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Firstpublished:2017 Description: Piece based on the poem 魚家傲 (Yu Jia Ao, 'The Fisherman's Pride') by 李清照 (Li QingZhao).
The person who recommended this poem to me saw it as exploring the journey of all those in China searching spiritually.
The three translations from which this piece was written:
Translation I: Character-by-character translation by Frances Matthews
Sky – connect/catch – cloud – large waves – connect/continuous – daybreak – mist.
Milky – Way – desire/intend – turn – thousand – sails – dance.
Resemble – seemingly – dream – soul/spirit – return to – God – place.
Hear/become/aware/smell – sky – words.
Abundant – diligent/attentive – ask – me – return – which – place.
I – report – road – long – sigh/alas – day – sunset.
Study – poetry – insulting/deceiving/startling – has – scare/startle – people – sentence.
Nine – thousand – mile – wind – mythical huge bird (phoenix) – correct/really – soars/raised.
Wind – stop/rest – dwell/stop.
Fairyland – boat – puff/blow – receive – three – mountain – go.
Translation II: by Guo Yuanyuan
(This poem is quite different of her other poem. Talk about a dream of her.)
She sailing on the sea, and then see a king of sky (I think is God)
and the king ask her, where is her going?
she answer the way is too far and hard.
she say: wind! help me go to three mountains (an old saying: some wisdom people live there)
Translation III: CUHK Journal of Humanities
The sky touches cloud-waves trailing morning mist;
The Milky Way is about to turn as a thousand sails dance.
My soul in a dream draws near God’s place
And I hear Heaven’s voice
Earnestly ask where I am going.
I say, the road is long, alas, and the day is late.
In poetry startling lines come hard.
On a nine-thousand-mile wind the phoenix really soars.
May the wind not stop
While it drives my tattered sail to the Fairy Isles.