sed me with gloom,
Trying not to recall,
Yet hard to forget all.
Thousands miles off thy lonely tomb,
With no one to pass my thoughts leaving me.
Despite our reunion, could I be recognized by
thee,
With dust on my face, nay,
Hair like frost white and gray?
A sudden dream sent me back to my native land last
night,
By the tiny window,
Beholding thee combing.
I stared at thee, thou stared at me,
Speechless, but with tears down coursing.
Year in year out how could I not feel nostalgia of
thee,
at pines-flanked hill ridge, low,
In the moonlit night, bright?
Notes：
1.
Su Shi (1037— 1101): a native of Mei
Zhou, also known as Su Dongpo, was a poet and lyricist in Song
Dynasty. He coupled with his father Su Xun and his brother Su Zhe
was famous as “Three Great Su”. His life was full of ups and downs.
Due to his different voice in the reform at that time, he was
repelled and demoted to many places, such as Huang Zhou, Xu Zhou,
Hu Zhou etc.
2.
This lyric was composed in memory of his wife called Wang
Fu who died about ten years ago in 1065 when he was a prefect in Mi
Zhou, Shandong Province .
3.
The low pines-planked hill ridge: was a place in
Mountain Mei (used to be called Mei Zhou), Sichuan Province where
his wife’s grave lied thousands mile away from Mi Zhou, Shandong
Province.
其它译本：
译本1：美国著名汉学家Burton Watson的译文：
Ten years, dead and living dim and draw
apart.
I don't try to remember, But forgetting is
hard.
Lonely grave a thousand miles off,
Cold thoughts, where can I talk them
out?
Even if we met, you wouldn't know me,
Dust on my face, Hair like frost.
In a dream last night suddenly I was
home.
By the window of the little room,
You were combing your hair and making
up.
You turned and looked, not speaking,
Only lines of tears coursing down.
Year after year will it break my heart?
The moonlit grave, The stubby pines.
译本2：
许渊冲，许明的译本：
Riverside Town
A Dream of the Night of the 20th Day of the
1st Moon 1075
For the long years the living of the dead knows nought,
Though to my mind not brought,
Could the dead be forgot?
Her Lonely grave is far, a thousand miles away.
To whom can I my grief convey?
Revived even if she be, could she still know me?
My face is worn with care. And frosted is my hair.
Last night I dreamed of coming to my native place;
She was making up her face
Before her mirror with grace.
Each saw the other hushed.
But from our eyes tears gushed.
Can I not be heart-broken when I am awoken
From her grave clad with pines,
Where only the moon shines!
译本3：
这是一个网名叫“莫倾城”的高中生（现在估计上大学了）的译文：
For ten years the living and the dead are both ignorant of each
other.
Even though I refrain from thinking of you,
However I cannot forget you.
Your lonely tomb lies a thousand miles away,
Where can I pour my sorrows anyway?
Even if we meet again, you can hardly recognize me by the
way,
For my face is fully covered with dust,
And my temples have as frost turned grey.
Last night I suddenly dreamed of returning to my native
land.
I saw you sitting by the tiny window,
Dressing and making up with your white hand,
We looked at each other, unable to speak a word,
Only a thousand lines of tears rolled down our faces.
I presume you will lie in that heartbreaking place year after
year,
In that small round covered with pines mere,
Under the Moon bright and clear.
