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Xiang Liu and Xiao Yao’s Story and Romance

liddi

@H19279

Thank you so much for sharing the poem and the translation from the Vietnamese text!

The actual title of the poem is 归去来兮辞 Going Home by 陶渊明  Tao Yuanming.

Found the following English translation provided along with the recitation of the poem on Youtube. Personally I prefer how you translated it but this complete translation does give a pretty good idea of what the entire poem is about as well.

The highlighted text is the title Tong Hua used for Vol 3 Ch18  (Chapter 51) which reinforces Xiao Yao's decision to finally go home, to the ocean, finally finding the courage to take control over her own life, break free from the mistakes and fetters of the past, and return to the home that Xiang Liu provided for her:

归去来兮 Let me go back home!
田园将芜 My fields will get desolate,
胡不归   Why not go back home?
既自以心为形役 Since I myself let my heart be a slave to my body,
奚惘怅而独悲 Why should I be so full of melancholy?
悟已往之不谏 I am aware the past cannot be retrieved,
知来者之可追 but the future can be repaired.
实迷途其未远 In fact I have not gone too far astray.
觉今是而昨非 I realize, wrong was yesterday, but right is today.
舟摇摇以轻扬 Lightly my boat was rowed and rowed,
风飘飘而吹衣 and gently my gown by the wind was up rolled.
问征夫以前路 I asked the passengers about the way ahead,
恨晨光之熹微 complaining the dawn was still faint over my head.
乃瞻衡宇 Discerning my humble hut,
载欣载奔 I quickened my steps with delight.
僮仆欢迎 Servants to welcome me all came out,
稚子候门 and children were waiting at the gate.
三径就荒 I found the garden paths were covered with weeds
松菊犹存 while pines and chrysanthemums still survived.
携幼入室 I carried my children into the house by the hand,
有酒盈樽 glad to see on the table wine cups were laid .
引壶觞以自酌 I raised the cup and drank the wine with my hand.
眄庭柯以怡颜 I leaned against the southern window,
倚南窗以寄傲 watching my garden trees with pleasure.
审容膝之易安 I was content with my small hut, to be sure.
园日涉以成趣 In walking everyday in the garden I took pleasure.
门虽设而常关 A gate was provided, but it was always closed.
策扶老以流憩 I walked with a stick, and took a rest whenever I felt tired.
时矫首而遐观 Occasionally I raised my head to look at the distant cloud,
云无心以出岫 which had no intention to float out of the mountain side.
鸟倦飞而知还 Even birds knew to return to the woods when they were tired.
景翳翳以将入 The day was getting dark and the sun began to set in the west side.
抚孤松而盘桓 I caressed a lone pine tree and lingered around.
归去来兮   Let me go back home
请息交以绝游 and cease to make social contact with the world outside.
世与我而相违 Since world customs are at variance with my temper,
复驾言兮焉求 why should I go out to seek fame and fortune?
悦亲戚之情话 I should be pleased with my relatives' familiar looks,
乐琴书以消忧 and I can amuse myself with music and books.
农人告余以春及，Peasants will tell me spring is coming,
将有事于西畴 and they will be busy at farming.
或命巾车 I may ride in a curtained cart
或棹孤舟 or row a lonely boat.
既窈窕以寻壑 I may follow a winding stream quiet and serene to arrive at an open valley clean.
亦崎岖而经丘 I may also follow a rugged path to reach a hill-top at length.
木欣欣以向荣 Trees are thriving and vigorous,
泉涓涓而始流 While springs flow murmuring and look marvelous.
羡万物之得时 I marvel; everything comes out at the right time,
感吾生之行休 and I lament: my life will draw to a close at any time.
已矣乎 Let it be! Let it be!
寓形宇内复几时 How long can I live in the universe?
曷不委心任去留 Why not decide my fate according to my own wish?
胡为遑遑欲何之 Where do you head for in such a hurry against your wish?
富贵非吾愿 Since wealth and honors are not my wish,
帝乡不可期 and the fairyland is out of reach,
怀良辰以孤往 I only wish to travel alone on a fine day;
或植杖而耘耔 or my stick on the roadside lay, and go to the field to cut hay.
登东皋以舒啸 Or climb up the eastern hill high To relieve a long sigh.
临清流而赋诗 Or sit by a clear river side, composing poems worthy of my pride.
聊乘化以归尽   Let me abide by the law of nature to lead a life of nature.
乐夫天命复奚疑   Let me submit to the will of Heaven and be content with my fate forever!

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windiaaa041293

may I post this poem in my thread? @liddi @H19279 ^^



@Elise ,You're welcome ^^

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liddi
 windiaaa041293:

may I post this poem in my thread? @liddi @H19279 ^^

Yes, please go ahead. The translation does not belong to me - please just credit the Youtube video where the translation was taken from - thank you.

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H19279
 windiaaa041293:
Behind the poem of chapter 32,souvignon blanc
"A Shadow Headed in Which Direction"

This is the poem to which the title of chapter 32  (隻影向誰去)was referred. 

摸魚兒－雁丘  - Grave of the swallow (by Yuan Hao Wen)

問世間、情是何物，Ask the world what love is,    
直教生死相許？Which makes (these swallows) promise each other life and death?
天南地北雙飛客，Whether the southern sky or the northern earth, the two are always side by side,
老翅幾回寒暑。     We've been through so many warm and cold times together.
歡樂趣、                   The interest of joy,    
離別苦，                    The pain of separation,
就中更有痴兒女    In the end, it all comes down to infatuation like a man being in love with a woman.
君應有語，             The delibrately spoken word from who goes away
渺萬里層雲。       But it was already thousands of miles away in the clouds (ie dead).
千山暮雪，           From now on, pass thousands of snowy mountains each day
隻影向誰去？      A Shadow Headed in Which Direction?

橫汾路、
寂寞當年蕭鼓，
荒煙依舊平楚。
招魂楚些何嗟及，
山鬼暗啼風雨。
天也妒、
未信與，
鶯兒燕子俱黃土。
千愁萬古，
為留待騷人。
狂歌痛飲，
來訪雁丘處。

My interpretation is the first part of the poem reflecting FFB/XL and XY. FFB loved XY. They had experienced a lot together with joy and sorrow. FFB died. XY was left behind. which direction should she head to?

P/S: I translated this poem from the Vietnamese translated version. @Liddi may correct if it is not precise.

Bài thơ: Mô ngư nhi - Nhạn khâu - 摸魚兒－雁丘 (Nguyên Hiếu Vấn - 元好問) (thivien.net) 

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windiaaa041293

@H19279

<"Therefore, when Yuan Haowen became an adult, when he recalled the incident of the death of a geese in love, what he saw in his eyes was no longer a simple relationship between a man and a woman. This kind of feeling is a feeling of longing for "confidant" on a larger scale, including the love between men and women.">

Didn't Yangzi say XL was a confidant?
Hidden intentions. ^^

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H19279

This is the poem for Chapter 33: XY left QS town after staying there for 1 month with XL. She came back to Zhiyi to save Jing and returned to Shen nong Mountain

The chapter title: The wind is moving, the person is still

It can be interpreted that XY was sad, longed for the past. She could not share her thought with the others  (i.e., Jing, CX ). She said  goodbye to XL (in previous chapter), wonder if he (XL) would go back to her.  I wonder if she looked up her gorilla mirror whenever longing for him?

P/S: in Chinese literature, green willow (Liu) is symbol of spring. 

天仙子－送春  [Farewell to the spring]  by 張先  [Zhang Xian (990-1078)]

水調數聲持酒聽，Raise a glass of wine and listen to "water melody"    

午醉醒來愁未醒。Awaked from the lunch inebriety but not yet from the sadness

送春春去幾時回，Saying goodbye to spring, when will spring return?
臨晚鏡，                    Facing the mirror in the afternoon
傷流景，                     Longing for the time that passed by like flowing water
往事后期空記省。Feeling empty while recalling the past

沙上並禽池上暝，Over the field, pairs of birds return to the pond for sleeping
雲破月來花弄影。The clouds dissipate, the moon rises, the flowers play with shadows
重重帘幕密遮燈。 Layers of curtains cover the lamp
風不定，                     The wind is moving
人初靜，                     The person is still
明日落紅應滿徑      Tomorrow, red flower petals will fall and cover all the paths

P/s: Translated from the Vietnamese text on Bài thơ: Thiên tiên tử - Tống xuân - 天仙子－送春 (Trương Tiên - 張先) (thivien.net) 

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AH
 Kokuto:

I haven't even started reading the post yet, but scrolling up to the top of the  page I saw this pic and nearly fell out of my seat.  


Well played, AH.  Well played. :)

Lol, thanks Kokuto ^^

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AH
 liddi:
The title for Vol 3 Ch17 (Chapter 50) 结发两不疑 Hair Bound Together Without Any Doubts basically means a husband and wife whose love and devotion for each other cannot be doubted.

The title is derived from the poem 留别妻 Parting from My Wife about 苏武 Su Wu, a Chinese diplomat and politician of the Western Han dynasty who was captured during his mission to the Xiongnu, who in turn tried to make him surrender.

Thank you for your translation and the details you provided liddi!

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H19279

The poem relating to Chapter 34 – The Malevolent East Wind, the Fleeting Pleasure:

In this chapter, XY helped Jing investigate the love affair between FFYY and TSH. In the end of the chapter she went back together with Jing.

釵頭鳳  by 陸遊  [Phoenix Hairpin by Lu You]

紅酥手，                      Hands as soft as red bean cake
黃滕酒，                        Delicious HuangTang wine
滿城春色宮牆柳。The city is full of spring scenery, willow inside the palace walls
東風惡，                        The Malevolent East Wind
歡情薄。                        The fleeting pleasure
一懷愁緒，                  A complete nostalgia
幾年離索！                  Several years apart from each other
錯！錯！錯！            Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

春如舊，                        Spring is as it used to be
人空瘦，                        Only the person gets empty and withered
淚痕紅浥鮫綃透。Tears seeped into the red silk scarf
桃花落，                         Peach blossoms fall
閒池閣。                         The pavilion and pond are quiet
山盟雖在，                    The serious oath still remains
錦書難托。                    But it is difficult to send the letters written on brocade fabric
莫！莫！莫！              Don't! Don't! Don't

 The content of the poem shows a girl longing for a man who was apart for several years. Although, the spring scenery was the same, but she found it sad. Was she wrong? but it's difficult to admit that to that man. No dare to do so.

Again, we see the clues of "willow" (Liu) and "peach blossom" (Xiao Yao) in the poem

[EDIT]: I don't know if my initial intepretation is correct. Reading it again, I feel like it's the yearn of two people to each other. The inner thought of the man (Liu) was written on the first part of the poem and the woman's thought (Xiao Yao) was expressed on the second part of the poem

Bài thơ: Thoa đầu phụng - 釵頭鳳 (Lục Du - 陸遊) (thivien.net) 

The poem "Phoenix hairpin"  was composed by Lu You in a special situation: Lu You initially married his cousin (his uncle's daughter) Tang Yuan. The two were very compatible, but Lu You's mother did not like Tang Yuan. Hearing more detractors, she forced the two to divorce. Later, Lu You married Miss Wang, Tang Yuan also remarried. A few years later, in the spring, the two happened to go to Tan garden and accidentally met each other. Tang Yuan took advantage of her cousin's love and sent wine and dessert to Lu You. Lu You felt extremely sorry for her, waved his pen and wrote this poem card on the wall in Tan garden. Tang Yuan, after reading this poem, felt very sad in her heart, so she wrote a song following the melody of "Phoenix Hairpin". After that, she was sad, fell seriously ill and died.  

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AH
 H19279:
P/S: in Chinese literature, green willow (Liu) is symbol of spring.
 H19279:
Again, we see the clues of "willow" (Liu) and "peach blossom" (for Xiao Yao) in the poeam

Thank you for these translations and details H19279!

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windiaaa041293

Chapter 12 : The clam pearl lamp first appeared.
<"Zhuanxu bent down and helped her close the pearl lamp, but did not leave. He squatted on the edge of her couch and asked: ">

Chapter:34 The clam pearl lamp still appeared.
<Xiao Yao glared at Shan Hu who smiled "Princess want to sleep? Then I'II dim the lights."

"Yup."

Shan Hu closed the clamshell nightlight and the room darkened.>

Chapter 46:xiaoyao even brought a shell pearl lamp to the military base.
<Xiao Yao said “You rest!
He closed the night pearl lamp. Zhuan Xu had a lot on his mind, especially Feng Long's last words before he died, but with so many things going on he was exhausted and quickly fell asleep.>

Even when Jing died, the clam pearl lamp was always there.
<Miao Pu held a pearl lamp in one hand and clothes in the other: "Miss, it's just the sound of the wind blowing the branches.">

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H19279
 windiaaa041293:
pearl lamp

The pearl lamp was in the blood spelled Shell that sustained XY's life in chapter 47 and 48, too. I need to re-edit my interpretation about the poem that you posted on Friday. 

If I remember correctly, the pearl is the food for merfolk's infant

I was surprised when @Liddi mentioned that the poem was used as the title for chapter 49. I have been thinking about it since yesterday. I have the feeling It hints that XY knew XL rescued her (But she did not know that he removed the Lovers' bug since she was unconscious after healing). I'll try to summarize her treatment process in Chapter 22 to see if her mind could sense his heart when he came to recue her

Note: the pearl lamp is a kind of lamp which consists of a pearl or special jade emitting fluoresence light at night

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liddi
 H19279:
The pearl lamp was in the blood spelled Shell that sustained XY's life in chapter 47 and 48, too. I need to re-edit my interpretation about the poem that you posted on Friday. 

The term 海贝明珠灯 (literally "seashell pearl lamp" so a pearl lamp made into the shape of a seashell) is used in the chapters @windiaaa041293 quoted. I don't recall any mention of any lamp in the actual seashell Xiao Yao was in in Chapters 47 and 48. Which part of the text mentions this?

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H19279
 liddi:

The term 海贝明珠灯 (literally "seashell pearl lamp" so a pearl lamp made into the shape of a seashell) is used in the chapters @windiaaa041293 quoted. I don't recall any mention of any lamp in the actual seashell Xiao Yao was in in Chapters 47 and 48. Which part of the text mentions this?

Here you are in chapter 48 (CX at night dived in the pond to check XY in Jade Mountain). The lamp was placed inside the Shell. 

Late into the night, Zhuan Xu had dined but still couldn’t sleep so he used the fish ruby and dived into the lake to see Xiao Yao.

The all white sea shell was open with ridges along the edges like waves, under the pearl light it appeared Xiao Yao was sleeping on white waves, her expression peaceful with a small smile as if she was having a lovely dream.

The meaning of pearl in the novel (Chapter 26)

"In the pursuit, the mermaid appeared to be moved and slowed down. The merman opened his giant clam shell and inside was a purple pearl the size of a fist glowing brightly.

The mermaid smiled and swam into the clam shell and picked up the pearl and happily sang to it. She appeared to have accepted the merman and was praising him.

..... They mate in the clam shell and bear their offspring there. The pearl inside is actually the innards of the clam shell demons, and will become the food fed to the baby merchildren.” 

In chapter 47,  XY took a langtern in lotus shape. I mistook it.

P/s: Im vietnamese text, they used the term bright jade lamp which refers to a lamp containing a jade that emits fluorescence light at night

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liddi
 H19279:
Here you are in chapter 48 (CX at night dived in the pond to check XY in Jade Mountain). The lamp was placed inside the Shell. The shell was first mention in chapter 47, therefore, I assume it was there too. You may check the original text

The text is as follows:

扇形的白色海贝张开，边角翻卷，犹如一朵朵海浪，在明珠的映照下，小夭就好像躺在白色的海浪上休憩。她的面容沉静安详，唇角微微上翘，似乎做着一个美梦。

The fan-shaped white seashell was open, the ridges at its edges like waves. Under the reflection of the pearl, Xiao Yao appeared as if she was lying on white waves in repose, her expression calm and serene, the corner of her lips curved upwards as if in a beautiful dream.

-- Vol 3 Ch15  (Chapter 48)


My interpretation is that it came from the light of the pearl naturally found in the seashells, and not a pearl lamp, as mentioned in the following text when Xiao Yao and Xiang Liu came upon the mating mercouple:

在追逐中，女鲛人好似有些意动，慢了下来，男鲛人打开海贝，里面有一颗拳头大小的紫珍珠，发出晶莹的光芒。

During the pursuit, the mermaid appeared to be moved and slowed down. The merman opened the seashell. Within was a purple pearl the size of a fist, emitting crystal-clear light.

********************

“海贝就是他们的家。大的海贝很难猎取，越大表明男鲛人越强壮，女鲛人接受求欢后，他们会在海贝里交配，生下他们的孩子，珍珠其实是这些大贝怪的内丹，是鲛人给小鲛人准备的食物。”

"The seashell is their home. Large seashells are extremely difficult to procure, so the larger the seashell, the stronger the merman is seen to be. Once the mermaid accepts the courtship, they will mate in the seashell and have their offspring there. The pearl is actually inner essence of the seashell demon, and is the sustenance prepared for the merchildren."

-- Vol 2 Ch9 (Chapter 26)


In addition, Chapter 7 mentions that pearl lamps are a commonplace item among deity tribes:

神族喜欢用水母和明珠做灯，小六见过很多次水母做的宫灯，却是第一次看到活的水母。它身体晶莹透明，曼妙的弧度，真是天然的灯罩，不把它做成灯都对不住它的长相。

The deity tribes love to make lamps out of jellyfish and pearls. Xiao Liu had seen palace lamps made from jellyfish many times, but this was the first time he saw a live jellyfish. Its body was crystal clear, its graceful curves making it a natural lampshade. It would be a letdown to its appearance not to make it into a lamp.

-- Vol 1 Ch7

As such, it is likely that seashell pearl lamps are also commonplace in the palace. It is notable though that it only specifically mentioned "seashell" in the 3 instances @windiaaa041293 cited, so it could be that that particular lamp was specially commissioned by Xiao Yao because it reminds her of her time under the ocean with Xiang Liu, and the implications of being with him in the seashell for all those years.

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