"The numerous gods of the Mount Jiuyi have arrived, they arrive as plentiful as the clouds as they greet Lady Xiang. " "SHL Episode 9 - Qu Yuan's Cu Ci Nine Song九歌 Series Lady Xiang 湘夫人"
I deliberated for a long time as to whether I’d translate this poem. But this likely where Gu Xiang got her name from so I just had to do it. I thought this would be a simple poem but it took me more than a month to do it lol. XD
When native cn speakers come across a lady with the name Xiang 湘, it immediately brings to mind the two Xiang River Goddesses. They were said to be the concubine of the legendary Emperor Shun. “Lady Xiang 湘夫人” is a Pre Qin poem that’s written as part of Qu Yuan's Chu Ci Jiu Ge/Nine Song series, and it’s also known as the sister poem to “Xiang Jun 湘君”.
There are many interpretations as to who the focus of the story is. But for the sake of this translation, I’ll be working on the assumption that the poem is about Lady Xiang missing her husband (Emperor Shun). The poem’s really long and only the last part’s quoted in SHL, so feel free to skip to the end of the translation.
This poem's known its vibrant descriptions and there's a bunch of reference to specific plants which I've linked. If you ever intend to write a fic in the Chu dynasty, or a fic centered around the 700-200BC, you could use this as a visual reference. (yas my nerdy friends, historical accuracy is sexy)
帝子降兮北渚,目眇眇兮愁予。
Lady Xiang has arrived at the Northern Island, my gaze is filled with sadness and worry.
北渚: This was likely referring to 君山岛 Junshan Island. There's a lot of historical sites if you ever want to go there!
袅袅兮秋风,洞庭波兮木叶下。
The autumn wind blows gently endlessly; the Dongting lake ripples, the leaves fall.
登白薠兮骋望,与佳期兮夕张。
Standing amidst the reeds as I gaze into the distance, anticipating the date with the lover tonight.
鸟何萃兮蘋中,罾何为兮木上?
Why do the birds gather amongst the reeds? Why are the fishnets on the tops of the trees?
This line implies that the birds should be in the trees, and the fishnets among the aquatic reeds. But yet the situation’s the reverse. (Ie. what should have happened has t happened.). It describes the author’s uneasy feelings.
T/N: Just in case anyone’s as nerdy as me, this is likely a mirror of the line “采薜荔兮水中,搴芙蓉兮木末 I want to pick the scallops in the water, and to pluck the lotus from the trees” in sister poem in the same series, 湘君 Xiang Jun.
And look, more pictures of plants! (yes it's a different reed xD)
沅有芷兮澧有兰,思公子兮未敢言。
Th flower from the ginseng plant in the River Yuan, and orchids in the Lishui River. I can’t describe how much I miss you, Young Master (Gongzi).
T/N: Interestingly, 公子 Gongzi (aka Young Master) could be used on both male and female in the past. This is a very interesting point because there’s actually a huge debate as to who’s the poem is referring to. Baidu has interpreted this to mean Miss Xiang (ie. the goddess), but on the contrary, one physical book (yes I take this seriously lmao) I’ve bought thinks this is referring to Xiang Jun (the subject in her sister poem, and possibly her husband), and another physical book refrains from nailing the subject down. So who knows LOL.
And just how gorgeous is the ginseng flower!
荒忽兮远望,观流水兮潺湲。
My emotions are unsettled, I gaze towards the distance with uncertainty. However, the River Yuan and Lishui flows slowly.
麋何食兮庭中?蛟何为兮水裔?
Why does the deer seek food in the courtyard? Why do the dragon (jiaolong) trapped on the river bank?
T/N: 麋: This term actually refers to the deer, but it has been described as “antlers like a deer, tail of a donkey, hooves of a cow, face of a horse” in ancient times, so it’s sometimes regarded as the mythological creature 四不像 (Si Buxiang/Four not alike). It has made an appearance in some anime, and in one particular danmei fandom’s discourse. LOL
The mythological version is supposed to look like this. XD
蛟: Jialong refers to the “scaled dragon” in chinese mythology. If you’ve been watching Till the End of the Moon, Mingye was a jialong whom cultivated and became an immortal.
朝驰余马兮江皋,夕济兮西澨。
When morning comes, I ride my horse and race down the river bank. I cross over to the western bank at night.
闻佳人兮召予,将腾驾兮偕逝。
I hear my lover summons me. So I speed towards hastily and we head off together.
筑室兮水中,葺之兮荷盖。
We build our house in the water, and cover our roof with lotus leaves.
荪壁兮紫坛,播芳椒兮成堂。
The walls are decorated with moss, and purple shells pave the floor. The fragrant pepper and dirt we mould form the family’s prayer hall.
T/N: 芳椒 - This was a specific type of fragrant pepper. This was mixed with mud and painted on the walls, as the ancient people enjoyed its aroma. The moss refers to this specifically!
桂栋兮兰橑,辛夷楣兮药房。
The wood of the Gui tree form the beams, the Magnolia forms the rafters. The crossbeams of the door are made from wood of the Xinyi tree, the white ginseng flowers decorates the medicinal room.
T/N: 辛夷 - The Xinyi tree is also part of the magnolia family. There's clearly a theme going on!
The Gui tree's so pretty! And the white magnolias!
And the Xinyi tree
罔薜荔兮为帷,擗蕙櫋兮既张。
The climbing fig is woven into a curtains, and the partitions made of flowers have been drawn.
T/N: 薜荔: Baidu says it’s the climbing fig, but my physical book thinks it’s the another magnolia plant. And the 蕙 flower was known for its fragrance.
Baidu's interpretation!
And my book's interpretation XD
And look, the pretty 蕙 flower!
白玉兮为镇,疏石兰兮为芳。
The weights are made of snowy white jade, the fragrance of orchards permeates the air.
T/N: The 镇 Weights were similar to paper weights, and were used to keep mats/clothes in their place. It originated from the Qin and Han Dynasty, whereby people used to keep the mat in place (to prevent it from moving around when they got up). Sometimes, it'll be in the shape of an animal, like a lion for example.
芳: Another interesting point; Baidu interprets this as fragrance, but the physical book thinks it means to block off the wind from the head of the bed. 芳 is sometimes interpreted as 防 (to block in some ancient text)
芷葺兮荷屋,缭之兮杜衡。
The lotus form the house, and the ginseng flowers form the roof. It’s scent intermingles with that of the wild ginger
And this is how wild ginger looks like!
合百草兮实庭,建芳馨兮庑门。
We gather various kinds of flowers and plants to fill the courtyard, and we’ve build a fragrant porch.
九嶷缤兮并迎,灵之来兮如云。 (The line that's in SHL)
The numerous gods of the Mount Jiuyi have arrived, they arrive as plentiful as the clouds as they greet Lady Xiang.
T/N: 九嶷: Jiuyi mountain was the legendary burial place of the legendary Emperor Shun. It’s a mountain range in Hunan Province, located at the south of the river Xiang 湘水南.
捐余袂兮江中,遗余褋兮澧浦。
I throw my outer garment into the river. And I throw my inner undergarment into the Lishui.
搴汀洲兮杜若,将以遗兮远者。
Arriving at the island’s river bank, I pluck the flowers as I eagerly await for my lover.
时不可兮骤得,聊逍遥兮容与。
Good times won’t return once it has passed. I’ll travel leisurely as I wander freely.
Sending off Xin Jian at Furong Tower by Wang Changling
(my translation; original and my notes under the cut)
Cold rains flood the river as night comes to Wu;
We part ways at dawn in the mountains of Chu
Tell my kin in Luoyang—should inquiries be made—
Of my heart, pure as ice, in its cradle of jade
...
王昌龄 《芙蓉楼送辛渐》
寒 雨 连 江 夜 入 吴 ,
平 明 送 客 楚 山 孤 。
洛 阳 亲 友 如 相 问 ,
一 片 冰 心 在 玉 壶。
notes:
this poem is written in regluated verse rather than ancient style verse (meaning it has a fixed rhyme scheme and tonal pattern) so i decided to translate it with rhyme and metre to try and preserve the musicality of the original
the first line might also be translated as "the night you came to wu" but that didn't fit with my metre, so i went with the version you see above
"part ways" is my translation of 送, which is difficult to translate concisely as we don't really have an english equivalent (送 means to accompany someone for the first stretch of their journey when they leave). basically, the context of the poem is: his friend xin jian is returning to the capital city of luoyang, where the poet's family lives, but he's an official and needs to stay alone in wu, so he can only accompany him as far as the chu mountains before sending xin jian off alone while he remains behind.
"cradle of jade": okay, so this is a metaphor for a person who is honest and uncorrupt. the word actually used here is 壺, which refers to a sort of wine jar, and at one point had ceremonial or even ritualistic connotations. i toyed with translating it as 'vessel' (partly because i loved the double interpretation of drinking vessel versus sailing vessel, which i thought meshed nicely with the river imagery at the beginning and the general theme of travel). ultimately, however, i opted for 'cradle of jade', largely because the internal rhyme is so lovely and sort of replicates the assonance of the original line. but i also wanted the positive connotations of 'cradle' to soften the image of the 'icy' heart—having a heart like ice is generally a negative descriptor in english, but the imagery of the final line is so striking and pivotal that i didn't want to alter it, so i tried to offset it instead. might change it again later! idk!
Starting to play the violin early in his life, Hiroki Chiba launched his career as a bass player in 2004. Since then he has worked in a variety of musical contexts and regularly performs with Sangatsu, Shuta Hasunuma Philharmonic Orchestra. He usually performs with doublebass and electronics in various shows and exhibitions. He has launched four albums with doublebass and electronics. "Eine Phantasie im Morgen"(2017), "Nokt"(2018), "Asleep"(2019).
Other releases include rabbitoo's "national anthem of unknown country" (Naive) and Tomasz Dabrowski's "Ninjazz" (Fortune).
His past performances include with Jim O’Rourke, Kyoka (Raster-noton), FilFla with Keiichi Sugimoto (minamo, Fourcolor), Akiko Yano, Eiko Ishibashi, Giovanni di Domenico, Taku Unami, Tenniscoats, Yoshihide Otomo, Axel Dorner, Tetuzi Akiyama, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Seiichi Yamamoto, Taku Sugimoto, and ASUNA.
He has launched four albums with double bass and electronics. Other releases include rabbitoo's "national anthem of unknown country" (Naive) and Tomasz Dabrowski's "Ninjazz" (Fortune).