Early For The Autumn Wind example essay topic

Transcription of Ernest Fenollosa's Notebook (Pound's Source) Chokan ka regular 5 Chokan = name of town / place ko = uta = narrative song long-Mt. side Sho hatsu sho fuk u g aku mistress hair first cover brow Chinese lay's I or my beginning My hair was at first covering my brows (Chinese method of wearing hair) Sets kwa mon zen geni break flowers gate front play Breaking flower branches I was frolicking in front of our gate. ro ki chifu ba rai Second person ride on bamboo horse come masculine you, young man lit. young man When you came riding on bamboo stilts Gio sho ro sei bai going round seat play with blue plums (fruit) And going about my seat, you played with the blue plums. Do kio cho kan ri Same dwell cho kan village Together we dwelt in the same Chokan village. rio sho mu ken sai double small not dislike suspicion "the two" And we two little ones had neither mutual dislike or suspicion. (no evil thats or bashfulness) ju shi i kun fu Fourteen became lord's wife your At fourteen I became your wife- Shu gan mi jo kai bashful face not yet ever open Bashful I never opened my face (I never laughed) Tei to ko am pek i lowering head face black wall but lowering my head I always faced toward a dark wall ashamed to see anybody-she sat in dark corner Sen kan fu itsu kai thousand call not once looked back And though a thousand times called, not once did I look around... ju go shi tem hi 15 first time open eyebrows At fifteen I first opened my brows i.e. I first knew what married life meant now she opens her eyebrows. i. e... smooths out the wrinkles between her brows. She now began to understand love, and to be happy. Gan do jin yo bai desire same dust together with ashes and And so I desired to live and die with you even after death, I wish to be with you even as dust, and even as ashes-partially together. Jo son ho chu shin eternally preserve embrace pillar faith I always had in me the faith of holding to pillars Ki jo bo fu dai why should climb look out husband terrace And why should I think of climbing the husband looking out terrace.

Ju roku kun en ko 16 you far go At 16, however, you had to go far away. fearful riverside both yen & yo are adj. expressing form of water passion over hidden rocks Ku to yen yo tai | name y enyo-rock of locality eddy (towards Shoku passing through the difficult place of Yentotai at Ku to.) Go gets a ka shoku 5 month not must touch In May not to be touched. The ship must be careful of them in May. En sei ten jo ai monkeys voices heaven above sorrowful Monkeys cry sorrowful above heaven. Mon zen chi ko seki gate front late go footstep reluctant Your footsteps, made by your reluctant departure, in front of our gate itsu itsu sei roku tai one one grow green mosses one by one have been grown up into green moss. Tai shin fu no so mosses deep not can wipe away These mosses have grown so deep that it is difficult to wipe them away. Raku yo shu fu so Fallen leaves autumn wind early And the fallen leaves indicate autumn wind which (to my thought only) appears to come earlier than usual. male female Hach i hatsu ko cho ko 8th month butterflies yellow It being already August, the butterflies are yellow.

So hi sei yen so pairs fly western garden grass And yellow as they are, they fly in pairs on the western garden grass. Kan shi sho sho shin affected (by) this hurt (female) mind normal my pained Affected by this, (absence) my heart pains. Za shu ko gan ro gradually lament crimson face decay-older become old. The longer the sb sence lasts, the deeper I mourn, my early fine pink face, will pass to oldness, to my great regret. So ban ka sam pa sooner (or) later descend three whirls | name of spot on Yangtse Kiang, where waters whirl If you be coming down as far as the Three Narrows sooner or later. Yo sho sh ho ka beforehand with letter report family-home Please let me know by writing Sho sei fu do yen mutually meeting not say far coming to meet For I will go out to meet, not saying that the way be far, carrying Shoku chi cho fu sa directly arrive longwindsand | a port on the Yang ste And will directly come to Chofusha. (the port just this sime of Samp a) from the Pound Center, Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. W.J.B. Fletcher (1919) THAT PARTING AT CH " ANG KAN When first o'er maiden brows my hair I tied, In sport I plucked the blooms before the door.

You riding came on hobbyhorse astride, And wreathed my bed with greengage branches o'er. At Ch " ang-kan village long together dwelt We children twain, and knew no petty strife. At fourteen years lo! I became thy wife. Yet ah! the modest shyness that I felt! My shamefaced head I in a corner hung; Nor to long calling answered word of mine.

At fifteen years my heart's gate open sprung, And I were glad to mix my dust with thine. My troth to thee till death I keep for aye: My eyes still gaze adoring on my lord. When I was but sixteen you went away. In Ch-t'ang Gorge how Yen-y's billows roared! For five long months with you I cannot meet. The gibbon's wail r echoes to the sky!

Before the door, where stood your parting feet, The prints with verdant moss are covered high. Deep is that moss! it will not brush away. In early autumn's gale the leaflets fall. September now! -the butterflies so gay Disport on grasses by our garden wall. The sight my heart disturbs with longing woe.

I sit and wail, my red cheeks growing old. Early and late I to the gorges go, Waiting for news that of thy coming told. How short will seem the way, if we but meet! Across the sand the wind flies straight to greet. Amy Lowell (1921) CH " ANG KAN BY LI T'AI-PO When the hair of your Unworthy One first began to cover her forehead, She picked flowers and played in front of the door. Then you, my Lover, came riding a bamboo horse.

We ran round and round the bed, and tossed about the sweetmeats of green plums. We both lived in the village of Ch " ang Kan. We were both very young, and knew neither jealousy nor suspicion. At fourteen, I became the wife of my Lord. I could not yet lay aside my face of shame; I hung my head, facing the dark wall; You might call me a thousand times, not once would I turn round. At fifteen, I stopped frowning.

I wanted to be with you, as dust with its ashes. I often thought that you were the faithful man who clung to the bridge-post, That I should never be obliged to ascend to the Looking-for- Husband Ledge. When I was sixteen, my Lord went far away, To the Ch' T'ang Chasm and the Whirling Water Rock of the Y River Which, during the Fifth Month, must not be collided with; Where the wailing of the gibbons seems to come from the sky. Your departing footprints are still before the door where I bade you good-bye, In each has sprung up green moss. The moss is thick, it cannot be swept away.

The leaves are falling, it is early for the Autumn wind to blow. It is the Eighth Month, the butterflies are yellow, Two are flying among the plants in the West garden; Seeing them, my heart is bitter with grief, they wound the heart of the Unworthy One. The bloom of my face has faded, sitting with my sorrow. From early morning until late in the evening, you descend the Three Serpent River. Prepare me first with a letter, bringing me the news of when you will reach home. I will not go far on the road to meet you, I will go straight until I reach the Long Wind Sands.

From Fir-Flower Tablets Shigeyoshi O bata (1922) TWO LETTERS FROM CHANG-KAN-I (A river-merchant's wife writes) I would play, plucking flowers by the gate; My hair scarcely covered my forehead, then. You would come, riding on your bamboo horse, And loiter about the bench with green plums for toys. So we both dwelt in Chang-kan town, We were two children, suspecting nothing. At fourteen I became your wife, And so bashful that I could never bare my face, But hung my head, and turned to the dark wall; You would call me a thousand times, But I could not look back even once. At fifteen I was able to compose my eyebrows, And beg you to love me till we were dust and ashes. You always kept the faith of Wei-sheng, Who waited under the bridge, unafraid of death, I never knew I was to climb the Hill of Wang-fu And watch for you these many days.

I was sixteen when you went on a long journey, Traveling beyond the Key-Tang Gorge, Where the giant rocks heap up the swift river, And the rapids are not passable in May. Did you hear the monkeys wailing Up on the skye y height of the crags Do you know your foot-marks by our gate are old, And each and every one is filled up with green moss The mosses are too deep for me to sweep away; And already in the autumn wind the leaves are falling. The yellow butterflies of October Flutter in pairs over the grass of the west garden. My heart aches at seeing them... I sit sorrowing alone, and alas! The vermilion of my face is fading.

Some day when you return down the river, If you will write me a letter beforehand, I will come to meet you-the way is not long- I will come as far as the Long Wind Beach instantly. Witter By nner (1929) A SONG OF CH' ANG-KAN (Written to Music) My hair had hardly covered my forehead. I was picking flowers, playing by my door, When you, my lover, on a bamboo horse, Came trotting in circles and throwing green plums. We lived near together on a lane in Ch " ang-kan, Both of us young and happy-hearted... At fourteen I became your wife, So bashful that I dared not smile, And I lowered my head toward a dark corner And would not turn to your thousand calls; But at fifteen I straightened my brows and laughed, Learning that no dust could ever seal our love, That even unto death I would await you by my post And would never lose heart in the tower of silent watching... Then when I was sixteen, you left on a long journey Through the Gorges of Ch'-t'ang, of rock and whirling water.

And then came the Fifth-month, more than I could bear, And I tried to hear the monkeys in your lofty far-off sky. Your footprints by our door, where I had watched you go, Were hidden, every one of them, under green moss, Hidden under moss too deep to sweep away. And the first autumn wind added fallen leaves. And now, in the Eighth-month, yellowing butterflies Hover, two by two, in our west-garden grasses... And, because of all this, my heart is breaking And I fear for my bright cheeks, lest they fade. Oh, at last, when you return through the three Pa districts, Send me a message home ahead!

And I will come and meet you and will never mind the distance, All the way to Chang-ang Sha. From The Jade Mountain: A Chinese Anthology (New York: Knopf). Wai-Lim Yip (1976) 1. My hair barely covered my forehead. 2.

I played in front of the gate, plucking flowers. 3. You came riding on a bamboo-horse. 4. And around the bed we played with green plums. 5.

We were then living in Ch " ang-kan. 6. Two small people, no hate nor suspicion. 7. At fourteen, I became your wife. 8.

I seldom laughed, being bashful. 9. I lowered my head toward the dark wall. 10. Called to, a thousand times, I never looked back. 11.

At fifteen, I began to perk up. 12. We wished to stay together like dust and ash. 13. If you have the faith of Wei-sheng. 14.

Why do I have to climb up the waiting tower 15. At sixteen, you went on a long journey. 16. By the Yen-j rocks at Ch'-t'ang 17.

The un passable rapids in the fifth month 18. When monkeys cried against the sky. 19. Before the door your footprints 20. Are all moss-grown 21.

Moss too deep to sweep away. 22. Falling leaves: autumn winds are early. 23. In the eighth month, butterflies come 24. In pairs over the grass in the West Garden.

25. These smite my heart. 26. I sit down worrying and youth passes away. 27.

When eventually you would come down from the Three Gorges. 28. Please let me know ahead of time. 29.

I will meet you, no matter how far, 30. Even all the way to Long Wind Sand. From Wai-lim Yip, Chinese Poetry: Major Modes and Genres. (Berkeley: U of California P, 1976. Copyright 1976 by U of California P. The Song of Ch " ang-Kan (Yeh-Fu) 1. concubine hair first cover forehead (i. e., my, humble term used by women when speaking of themselves) 2. pluck flower /'s door front play 3. you ride bamboo horse come 4. circling bed play green plums circle 5. together live Ch " ang Kan village prefecture 6. two small no hate suspicion 7. fourteen - be your wife 8. she face has-never - open 9. lower head face dark wall 10. thousand call /'s not one turn once look-back 11. fifteen - then unknit brows begin 12. wish together dust and ashes 13. often keep-in-mind embrace pillar reliability trustworthiness 14. how ascend Watch Husband Terrace 15. sixteen - you a-long-way go 16. Ch' T'ang Yen Y pile-of-rocks (in the midst of river) 17. fifth month cannot - offend touch 18. ape sound heaven above sorrowful 19. door front late departure foot-step /'s 20. each-one - grow green moss 21. moss deep cannot - sweep 22. falling leaf autumn wind /'s early 23. eighth month butterflies - come 24. pair fly west garden grass 25. moved-by this dust my heart 26. sit grieve red face old 27. soon late down three Pa's (i. e., Three Gorges) 28. in-advance (part.) letter inform home 29. (each other) welcome not say far 30. all-the-way-to - Long Wind Sand.