The Art of Translation

Three translations of a poem by T'ao Ch'ien (Tao Qian)
365 AD - 427 AD




Return to My Country Home # 3

The weeds flourish but not the bean sprouts.
Morning, I get up to weed the fields.
I return, shouldering the moon and my hoe.
On narrow paths through thick grass and brush
evening dew soaks my clothes,
but wet clothes don't bother me
so long as I follow my heart.


Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping


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Returning to the Fields and Gardens (II)

I plant beans below the southern hill:
there grasses flourish and bean sprouts are sparse.
At dawn, I get up, clear out a growth of weeds,
then go back, leading the moon, a hoe over my left shoulder.

Now the path is narrow, grasses and bushes are high.
Evening dew moistens my clothes;
but so what if my clothes are wet -
I choose not to avoid anything that comes.


Translated by Arthur Sze



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3

I planted beans below South Mountain.
A few sprouted, then brush took over.

I get up early to clear weeds, and
shouldering my hoe, return by moonlight.

The path is narrow, the brush and trees
thick, evening dew pierces my clothes.

But they're not too wet - just damp
enough it reminds me never to resist.


Translated by David Hinton


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The translator's art never ceases to surprise me - how varied the outcome can be; the possible nuances or leanings or fixations on meanings; alternate translations carrying distinct stamps and melodies - sometimes altering the very nature of the original poem itself.

Notes

This poem of T'ao Ch'ien's is from
Home Again Among Gardens and Fields

Arthur Sze: Silk Dragon: Translations from the Chinese
Copper Canyon Press (2001)

David Hinton: The Selected Poems of T'ao Ch'ien
Copper Canyon Press (2000)