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Click to printYan Jidao. "To the tune “Making the Spring Stay”—"The scene on the painted screen"." 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, .

留春令 | To the tune “Making the Spring Stay”

Source Information

留春令 | To the tune “Making the Spring Stay”

by Yan Jidao

Text Source:

Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965, 34.

Responsibility Statement:
  • Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965,
  • Translation by Qian Jia
  • Notes by Dante Zhu
  • Encoded in TEI P5 XML by Dante Zhu
Editorial Principles:

Transcriptions and translations are encoded in XML conforming to TEI (P5) guidelines. The original-language text is contained within <lem> tags and translations within <rdg> tags.

Texts are translated into modern American 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. Scribal errors and 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.

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.

Transcription
留春令 To the tune “Making the Spring Stay”
畫屏天畔， The scene on the painted screen resembles the place where the sea meets the sky
c
Critical note:

“The place where the sea meets the sky” refers to the Ten Isles in the third line. Here the scene on the screen reminds the speaker of what he dreamt about.

.
夢回依約， Awoken from my dream, I can still vaguely see
十洲雲水。 the misty water of the the Ten Isles
c
Critical note:

See introduction for a discussion on “Ten Isles”.

.
手捻紅箋寄人書， I hold the red paper
c
Critical note:

Red paper is often used for writing letters or poetry.

of a letter, wishing to send it to her,
5
寫無限、 and to tell her about my endless
傷春事。 spring sorrows.
別浦高樓曾漫倚。 I once leaned aimlessly against the banister of the high building and remembered how we parted there,
對江南千里。 facing a thousand miles of Jiangnan.
c
Critical note:

Jiangnan is the area to the south of the Yangzi River.
樓下分流水聲中， Mingling that day with the sound of the forking river below
10
有當日、 were the tears
憑高淚。 I shed on the high building
c
Critical note:

The translation of the last three lines are reordered for the preservation of meanings in English. The original sequence is: Mingling with the sound of the forking river below / were that day / the tears I shed on the high building.

.
Translation
留春令 To the tune “Making the Spring Stay”
畫屏天畔， The scene on the painted screen resembles the place where the sea meets the sky
c
Critical note:

“The place where the sea meets the sky” refers to the Ten Isles in the third line. Here the scene on the screen reminds the speaker of what he dreamt about.

.
夢回依約， Awoken from my dream, I can still vaguely see
十洲雲水。 the misty water of the the Ten Isles
c
Critical note:

See introduction for a discussion on “Ten Isles”.

.
手捻紅箋寄人書， I hold the red paper
c
Critical note:

Red paper is often used for writing letters or poetry.

of a letter, wishing to send it to her,
5
寫無限、 and to tell her about my endless
傷春事。 spring sorrows.
別浦高樓曾漫倚。 I once leaned aimlessly against the banister of the high building and remembered how we parted there,
對江南千里。 facing a thousand miles of Jiangnan.
c
Critical note:

Jiangnan is the area to the south of the Yangzi River.
樓下分流水聲中， Mingling that day with the sound of the forking river below
10
有當日、 were the tears
憑高淚。 I shed on the high building
c
Critical note:

The translation of the last three lines are reordered for the preservation of meanings in English. The original sequence is: Mingling with the sound of the forking river below / were that day / the tears I shed on the high building.

.
Critical Notes
Translation
Line number 1
Critical note:

“The place where the sea meets the sky” refers to the Ten Isles in the third line. Here the scene on the screen reminds the speaker of what he dreamt about.

Translation
Line number 3
Critical note:

See introduction for a discussion on “Ten Isles”.

Translation
Line number 4
Critical note:

Red paper is often used for writing letters or poetry.

Translation
Line number 8
Critical note:

Jiangnan is the area to the south of the Yangzi River.

Translation
Line number 11
Critical note:

The translation of the last three lines are reordered for the preservation of meanings in English. The original sequence is: Mingling with the sound of the forking river below / were that day / the tears I shed on the high building.

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