口译：杜牧·《秋夕》英译

秋夕

杜牧

银烛秋光冷画屏，轻罗小扇扑流萤。

天阶夜色凉如水，坐看牵牛织女星。

注：全诗最后一句，有版本又作：卧看牵牛织女星。

The Double Seventh Night

DuMu

Autumnhas chilled the painted screen in silver moonlight;

Asilken fan is used to catch flitting firefly.

Thesteps seem steeped in water when cold grows the night.

Shelies to watch two stars in love meet in the sky.

（许渊冲、许明 译）

An autumn night

DuMu

Onthe pictured screen, a candle throws its light.

Onesense the chill of autumn, though it be slight.

Alassie, holding in her hand, a light silken fan,

Goesabout swatting fireflies as many as she can.

Scarcelyvisible, as twilight is near,

Coldas water, the stone pavements appear.

Shelies down, as evening scenes into nocturne pass,

Watchingthe legendary stars “Cowherd and his lass”.

（徐忠杰 译）

Autumn Evening

DuMu

Autumnlight

Froma white candle

Ona cold moonlit screen.

Asilk fan

Catchingglow-worms

Onthe fly.

Longinto the dark evening

Shesits on the palace steps,

Forgettingcool night

Asshe watches the Cowherd Star

Meetinghis Weaver Girl, high in the sky.

（丁祖鑫 译）

An Autumn Evening

DuMu

Inthe flickering autumn candlelight, the painted screen grows cold.

Witha small fan of silk gauze*, she scatters the drifting fireflies.

Aschill waters of the night envelop the palace steps,

Shesits to watch the Herdsman and Weaver Maid**.

*The poem portrays an imperial concubine fallen from favor. Her situation isthus analogous to that of the “small fan of silk gauze” discarded at summer’send.

**Herdsman…Weaver Maid: Stars positioned south and north of the Milky Way. Inpopular legend, they were lovers who meet only once a year on the seventh dayof the seventh month, when magpies build a bridge for them to cross the “Riverof Heaven”.

（张廷琛、Bruce M.Wilson 译）

AutumnNight*

Du Mu

Silver candle, autumn light and cold picturescreen,

Small fan of light silk swatting streakingglow-worms.

Palace steps at night cold as water,

Where she sits watching Cowherd and Weaving Girl**.

* The subject of this poem is a palace maid. Inancient China, once a girl was chosen to be a maid in the imperial palace, shebecame a virtual prisoner for life, no freedom to move around, nor to marry.

** Cowherd and Weaving Girl are lovers in Chinese mythology,identified with stars Altair and Vega. They are separated by the Milky Way andpermitted to see each other only once a year on the 7^th day of Julywhen the magpies form a bridge where the star-crossed lovers meet at thehalfway point.

（任治稷、余正 译）

Evening in August

DuMu

whitecandles are burning

autumnis in the air

peopleare cold

andthe room panels are cold

sheswipes at fireflies with a little fan

afan delicate and made of silk

sheis sitting by the staircase

atthe front of the house

theautumn wind

chillyas a mountain stream

shewatches the one star and the other

Altairand Vega

thecowherd and the woman at the loom

fromthe old story

（王守义、约翰·诺弗尔 译）

An Autumn Night

DuMu

Theautumn’s silver candlelight shows off the chilly screen;

Pattingthe fireflies with a silken fan a maiden’s seen.

Innight’s dim light, the marble steps look like a coldish bay;

Shesits to watch two longing stars* there by the Milky Way.

*Two longing stars: They refer to the Weaver and the Cowherd who were commonlybelieved to be two stars very much in love with each other but separated by theMilky Way.

（王大濂 译）

An Autumn Night

DuMu

Autumnmoon and a candle cast cold lights on painted screen dimly,

Aforsaken maid of honor swats fireflies with silk fan lonely.

Asthe shades of night on palace stone-steps are as cool as water,

Shesits down, watching the mythical lovers: Altair and Vega.

（刘克璋 译）

On an Autumn Night

DuMu

Thepainted screen is made to look chill by the silvery candle with autumn light,

Theyoung palace maid uses a small gauze fan to beat the flying fireflies.

Thoughthe white marble steps of the palace are as cool as the water at night,

Yetshe lies down to look up at the Altair and the Vega in the skies.

（王福林 译）

In the Autumn Night

TuMu

Hercandle-light is silvery on her chill bright screen.

Herlittle silk fan is for fireflies….

Shelies watching her staircase cold in the moon,

Andtwo stars parted by the River of Heaven.

（Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-hu 译）

Autumn Evening

TuMu

Silverautumn candlelight chills the painted screen,

Alittle fan of light silk flaps the streaming fireflies.

Coolas water, the night sheen of the steps into the sky.

Shelies and watches the Weaver Girl meet the Herdboy Star.

（A. C.Graham 译）

Autumn Evening

TuMu

Silverlantern autumn light chills her painted screen

sheswats at passing fireflies with her small silk fan

atnight the streets of Heaven look as cool as water

lyingdown she gazes at the Weaving Maid and Herdboy stars

（Red Pine 译）

Autumn Night

DuMu

Theautumn light and the sliver candle

arecool on the painted screen;

Shehits at the swirling fireflies with

asmall light silken fan.

Inthe night sky the Heavenly Steps

appearclear and cold, like water;

Shesits and looks at the stars

ofthe Cowherd and the Weaver.

（Peter Harris 译）

Mid-Autumn Night

DuMu

Asilver candle in autumn lights the cold painted screen;

alight silk fan beats, fireflies flow around it.

Inmy courtyard, the night sky is clear as water;

Isit and watch Herdboy and Weaver Girl meet.

（Geoffrey R. Waters 译）

Autumn Evening

DuMu

Redcandle make

anautumn light

thepainted screen feels chilly

catchingthe last fireflies

witha delicate

silkfan

sittingon the steps

underthe starlight

coolas water

towatch the Weaver and Cowherd

keepingtheir annual tryst

inthe Milky Way.

（David Young and Jiann I. Lin 译）

The Autumn Evening

DuMu

Theautumn silver candlelight is

coldon the painted screen.

Onit, a lady chased the fireflies

witha little silk fan.

TheMilky Way and the night were as

coolas water

asone gazed on the stars

ofthe Celestial Cowherd and

hisWeaving Lady.

（Claire Wang-Lee 译）

Autumn Evening

TuMu

Autumnsilver-moon candlelight chills painted screens,

gauzebed-curtains. Out fans buffet streaming fireflies.

Onsteps of sky the color of silken robes cold as water,

wesit watching Star River’s Weaver-Girl and Ox-Herd.

（David Hinton 译）