Rantings of a Queer Pagan

English Journal Assignment 2

At Tavish has been teaching me Cantonese I’ve come to learn that while in English each character specifies a sound, in Chinese each character specifies a concept or word on its own. For example, the character for moon can also mean friend when repeated and displayed as one character.

There are several different versions of this poem as it is hard to translate from Chinese directly. Thomas told me this is a commonly known poem that most people know, taught at childhood, it captured my eye because of how artfully it was displayed on my mother’s handbag, and I wanted to know what it meant.

Original Poem (Literal Translation):
Bed front bright moon light
Think is ground above frost
Raise up head see bright moon
Lower head think past hometown

My rewrite:
As I lay at night, the moonlight reflects to my foot.
The shimmering image of the floor reminds me of a familiar frosty grass.
I look up and see the bright moon in the sky
Then I lie down to sleep, heavy thoughts of home occupying my dreams.

I think a lot can be lost in the translation from one language to another, but a skillful translator, or at least someone with a good sense of going on can convey the message between the two. Ultimately, words communicate thoughts and emotion; such are universal and can likewise be framed as eloquently as the original.

posted by Kasper @ 13:54