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Su Shi. "To the tune “Fortune Teller”—"The Waning Moon Hangs on the Thinning Sycamore Tree"." Global Medieval Sourcebook.Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965, 295. .
卜算子 | To the tune “Fortune Teller”
Source Information
卜算子 | To the tune “Fortune Teller”
by Su Shi
Text Source:
Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965, 295.
Responsibility Statement:
- Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965, 295.
- Translation by Qian Jia
- Notes by Nina Du, Runqi Zhang, and Dante Zhu
- Encoded in TEI P5 XML by Manya Bansal and Dante Zhu
Editorial Principles:
Texts are translated into modern English with maximum fidelity to the original text, except where it would impair comprehension or good style. Archaisms are preserved where they do not conflict with the aesthetic of the original text. Creative translation choices are marked and discussed in the critical notes.
The original text of this ci is based on the edition by Tang Guizhang 唐圭璋 (Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965). Punctuation follows the edition. Since ci poetry rarely includes personal pronouns, and gender-differentiated pronouns did not exist in Classical Chinese of this period, the gender of the speaker as well as their perspective (e.g. first, second or third person) must often be deduced by the translator from context.
Punctuation follows the edition.Publication Details:
Published by The Global Medieval Sourcebook.
The Global Medieval Sourcebook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
卜算子 To the tune “Fortune Teller”
黃州定慧院寓居作 Composed while lodging at Dinghui Monastery in Huangzhou
c
Critical note:
Su Shi was banished to Huangzhou. Without a place to live, and shunned by the locals who feared being implicated if they associated with him, he had no choice but to lodge at the monastery.
缺月挂疏桐， The waning moon hangs on the thinning sycamore tree.
漏斷人初靜。 The dripping clock stops
c
; all men become quiet. Critical note:
The dripping clock is a water clock; when all the water drips down, the clock stops, indicating that it is midnight.
時見幽人獨往來， Sometimes I would see an isolated man come and go on his own
縹緲孤鴻影。 like the distant and vague silhouette of a lone wild goose.
5
驚起卻回頭， Startled, it flies up and turns its head; 有恨無人省。 It has resentment in its heart yet no one notices.
揀盡寒枝不肯棲， Picking from all the cold branches
c
, but not resting on any, Critical note:
There is a Chinese proverb that “good birds choose branches (that suit them) to rest on”, which means that good officials should choose their kings carefully to ensure that they (the officials) will be allowed to pursue their ambitions. Here, Su Shi depicts the goose’s refusal to pick from the branches to imply that he is unwilling to pursue his political ambitions any further.
寂寞沙洲冷。 It is alone and abandoned on the freezing isle of sand.
卜算子 To the tune “Fortune Teller”
黃州定慧院寓居作 Composed while lodging at Dinghui Monastery in Huangzhou
c
Critical note:
Su Shi was banished to Huangzhou. Without a place to live, and shunned by the locals who feared being implicated if they associated with him, he had no choice but to lodge at the monastery.
缺月挂疏桐， The waning moon hangs on the thinning sycamore tree.
漏斷人初靜。 The dripping clock stops
c
; all men become quiet. Critical note:
The dripping clock is a water clock; when all the water drips down, the clock stops, indicating that it is midnight.
時見幽人獨往來， Sometimes I would see an isolated man come and go on his own
縹緲孤鴻影。 like the distant and vague silhouette of a lone wild goose.
5
驚起卻回頭， Startled, it flies up and turns its head; 有恨無人省。 It has resentment in its heart yet no one notices.
揀盡寒枝不肯棲， Picking from all the cold branches
c
, but not resting on any, Critical note:
There is a Chinese proverb that “good birds choose branches (that suit them) to rest on”, which means that good officials should choose their kings carefully to ensure that they (the officials) will be allowed to pursue their ambitions. Here, Su Shi depicts the goose’s refusal to pick from the branches to imply that he is unwilling to pursue his political ambitions any further.
寂寞沙洲冷。 It is alone and abandoned on the freezing isle of sand.
Critical Notes
Translation
Unnumbered line
Critical note: Su Shi was banished to Huangzhou. Without a place to live, and shunned by the locals who feared being implicated if they associated with him, he had no choice but to lodge at the monastery.
Translation
Line number 2
Critical note: The dripping clock is a water clock; when all the water drips down, the clock stops, indicating that it is midnight.
Translation
Line number 7
Critical note: There is a Chinese proverb that “good birds choose branches (that suit them) to rest on”, which means that good officials should choose their kings carefully to ensure that they (the officials) will be allowed to pursue their ambitions. Here, Su Shi depicts the goose’s refusal to pick from the branches to imply that he is unwilling to pursue his political ambitions any further.
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