Welcome Rain on a Spring Night Welcome Rain on a Spring Night Du Fu A good rain knows its season. When spring comes, to revive the life it begins to fall. During the night, it drifts in on t

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Welcome Rain on a Spring Night Welcome Rain on a Spring Night Du Fu A good rain knows its season. When spring comes, to revive the life it begins to fall. During the night, it drifts in on the wind secretly. It drenches the world silently. The farm roads are cloaked with clouds. Only a single bright light comes from a riverboat. At dawn, we see Chengdu is full of wet and red. The flowers are weighing down with the rain. (I translated a famous old Chinese poem on reference to the other translations. I did not post the original poem, so please correct my English.)

Oct 30, 2014 1:51 PM

Corrections · 6

When translating a poem it is hard to find the line between the artistic writing and the correct translation, because it all depends on what the original author wanted to say. So, my opinions might be subjective, but I will try...

Welcome Rain on a Spring Night

Welcome Rain on a Spring Night
Du Fu

A good rain knows its season.
When spring comes, to revive the life it begins to fall.
During the night, it secretly drifts in on with the wind secretly.
It drenches the world silently.
The farm roads become ? are cloaked with clouds.
Only a single bright light comes from a riverboat.
At dawn, we see Chengdu is full of all wet and red.
The flowers are weighing down with under the rain.

Hope it helps!

November 1, 2014

Thank you for your good suggestion. There is a saying in Korea, "The drizzle (unwittingly) drenches the clothes.(보슬비에 옷 젖는다.)"

November 14, 2014

I would suggest something like "The drizzle silently drenches the world with loving care". As you may know, 润 means making something wet in a POSITIVE way. For example, 滋润 means moisturizing and offering nutrition to something. 윤택이란 말도 있죠?

November 13, 2014

Thank you, Mandy. Your comment is very helpful. The word 细 makes the poem better. But I don't know how to translate 细 in the sentence. Do you have any idea or suggestion?

November 3, 2014

I think your translation is quite good! The inverted structure makes it sound like a poem. But "细" in "随风潜入夜，润物细无声" is not conveyed in your translation. My personal understanding is that "细" conveys a sense of carefulness and also means the rain takes care of everything. I think personification is employed here.

November 2, 2014

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