孟郊 遊子吟 (Yóuzǐ Yín) translation: Song of the Wanderer, by Meng Jiao
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 遊子吟 (Yóuzǐ Yín), ‘Song of the Wanderer’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 孟郊 (Mèng Jiāo). 遊子吟 (Yóuzǐ Yín) is poem #45 in the 300 Tang Poems.
遊子吟 Yóuzǐ Yín [wanderer][] [hum] Song of the Wanderer
慈母手中線， Címǔ shǒuzhōng xiàn, [compassionate] [mother] [hand] [in] [thread] Thread in the hand of a compassionate mother -
遊子身上衣； yóuzǐ shēnshang yī. [wander] [song] [body] [on] [clothes] clothes on a wandering son;
臨行密密縫， Lín xíng mì mi fèng, [just before] [travel] [close] [close] [sew] just before his departure she sewed closely,
意恐遲遲歸。 yì kǒng chí chí guī. [think] [fear] [late] [late] [return] in her mind worrying about his late return.
誰言寸草心， Shéi yán cùn cǎo xīn, [who] [speak] [inch] [grass] [heart] Who would say that the heart of inch-high grass
報得三春暉？ bào de sān chūnhuī? [repay] [achieve] [three] [spring] [shine] could repay the sunshine of deepest spring? (三春 is a period in the traditional calendar.)
Links
