Dai Wangshu 戴望舒 (1905-1950): White Butterfly 白蝴蝶

What wisdom are you going to give me?

O little white butterfly,  

As you flap open your wings of white, blank pages,

Then fold closed those wings of white, blank pages. 

On the opened pages of my book----

Loneliness.

On the closed pages of my book----

Loneliness.

給什麼智慧給我，

小小的白蝴蝶，

翻開了空白之頁，

合上了空白之頁？

翻開的書頁：

寂寞；

合上的書頁；

寂寞。

Translated  by Wong Pun Ming Chu and Andrew Wong in September 2016.
Notes: 《災難的嵗月》 上海 : 星群出版社, 1948. White Butterfly <白蝴蝶 >was written on 3 May 1940. Butterfly when transformed from caterpillar to butterfly may have symbolic   meaning of        setting everything that was once known aside and to embrace a new way of being, a new life . It   may also mean guiding oneself on a journey of freedom, freedom from the past through the ascension process of becoming a higher self, a turning point or a transition in life. The term 寂寞 is translated to “loneliness” here as Dai came in 1938 to Hong Kong, southern part of China where most people would speak in Cantonese dialect, Dai was from Hangzhou but studied in  Shanghai.  He probably would be speaking either Shanghainese or Mandarin.  He, liked a number of other intellectuals who came to Hong Kong from northern China, tried to avoid the turmoils in Mainland China.  His social circle might be limited.  It would not be surprising that he felt lonely in Hong Kong. Later in 1939 he became the editor of the literary columns of Sing Tao Newspaper.  He was imprisoned during Japanese occupation in Hong Kong from March to May 1942.  On 27 April 1942 he wrote the famous "Written on a Prison Wall” while in Victoria prison in Hong Kong.       宋代高菊卿曾有詩云：紙灰飛作白蝴蝶，淚血染成紅杜鵑  can be translated to “The ashes of the paper become white butterfly. Tears and blood stained the azalea to red.

Common Hedge Blue (Acytolepis puspa) found in Hong Kong Wing span: 3 centimetres It is of sexual dimorphism. Male Common Hedge Blues have wings with upperside metallic blue in colour while those of females are off-white. Underside of their wings are pale grey with brown spots and wavy speckles.

Dai Wangshu 戴望舒 (1905-1950): Written on the Prison Wall 獄中題壁

If I should die in here,

O friends, don’t you grieve;

For I shall live forever

In your hearts, never leave.

The one of you who died     

In jail, in Japan’s seized land,

That deep, deep hatred he carries,

In your minds, must ever stand.

When you return to unearth him  

From where his battered body lies;

You’ll shout your cries of victory

To raise his soul up-up to the skies;

Then you’ll lay his bones on the peak’s acme

To bask in the sun and the rare airstream----

Ah, back in that dark and damp dungeon,

This was, once, his only sweet dream.

Translated by: Rita Wong and Andrew Wong    譯者: 黃潘明珠 黃宏發

3 March 2016 (revised 8.3.16; 9.3.16; 10.3.16; 11.3.16; 18.3.16; 22.3.16; 29.3.16; 1.4.16)

如果我死在這裡，

朋友啊，不要悲傷，

我會永遠地生存

在你們的心上。

你們之中的一個死了，

在曰本佔領地的牢裡，

他懷着的深深仇恨，

你們應該永遠地記憶。

當你們回來，

從泥土掘起他傷損的肢體，

用你們勝利的歡呼

把他的靈魂高高揚起。

然後把他的白骨放在山峰，

曝着太陽，沐着飄風：

在那暗黑潮濕的土牢，

這曾是他唯一的美長夢。

Victoria Prison, Old Bailey Street, Hong Kong.

Notes:-

*Line 4:  Lines 2 and 4 rhyme in the original.  We have added “never leave” to rhyme with “don’t you grieve” in line 2.

*Line 8:  Lines 6 and 8 rhyme in the original.  We have rendered the line (which literally means “You must forever remember”) as “In your minds, must ever stand” to rhyme with “Japan’s seized land” in line 6.

*Lines 9 and 10:  We have moved “unearth” from line 10 to line 9 and have added “From where his … lies” in line 10 so as to create a rhyme for “skies” in line 12.

*Line 12:  As noted above, lines 10 and 12 rhyme in the original.  We have coined the word “up-up” so as to translate the reiterative locution of 高高.

*Line 13:  白骨 “white bones” is rendered simply as “bones” so as to shorten the line.  峰 “peak” here and 風 “wind” and 夢 “dream” in lines 14 and 16 rhyme in the original.  Short of a rhyme word, 山峰 “mountain peak” is rendered as “peak’s acme” so that both words are in assonance with the “rare airstream” and “sweet dream” in lines 14 and 16.

*Line 14:  The word “bask” is used to cover both 曝 “bask” and 沐 “bathe”.  According to the Shorter Oxford, “Bask” is defined as “1. To bathe especially in warm water …; 3 To expose oneself to or disport oneself to a flood of warmth; to be enjoying the heat”.  飄風 is rendered as “rare airstream”.