Sunset river
Bai Chiyi
Faded is the sun across the water
Red is the river sighing in the wind
Melancholy is this third September night
With pearls of dew and a crescent bow
-- Translated Francis Chin,
the sentimental ideology of everyday living
Saturday, May 12 2007
Not everyone would agree with my reflective translation, of course. The literal rendering is:
"A path of pale sun paves the water / Half the river is red and half emerald. Thinking back on this third night of September / With the dew like pearls and the moon a bow."
