Wen Fu 12 [文赋十二] “Idiosyncrasy” by Lu Ji [陆机] [w/ Audio]

Thoughts conveyed by way of short verse
May degrade in eccentricity.
With bowed head, lonely and friendless.
Face up, vast sky where all is free.
Like one string stretched to perfect pitch,
But lacking all resonancy.

NOTES: Earlier I posted a translation by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping, entitled A One-String Harp that was contained in The Art of Writing (Boston: Shambhala; p. 15) This, however, is my own translation. The original poem in Simplified Chinese is:

或讬言于短韵,对穷迹而孤兴。
俯寂寞而无友,仰寥廓而莫承。
譬偏弦之独张,含清唱而靡应。

Wen Fu 11 “Banal & Sublime” [文赋十一] by Lu Ji [陆机] [w/ Audio]

Some shoots and stalks stand out --
Taller than the masses.
Their form eludes pursuit,
Sound slips through, like gases.
Great lines are always disjunct:
Don't weave with mid'ling lyrics.
They're pent up and peerless:
Chop them? A win that's pyrrhic.
Jade flecks make mountains shimmer,
Pearly waters enchant.
The thicket mustn't be clipped
If Kingfisher's glory, grant.
Stitched words end under snow,
Work the weft, steady and slow.

The original in Simplified Chinese is:

或苕发颖竖,离众绝致。
形不可逐,响难为系。
块孤立而特峙,非常音之所纬。
心牢落而无偶,意徘徊而不能揥。
石韫玉而山辉,水怀珠而川媚。
彼榛楛之勿翦,亦蒙荣于集翠。
缀下里于白雪,吾亦济夫所伟。

Wen Fu 10 “Originality” [文赋十] by Lu Ji [陆机] [w/Audio]

Splendid thoughts arise from joined words --
Lucidity is awakened:
Luminous like adorned brocade,
Doleful as a string serenade.
But if crib suspicions aren't killed,
It'll be just one more pulp piece.
Though you may be these word's weaver--
Some ancestor, the prime conceiver.
You must be just and rise above,
Though it kills words you've grown to love.

The original lines in Simplified Chinese:

或藻思绮合,清丽千眠。
炳若缛绣,凄若繁弦。
必所拟之不殊,乃暗合乎曩篇。
虽杼轴于予怀,怵佗人之我先。
苟伤廉而愆义,亦虽爱而必捐。

Wen Fu 9 [文赋九] “The Whip” by Lu Ji [陆机] [w/ Audio]

Language can be complex, reason may sprawl,
And words don't always seem to point the way.
Extremes aren't always clear and distinct.
Overhauls are not always an upgrade.
The gist may dwell in a key phrase or two --
Those words the whip that make it race or stay.
Though multitudinous words are in place
They must do more than roar, hiss, or bray.
Overuse of the whip exhausts the horse --
Keep the impulse to whip too much at bay.

The original lines in Simplified Chinese are:

或文繁理富,    而意不指适。
极无两致, 尽不可益。
立片言而居要,乃一篇之警策。
虽众辞之有条,必待兹而效绩。
亮功多而累寡,故取足而不易。

Wen Fu 8 [文赋 八] “Edits” by Lu Ji [陆机] [w/ Audio]

Maybe the first lines constrain the last;
Maybe ends insist on openings;
Maybe some truths escape all words;
Maybe dulcet lines tell no truths.
One may need to keep separated --
Beauty and truth -- to avoid wounds.
Inspect and haggle over each word --
Distinctions maybe finer than a hair;
Weigh each edit upon a scale;
Ensure each cut serves its purpose.

Original poem in Simplified Chinese:

或仰逼于先条,或俯侵于后章。
或辞害而理比,或言顺而义妨。
离之则双美, 合之则两伤。
考殿最于锱铢,定去留于毫芒。
苟铨衡之所裁,固应绳其必当。

Wen Fu 7 “Music” [文赋七] by Lu Ji [陆机]

Matter comes in countless varieties,
And the forms are evershifting, as well.
Writers must dance the varied characters
To dulcet lines where elegance dwells,
Finding the right pace, cadence, and stresses
To blend like harmony in the five hues.
Though the tune fades in and out randomly
And the path is rugged and hazard-strewn,
Those who know the ways of change and order
Will find all falls into place with a flow.
But if one misses the proper pivots
It's like grabbing the tail to steer the nose --
Like yellow painted onto wet, black walls,
One's writing becomes muddy, and it stalls.

The original in Simplified Chinese:

其为物也多姿,其为体也屡迁。 
其会意也尚巧,其遣言也贵妍。
暨音声之迭代,若五色之相宣。
虽逝止之无常,固崎锜而难便。
苟达变而识次,犹开流以纳泉。
如失机而后会,恒操末以续颠。
谬玄黄之粗叙,故浍涊而不鲜。

Wen Fu 6 [文赋六] “Modes of Writing” by Lu Ji [陆机]

Poetry is poignant and ornate;
Essays are deep and content-centric.
Stele entries are true to the essence;
Paeans, moving and melancholic.
Inscriptions are concise and kindly;
Telltales have a logic and cadence.
Odes show great grace and refinement;
Op-eds are unrepressed and intense.
Music 's penetrating and stately;
Speeches must sparkle with cleverness.
Though there ever so many forms,
All thwart evil and allow release:
Expression, sans pride overweening,
With no waste of words or lost meaning.

Original in Simplified Chinese:

诗缘情而绮靡,赋体物而浏亮。
碑披文以相质,诔缠绵而凄怆。
铭博约而温润,箴顿挫而清壮。
颂优游以彬蔚,论精微而朗畅。
奏平彻以闲雅,说炜晔而谲诳。
虽区分之在兹,亦禁邪而制放。
要辞达而理举,故无取乎冗长。

Wen Fu 5: “Writing Styles” [文赋五] by Lu Ji [陆机] [w/ Audio]

Among ten thousand writing styles,
There's no one standard or measure.
The styles: many, muddled, and free --
Form, the unattainable treasure.
Talent in word-wrangling shows skill.
Idea conveyance shows craft.
Writers strive 'twixt have and have not --
Unyielding in shallow or deep draught.
An escape artist of fine lines --
Yet time and space consume in kind.
Intricacy excites the eye,
But frugality soothes the mind.
One of few words is not confined.
Verbose writers drift the Undefined.

The original in Simplified Chinese:

体有万殊,物无一量。
纷纭挥霍,形难为状。
辞程才以效伎,意司契而为匠。
在有无而黾勉,当浅深而不让。
虽离方而遯员,期穷形而尽相。
故夫夸目者尚奢,惬心者贵当。
言穷者无隘,论达者唯旷。

“Poetry Is a Destructive Force” by Wallace Stevens [w/ Audio]

That's what misery is,
Nothing to have at heart.
It is to have or nothing.

It is a thing to have,
A lion, an ox in his breast,
To feel it breathing there.

Corazón, stout dog,
Young ox, bow-legged bear,
He tastes its blood, not spit.

He is like a man
In the body of a violent beast.
Its muscles are his own. . .

The lion sleeps in the sun.
Its nose is on its paws.
It can kill a man.

Wen Fu 4: “Ekstasis” [文赋四] by Lu Ji [陆机]

It's all the amusing matters
That sages admire without bounds.
Writers find their way through the void --
Knock on silence to find its sound.
Silk scroll messages from afar,
The bard's words surge forth from the heart.
Words and ash grow to overflow --
Thoughts transcend depths to become art.
Flowery fragrance pungently sprawls;
Plants shoot forth verdant greenery.
The brush winds swirl to whirlwinds
Clouds climb above the academy.

Note: I previously posted other translators’ (Barnstone and Chou) version of this poem as The Joy of Words @ https://berniegourley.com/2024/12/31/the-joy-of-words-by-lu-ji-w-audio/

Original poem in Simplified Chinese:

伊兹事之可乐,固圣贤之所钦。
课虚无以责有,叩寂寞而求音。
函绵邈于尺素,吐滂沛乎寸心。
言恢之而弥广,思按之而逾深。
播芳蕤之馥馥,发青条之森森。
粲风飞而猋竖,郁云起乎翰林。