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Ilaria
I need the Chinese version of this famous quote Here at the frontier there are falling leaves; although my neighbors are all barbarians, and you, You are a thousand miles away. There are always two cups at my table. Tang Dynasty 618-906 AD Can anyone tell me the Chinese version?
Nov 18, 2015 9:38 AM
Answers · 10
2
The thing you posted sounds like a poem, but I could not find it. probably someone made it up. I translate it with my own words. It takes a lot of my brain... hope it will help. 边塞秋来叶满地,胡人兵马压境急。 与君虽隔千万里,置酒两杯待君临。
November 19, 2015
2
This supposed Chinese poem appears in John Fowles's novel, The Magus. It may or may not exist as a Chinese poem in real life. It could be a fictional invention. Anyway, it has become something of a well-known mystery. Read all about it here: http://gilkisonchinese.blogspot.hk/2015/01/mystery-chinese-poem-in-fowles-magus.html?m=1 This article also provides a glimpse of what advanced foreign learners study. I would like to see many more Chinese majors and scholars from China and Taiwan come here to tell us about what they are interested in. My lament is how few Chinese students choose to major in Chinese Literature at university. This is what Wikipedia says about The Magus: "After leaving Oxford University, Fowles taught English at a school on the Greek island ofSpetses, a sojourn that inspired The Magus, an instant best-seller that was directly in tune with 1960s "hippie" anarchism and experimental philosophy. "
November 18, 2015
1
I extremely want to answer your question, even I can not confirm my answer is absolutely right. 1.自扫门前雪。(每一个人都只顾自己,其外的事就都不管了) 2.远亲不如近邻。(远方的亲人虽是文明人,也比不上邻居虽是野蛮人) 3有朋自远方来,不亦乐乎(很喜欢交朋友,好客,所以桌子上的杯子都不收起) To be honest, I think my answers are good fit to your questions. Hehe.
November 18, 2015
I strongly believe that this is a made up poem because there is already a problem with the first line in trying to reverse translate back into the Tang format of either 5 or 7 characters. A direct translation of the first line would be, 此地疆界葉落XXX Where XXX is the additional information e.g. 滿. At the same time, 此地 is redundant information and is too direct in a Chinese poem. Most probably the first line may be something like 疆界葉落满地黃 (Leaves falling at the frontier turning the ground yellow). The English version flavour is T'ang-like sentiment but certain word usuage are too direct for a good T'ang poem. For example, "neighbors" most probably would not be used in the original (if there is). Most probably it would be 鄉 (hometown) instead. Also the English construct, "... and you, You are a thousand miles away" is totally English and definitely would not be in the original Chinese.
December 2, 2015
It is possible that John Fowles, the English novelist, made it up, and that there is no Chinese original.
November 18, 2015
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