Daily Post, Weekly Plan

Art by Pop Art Machine

The new translation I took on is coming together slowly, with patches still in pencil and paper but to be typed soon. I've made 1.5 passes through all 15 major poems in the piece, which means that I've gotten through all poems and get the general sense of them but not necessarily every line. For example, a magnificent poem by Mei Yao-ch'en:

The ancients painted tigers and swans, these surpassed the categories of dogs and wild ducks. Now I look on painted feather and insects, the form and image both possessed in sufficiency, The promenader forceful as if leaving, The flyer turns over as if following. The warder-offer as if with raised arms, The cryer as if with moving throat. The jumper tensing his leg muscles, The looker-onner attending to his eyes. Then know the magic of the creation of things, Never to In Piling they muchly paint craft, Illustrate empty fill the piece. Were that master fruithfully the spirits accept, Sit among ministers with ceremonial costume. Grass roots have elaborate intentions, drunken ink gets its familiarity. True power no where in sight, honorable conduct even now is still alone. 古人画虎鹄，尚类狗与鹜。今看画羽虫，形意两俱足。行者势若去， 飞者翻若逐。拒者如举臂，鸣者如动腹。跃者趯其股，顾者注其目。 乃知造物灵，未抵毫端速。毗陵多画工，图写空盈幅。宁公实神授， 坐使群辈服。草根有纤意，醉墨得已熟。权豪不可致，节行今仍独。

This just screams to be done as if by Hopkins or Blake, but such skill will probably be sadly undealt during the week; I hope to settle for semantic soundness, however.

As I poked around looking for previous translations and other help with the poems, I found a poem with the most moving quatrain I've ever seen in Chinese poetry. Its just the opening of another poem by Mei Yaochen, "Sacrifice for a Cat:"

When I had my cat Wubai,
Mice didn't come after my books.
This morning Wubai died.
So I make ritual offerings now,
of rice
and fish.

自有五白猫，鼠不侵我书。
今朝五白死，祭与饭与鱼。

Goals for the Week: 1. Finish this translation. 2. Go over the students' projects and get on those who are straggling.

More to come as I lay in the main text of the translation and refine my poems.