洛神賦 – 曹植 （節譯二）

洛神賦 – 曹植 （節譯二）

 

願誠素之先達兮，解玉佩以要之。嗟佳人之信修，羌習禮而明詩。抗瓊珶以和予兮，指潛淵而為期。執眷眷之款實兮，懼斯靈之我欺。感交甫之棄言兮，悵猶豫而狐疑。收和顏而靜誌兮，申禮防以自持。於是洛靈感焉，徙倚彷徨，神光離合，乍陰乍陽。竦輕軀以鶴立，若將飛而未翔。踐椒塗之鬱烈，步蘅薄而流芳。超長吟以永慕兮，聲哀厲而彌長。爾乃眾靈雜遢，命儔嘯侶，或戲清流，或翔神渚，或采明珠，或拾翠羽。從南湘之二妃，攜漢濱之遊女。歎匏瓜之無匹兮，詠牽牛之獨處。揚輕袿之猗靡兮，翳修袖以延佇。休迅飛鳧，飄忽若神，陵波微步，羅襪生塵。動無常則，若危若安。進止難期，若往若還。轉眄流精，光潤玉顏。含辭未吐，氣若幽蘭。華容婀娜，令我忘餐。於是屏翳收風，川後靜波。

 

My wish urged me to express myself first,

I offered her my jade pendant as a sincere token.

Good heavens, she was so virtuous, so well-versed

In poesy and rites, which her deeds had well spoken.   

 

With her own jade, for me she did part  

Pointing to a deep creek as our rendezvous.

Though sincere affections welled up in my heart,

I feared if she tricked me, that would be ado.

 

The tale of “Jiaofu and twain Nymphs’ Broken Oath”

Somewhat forced my mind to dilly-dally,

Though I tried to conceal my doubt in her troth,

Using rituals to ease my deeds shilly-shally

 

The spirit of the Luo River must have felt my vibe,

In silence, she lingered nearby with luminescence.

Now bright, now dim, a delicate figure to describe

Her sublime vibe via her fluorescence.

 

Like a celestial crane about to fly,

But not yet ready to soar,

She was tarrying on the fragrant path hard by,

Her steps left a trail of lingering fragrance galore.

 

Singing a melody to express her deep longing,

Her voice shivered with unenduring woe.

Anon, various spirits were thronging,

Some played in the clear stream, to and fro...

 

Others soared over many a sandbar.

Some collected bright pearls,

Others picked colourful feathers, near or far,

With two Xiang River Faeries, other heavenly girls,

 

And eke the water nymphs from the shore of Han,

Together, they lamented the Calabash lacks a mate,

And sang of the lonely Cow-herding man,

She fluttered her long sleeves with ultra-light gait,

 

Waiting in anticipation without words

Faeries were moving their bodies with grace,

Flickering and flying like spirited birds,

Stepping on the waves with soft pace.

 

Their silk stockings stirred mist up like dust.

Hither or thither, they were moving sans girt,

Now poised, now shifting like gust

Intractable, back or forth or around they would skirt.  

 

Sometimes nigh, sometimes far,

Their faces like ruby and jade aglow

Their glances shone like many a shining star,

Their words remained unspoken though.

 

Their breath like orchids so sweet,

Their appearance so elegant, well-designed,

Which made me forget to eat.

The wind ceased; the waves calmed, both confined.

 

Tr. Ziyuzile

(To be revised)

17/07/2024