李清照·《孤雁儿·藤床纸帐朝眠起》英译

小序：世人作梅词，下笔便俗，余试作一篇，乃知前言不妄耳。

藤床纸帐朝眠起，说不尽，无佳思。沈香烟断玉炉寒，伴我情怀如水。笛声三弄，梅心惊破，多少春情意。

小风疏雨萧萧地，又催下，千行泪。吹箫人去玉楼空，肠断与谁同倚？一枝折得，人间天上，没个人堪寄。

Nowhere to Send these Mume Blossoms
—to the tune of Guyaner

　　When people write poems on mume blossoms, their lines cannot avoid the criticism of being "common-place descriptions". I tried to write one about them too, and realized that people criticized cannot be otherwise than true.

Arising from my canebed (1) and paper screen,
I can't express how I feel this morning.
The burning gharo-wood (2) smokes now and then,
Its jade censer becomes cold.
My heart keeps accord with it, is calm as water.
I play the flute to the tune of
"The Mume Blossom Song" (3) three times.
The heart of the blossoms breaks at a stroke.
How much sorrow of spring it shows.

A little breeze blows, tiny raindrops drip,
Lines of tears roll down my cheeks.
My jade-mansion (4) is empty without my flute-companion.
Who will lean against the rails with me?
I pluck a twig of mume blossoms.
To whom shall I send them?
I look from heaven and earth.


(1)Canebed: A kind of canopy bed.
(2)Gharo-wood: A kind of perfumed wood similar to sandal wood which spreads a sweet scent when burnt. During the Song Dynasty, wealthy women often burnt it in an animal-shaped censer.
(3)"The Mume Blossom Song": An ancient song praising the beauty of the mume blossoms, often accompanied by flute playing.
(4)Jade-mansion: In the kingdom of Chin, the daughter of Lord Mu was married to a flautist so good he was able to mimic the song of the phoenix (fenghuang). Mu built for him a special hall, the phoenix pavilion. One day while playing in the company of his wife, a phoenix came and carried them away. The illusion here is to Zhao Mingcheng who has departed, leaving Li Qingzhao behind.

（茅于美 译）