ELISA ENGLISH's Blog 英語園地

This is another poem that I was asked to translate, also by 李清照.  The poem is 如夢令.  As I said earlier and as always, it is extremely difficult to translate her poems or any of the Chinese poems.  It is never easy to capture the essence of the poem and to portray the beauty of the original poem through translation.  My translation is based on the interpretation from the link below. 

http://tw.knowledge.yahoo.com/question/question?qid=1009090407383

Anyway, another one for your amusement.  By the way, the person who asked me to translate these poems is someone who I befriended in Philly.  We are about the same age and have similar interests.  If you have read my article about Philly, you will get a picture of her.  She is an ABC and only speaks Taiwanese.  Is she trying to learn Chinese now?  I have no idea.    

李清照 <如夢令>

Translation by Elisa English on 7/25/10   

All rights reserved

 Tune: Like a Dream               

昨夜雨疏風驟，濃睡不消殘酒。

Fine rain and gusty wind prevailed last night,

That tipsy feeling still lingered after the restful night

試問卷簾人，卻道海棠依舊。

I asked my maid as she rolled up the window shade

The damage that the storm laid

Unexpectedly was her claim

That the begonia was still the same

知否？知否？應是綠肥紅瘦。

Wouldn’t you know!

Wouldn’t you know!

The leaves should grow

The flowers should fade so

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