洛神賦 – 曹植 （節譯）

洛神賦 – 曹植 （節譯）

 

黃初三年，餘朝京師，還濟洛川。古人有言：斯水之神，名曰宓妃。感宋玉對楚王神女之事，遂作斯賦。其辭曰：(對楚王 一作：對楚王說)

　　餘從京域，言歸東藩，背伊闕，越轘轅，經通穀，陵景山。日既西傾，車殆馬煩。爾乃稅駕乎蘅皋，秣駟乎芝田，容與乎陽林，流眄乎洛川。於是精移神駭，忽焉思散。俯則未察，仰以殊觀。睹一麗人，於岩之畔。乃援禦者而告之曰：“爾有覿於彼者乎？彼何人斯，若此之豔也！”禦者對曰：“臣聞河洛之神，名曰宓妃。然則君王之所見也，無乃是乎！其狀若何？臣願聞之。”

　　餘告之曰：其形也，翩若驚鴻，婉若遊龍。榮曜秋菊，華茂春鬆。髣髴兮若輕雲之蔽月，飄颻兮若流風之回雪。遠而望之，皎若太陽升朝霞；迫而察之，灼若芙蕖出淥波。穠纖得衷，修短合度。肩若削成，腰如約素。延頸秀項，皓質呈露。芳澤無加，鉛華弗禦。雲髻峨峨，修眉聯娟。丹唇外朗，皓齒內鮮。明眸善睞，靨輔承權。瓌姿豔逸，儀靜體閑。柔情綽態，媚於語言。奇服曠世，骨像應圖。披羅衣之璀粲兮，珥瑤碧之華琚。戴金翠之首飾，綴明珠以耀軀。踐遠遊之文履，曳霧綃之輕裾。微幽蘭之芳藹兮，步踟躕於山隅。於是忽焉縱體，以遨以嬉。左倚采旄，右蔭桂旗。攘皓腕於神滸兮，采湍瀨之玄芝。(芙蕖 一作：芙蓉)

 

In the third year of the Huangchu Reign, when returning from the capital amain, I halted by the Luo River on my way. An ancient saying quoteth: “the spirit of this river is hight Fufei.” Inspired by Song Yu's parable of “the Faery trysts the Prince of Chu”, a rhapsody hence I did brew. It goes as follows:

 

The spellbound capital out of my mind,

I was hying east, back to my fief.

Anon I left Yi Que and Huan Yuan behind,

Through Tong Valley, the passing was brief.

Atop the Jing Mountain that was admired,

The sun began to slant towards the west,

My wagoner and I were weary, and eke horses tired,

So, we halted by the fragrant shore for a rest.

The horses were grazing in the field close by,

Leisurely, in the sunny forest, we began our stroll,

Therefore, the Luo River we did espy,

Thereupon, it stirred my soul,

And my spirit it did dumfound,

My thoughts scattered in flight.

Gazing down, I saw nothing around,

Gazing up, I discerned an amazing sight.

By a cliff, I beheld a belle so rare,

At once I asked the wagoner of mine,

"Didst thou see her? Who is she, so fair?"

He replied, “I have heard a fable divine

About the goddess of the Luo River, hight Fufei,

Could it be her that my lord hath seen?”

“What doth she look like? Describe her, O I pray”

“She looks elegant as a soaring swan, a wondrous queen,

As graceful as a dragoness in dance.

She shines like chrysanthemum proud,

Like the spring pines she blooms to trance,  

Her mien is like the moon clad in cloud.

Like the snow-in-wind she swirls,

From a distance, she looks like the morning glow.

Up close, like luminous lotus-in-water whirls,

A perfect-proportioned figure she doth show.

Neither too full nor too slender,

Neither too tall nor too short sans grace

As if carved, her shoulders are of splendour,

Her waist as if bound by white silk lace.

Her neck slender and long, her eyebrows curved,

Needs no adornment, as fair as snow is her skin.

No rouged face with cloudlike hair piled high as observed,

Her lips red, her teeth white, as they gracefully grin.  

Her eyes are bright and expressive,

Her cheeks like fresh roses.

Her beauty is unworldly, indeed impressive,

Her demeanour serene as she poses.

Her voice sweet but not softy,

Unparallelled is her attire.

Her appearance divinely lofty,

She wears a dazzling robe as if carrying fire.

On her head she wears gold and green jade,

Her body adorned with luminous pearls.

Of embroidered satin her shoes are made,

Her light skirt trailing like mist that curls.

She exudes the exquisitely faint

Fragrance of orchids far and wide.

Back and forth, she would fain haint

Along the mountainside.

Suddenly, she leaps up and begins to frolic and play,

Leaning against a banner of feathers on the left,

Beneath a laurel flag on the right as her sheltering bay,

At times, she stretches out her fair arms, so deft,

Picking black Ganoderma from the rapid stream.

At her beauty, my joyous heartbeats raced like slaves,

My spirit was restless, alas, who’d help fulfil my dream?

I shared my thoughts with the gentle waves.

 

Tr. Ziyuzile

(To be revised)

14/07/2024