杜甫·《前出塞·其六》英译

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射人先射马，擒贼先擒王。

杀人亦有限，列国自有疆。

苟能制侵陵，岂在多杀伤。

Song of the Frontier

Du Fu

The bow you carry should be strong;

The arrows you use should be long.

Before a horseman, shoot his horse;

Capture the chief to beat his force!

Slaughter shan’t go beyond its sphere;

Each State should guard its own frontier.

If an invasion is repelled,

Why shed more blood unless compelled?

（许渊冲 译）

On the Border

(first series, nine poems)

Du Fu

If you draw a bow, draw a strong one,

if you use an arrow, use one that’s long.

If you want to shoot a man, shoot his horse first;

if you want to seize the enemy, first seize their leader.

But killing people has limits too;

guarding a state, there’re boundaries to be observed.

So long as you manage to keep invaders out—

what point in just seeing how many you can kill?

（Burton Watson 译）