婉兮清扬

野有蔓草集 / Weeds in the Wilderness

This week, I published my bilingual poetry collection Weeds in the Wilderness (野有蔓草集) via KDP.

序言 / Preface

这是一本双语诗集，诗集中所有作品都是先用中文创作，再由作者自行翻译成英语。集子中收录的四十首诗分别创作于2017到2026年间，其中三十八首是五言和七言古体诗。

This is a bilingual collection of poems. All the works were first composed in Chinese, then translated into English by myself, the author. The collection contains 40 poems written between 2017 and 2026, of which 38 are classical-style poems in five- and seven-character verse.

以五言和七言为代表的中国古体诗始兴于先秦，成熟于汉魏，鼎盛于唐并延续到宋，在中国被蒙古人灭国后日渐衰落，又在元、明、清王朝交替中苟延残喘。民国初期兴起的新文化运动给了它致命一击，到了新中国，古体诗基本上已经退出了文人生活。在当代中国，如果有人自称从事古体诗创作，定然会得到一种不言而喻的嘉许与同情。

Chinese classical-style poetry, represented by the five- and seven-character verse, emerged in the pre-Qin era. It became matured in the Han and Wei dynasties, reached its peak in the Tang and continued into the Song. After China was conquered by the Mongols, it gradually declined but still lingered through the dynastic shifts of Yuan, Ming and Qing. The New Culture Movement in the early Republic dealt it a fatal blow, and by the time of the People’s Republic, classical poetry had for the most part withdrawn from the lives of scholars. In contemporary China, if someone claims to engage in the composition of classical-style poetry, they are sure to receive a tacit mix of admiration and sympathy.

中国古体诗是否从形式和内容上均已不足以描写现代社会？带着这样的疑问，作者进行了一系列创作实验。《遇文殊》《猫猴》和《扶南犀》是神话故事；《芒花草》《埋剑渡》和《乡贤记·陈应龙公》是历史事件；《观刻石》《掘穴翁》和《捕蛤蜥》是社会问题；《放牛妇》《祭母》《玄鸟》是情感生活……这些作品大都是长篇叙事诗，其中一些作品的论题相当严肃，几乎触及了当代中国普通人群在公共场合不可言喻的言论边界。对于某些谨小慎微的读者来说，阅读这些作品恐怕会带来些许细微而短暂的忧心或不快。

Does Chinese classical-style poetry still suffice, in form and content, to depict a modern society? With this question in mind, the author undertook a series of creative experiments. An Encounter with Manjushri, Mouhou, and Funan Rhino are mythological tales; Silvergrass, Sword Burial Ford, and Chen Yinglong: A Local Worthy examine historical events; A Carved Stone, The Grave-Digging Elder, and Catching Geckos reflect into social issues; The Cow-Herding Woman, An Offering for Mother, and The Black Bird explore emotions and feelings… Most of these works are narrative poems with considerable length, some of them deal with rather serious themes, coming close to the ineffable boundaries of what the ordinary people in contemporary China may speak about in public. For some particularly cautious readers, reading them may cause a trace of fleeting unease or discomfort.

西方读者是否可以通过翻译诗歌欣赏中国古体诗的意境乃至于理解中国社会和中国文化？语言差异使得保留形式（五言或七言）成为不可能，对准确性的要求限制了可选的韵脚，英文读者缺少理解诗歌内容所必须的历史或者文化背景，诸如此类。作者选择使用自由体进行翻译，局部押韵，添加大量脚注作为补充语境，同时将中文版本的尾注融合到译文和脚注中。最终结果是一部水乳交融的完整作品——古典与现代，神话与历史，东方与西方，集体与个人，叙事与反思——都在这个集子中得到了完整的呈现。

Can Western readers appreciate the artistic conception in Chinese classical-style poetry, and even understand Chinese society or culture, through translation? The differences in language make it impossible to preserve the form (five- or seven-character verse); the demand for accuracy limits the choice of rhyme; English readers often lack the historical or cultural background necessary to grasp the content, etc. The author chose to translate in free verse with partial rhyming, added extensive footnotes as supplementary context, and merged the endnotes in the Chinese version into the translation and footnotes. The outcome is a seamlessly blended whole—classical and modern, myth and history, East and West, collective and individual, narrative and reflection—all find full expression in this collection.

如上，便是这个“融合”诗集的由来。作者常认为，作品一旦公开发表，批评与解读的权利便完全属于读者。至于这样的尝试成功与否，就请读者自己做出回答吧。

The above describes the background of this “fusion” collection. The author has always held that once a work is made public, the right to critique and interpret rests entirely with the reader. As for whether this attempt is successful or not, the author invites readers to judge for themselves.