but those who are reluctant to depart.
水龍吟 To the tune “Water Dragon Chant” 次韻章質夫楊花詞 Matching the Rhymes of Zhang Zhifu’s Song about Willow Catkins
似花還似非花 They
c
look like flowers but also do not look like them. Critical note:
Refers to the willow catkins.
也無人惜從教墜 No one treasures them, letting them fall.
拋家傍路 They were tossed to the side of the road near home.
思量卻是 Yet, when you think about it,
5
無情有思 although they seem insentient, they do have thoughts. 縈損柔腸 They are the gentle heart, worn out by worries,
困酣嬌眼 drowsy charming eyes,
欲開還閉 closed again as they are just about to open.
夢隨風萬里 Their dreams ride with the wind for a thousand miles,
10
尋郎去處 searching for where their men have gone, 又還被鶯呼起 Yet, they are woken by the orioles.
不恨此花飛盡 I do not regret that these flowers have all flown away
恨西園 but regret that in the western garden,
落紅難綴 The fallen flowers
c
cannot be stitched back together. Critical note:
The literal translation of 落紅 is “fallen red”. When "red" is used as a noun, it often refers to flowers, so here the translator chooses to translate the phrase as “fallen flowers”. The flowers refer to the willow catkins.
15
曉來雨過 After the rain at dawn, 遺蹤何在 where are their traces now?
一池萍碎 There is a pool of shattered duckweed
c
. Critical note:
It was believed that when catkins fell into water they became duckweed.
春色三分 The spring charm
c
divides into three, Critical note:
Refers to the catkin.
二分塵土 two become dust,
20
一分流水 one turns into flowing water. 細看來 Look at them carefully:
不是楊花 those are not willow catkins,
點點是離人淚 the little dots are the tears of leaving men
c
. Critical note:
The “leaving men” here are not men willfully abandoning others, but those who are reluctant to depart.
Critical Notes
Translation
Line number 1
Critical note: Refers to the willow catkins.
Translation
Line number 14
Critical note: The literal translation of 落紅 is “fallen red”. When "red" is used as a noun, it often refers to flowers, so here the translator chooses to translate the phrase as “fallen flowers”. The flowers refer to the willow catkins.
Translation
Line number 17
Critical note: It was believed that when catkins fell into water they became duckweed.
Translation
Line number 18
Critical note: Refers to the catkin.
Translation
Line number 23
Critical note: The “leaving men” here are not men willfully abandoning others, but those who are reluctant to depart.
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