苏轼·《水调歌头》英译

To the Tune of Shuidiaogetou

Su Shi

Mid-Autumn Festival of 1076, I took a hearty drink, then went on drinking until dawn. Deadly drunk, I composed this poem to honor the occasion, and in memory of my brother, Ziyou.

How often will the bright moon appear?

Cup in hand, I speak to the blue sky.

What hour would it be, what year,

In that heavenly palace on high?

I want to ride the wind up there,

I want to return to heaven,

But I also worry; would it be too chilly

In those jade halls, jade towers?

I dance, my shadow spins:

Earth is more fun than heaven!

Going by the red rooms,

Peeping in their carved doors,

She shines on the sleepless.

We’re good friends, she and I.

Then why does she shine so round, so bright,

When we leave each other?

Sadness and joy,

Separation and reunion:

The world is no paradise

Waxing and waning,

Now clear, now cloudy,

The moon is never stable.

No, there’s no perfection

At all times in all days.

If only we could live to a green old age,

Sharing her beauty together,

Though far, far apart.

（丁祖鑫 译）

Shui Diao Ge Tou

Su Shi

At Mid-Autumn Festival, we drank till dawn. Heavily drunk, I wrote the following lines to express my thought for my brother Ziyou.

“When the moon began to be?”

Raising my glass, I ask Heaven.

In heaven I wonder what year is this.

I want to ride on the wind that heavenward carries me.

Yet I fear those jade palaces

For me be too high and cold.

Then I arise and dance in the moonshine,

Watching my shadow’s fantastic gestures:

I feel I were in heaven!

Now the moon shines aslant on the painted tower,

Now she dips low beyond the traceried door:

Her bright beams keep me awake.

I even grudge – yet why should I? –

The moon for waxing full,

When my beloved is gone.

Alas! On earth grief and mirth, part and meet

Are each other following in a cyclic chase,

Even as the moon waxes and wanes.

Yet longevity to my beloved I wish,

That though between us a thousand li lies,

The moon may ever and anon join our sight.

（黄宏荃 译）

Moon Festival

To the tune Sui Diao Ge Tou

(Tune: “Prelude to Water Melody”)

Su Shi

On the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1076, I drank with great joy till dawn and became drunk. I composed this while missing my younger brother Ziyou.

How rare the moon shines so bright?

Holding a goblet, I ask the blue sky.

What a joyful sight is it tonight,

Amid the heavenly palaces on high!

I wish to ride the wind and fly back,

Yet those jade towers and marble courts,

Amid the icy heights would be much too cold.

Instead, I try to dance and swing with my shadow.

Is there anything better than the man’s world?

Turning around the red pavilions,

Stooping to peer through the latticed windows,

The moon shines over those who can’t fall asleep.

There’s no reason for her being so hard on men.

Why is she always full when dear ones are apart?

Men know the sorrow of parting and joy of reunion,

The moon is bright or dim, she may wax or wane;              

Things’ve never been perfect since ancient times.

May we enjoy a lasting peaceful life,  

And share her splendor across a thousand miles!

（黄新渠 译）

Prelude to Melody of Flowing Waters

Su Shi

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival of the Year Bingchen, I went on a night-long spree, and composed this piece when tipsy, with an intention to cherish the brotherly love for Ziyou.

When did the brilliant moon come into being?

Raising my cup I ask the azure sky.

And what year’s tonight in, I wonder, in light of

The calendar of the Palace on High?

The dread that it’d be too cold in the firmament

Gives me pause – otherwise riding on the zephyr

To the crystalline palace I would fly.

And further: whom might I dance with up there but my shadow?

With this regard the fancy for celestial life seems wry.

Creeping from the other side of th’ mansion,

Through the carv’d window on the sleepless

The moon mischievously casts it light.

Why should she ironically grow full when people part,

As if upon men she were venting a spite?

Ay, but who can e’er change the course of nature?

As the moon may wax or wane and grow dim or bright,

So men thrive or decline and part or reunite.

’Tis only wish’d that we may all live in good health

And share – though far apart – the beauty of th’ minor light.

（卓振英 译）