glittery

荷塘月色（朱自清）翻译

Lotus Pond Under the Moonlight (translation by alexcwlin)

这几天心里颇不宁静。

In recent days, I had been feeling a bit agitated.

今晚在院子里坐着乘凉，忽然想起日日走过的荷塘，在这满月的光里，总该另有一番样子吧。

This night, I was sitting around in the garden to catch the breeze when out of the blue, the lotus pond which I passed by every day came to mind. I wondered if it would look any different under the light of the full moon.

月亮渐渐地升高了，墙外马路上孩子们的欢笑，已经听不见了；妻在屋里拍着闰儿，迷迷糊糊地哼着眠歌。我悄悄地披了大衫，带上门出去。

The moon was creeping higher. Children’s laughter on the street outside of the walls was gone. The wife was patting our son Little Run to sleep while murmuring a lullaby. I puton a coat quietly, closed the door behind me and headed out.

沿着荷塘，是一条曲折的小煤屑路。这是一条幽僻的路；白天也少人走，夜晚更加寂寞。荷塘四面，长着许多树，蓊蓊郁郁的。路的一旁，是些杨柳，和一些不知道名字的树。没有月光的晚上，这路上阴森森的，有些怕人。今晚却很好，虽然月光也还是淡淡的。

Alongside the lotus pond was a winding off-the-beaten-track cinder trail. Passers-by were few during the day, and fewer during the night. Densely-grown and shady trees surrounded the lotus pond in all directions. Willow and no-name trees lined thetrail which would, on moonless nights, look dreary and spooky. That night was fine, albeit the moonlight was somewhat dim.

路上只我一个人，背着手踱着。这一片天地好象是我的；我也象超出了平常的自己，到了另一个世界里。我爱热闹，也爱冷静；爱群居，也爱独处。象今晚上，一个人在这苍茫的月下，什么都可以想，什么都可以不想，便觉是个自由的人。白天里一定要做的事，一定要说的话，现在都可以不理。这是独处的妙处，我且受用这无边的荷香月色好了。

I was strolling alone on the road with hands clasped together behind my back. It seemed everything around was all mine, and I had sublimed to another dimension. I liked excitement, but I also liked quietness. I liked crowds, but I also liked solitude. At a time like that night under ubiquitous moonlight, I was at liberty to let my mind fly free or draw a blank. I could put aside the things I needed to do or say during daytime. Such was the beauty of being alone, and besides, I could indulge myself in the sweet aroma of the lotus and the immense beauty of the moonlight.

曲曲折折的荷塘上面，弥望的是田田的叶子。叶子出水很高，象亭亭的舞女的裙。层层的叶子中间，零星地点缀着些白花，有袅娜地开着的，有羞涩地打着朵儿的；正如一粒粒的明珠，又如碧天里的星星，又如刚出浴的美人。微风过处，送来屡屡清香，仿佛远处高楼上渺茫的歌声似的。

Across the undulating surface of the lotus pond was a field of leaves filling the landscape. The leaves reached high above water like skirts of tiptoeing ballerinas. Sprinkled among them were white flowers. Some were showily in bloom while others were sheepishly in bud, resembling glittery pearls, twinkly stars, or freshly-bathed beauties. Breezes continually delivered dainty fragrance much like faint music from a distant tower.

月光如流水一般，静静地泻在这一片叶子和花上。薄薄的青雾浮起在荷塘里。叶子和花仿佛在牛乳中洗过一样；又象笼着轻纱的梦。

Moonlight, seemingly like streaming water, gently doused the patch of leaves and flowers. Adding thesoft mist rising in the pond to the mix, the leaves and flowers appeared as if they had been rinsed in milk or they were dreams draped in fine silk.

虽然是满月，天上却有一层淡淡的云，所以不能朗照；但我以为这恰是到了好处——酣眠固不可少，小睡也别有风味的。

Even though there was a full moon, it could not shine with total brightness because the sky was splattered with wispy clouds. To me it was just right, much like a good night’s sleep would be an essential, but a short nap would be a gratification of sort.

月光是隔了树照过来的，高处丛生的灌木，落下参差的班驳的黑影，峭楞楞如鬼一般；弯弯的杨柳的稀疏的倩影，却又是画在荷叶上。塘中的月色并不均匀；但光与影有着和谐的旋律，如梵婀玲上奏着的名曲。

Moonlight shonethrough the trees and cast jagged irregular shadows of those tall bushy shrubsstanding vertically like ghostly figures. Sparsely-leafed willows projected their bowing and shapely images on lotus foliage. Reflection of the moonshine was unevenly dispersed in the pond, but lights and shades meshed harmoniously in rhythm just like a musical masterpiece played on violin.

荷塘的四面，远远近近，高高低低都是树，而杨柳最多。这些树将一片荷塘重创围住；只在小路一旁，漏着几段空隙，象是特为月光留下的。树色一律是阴阴的，乍看象一团烟雾；但杨柳的丰姿，便在烟雾里也辨得出。树梢上隐隐约约的是一带远山，只有些大意罢了。树缝里也漏着一两点路灯光，没精打采的，是渴睡人的眼。这时候最热闹的，要数树上的蝉声与水里的蛙声；但热闹是它们的，我什么也没有。

All sides of the lotus pond were full of trees at varying distances and heights. Willow trees were the largest in number. Those trees tightly barricaded the lotus pond and left a few openings next to the pathways as if they were reserved for the moonlight to go through. Trees looked homogeneously shadowy seemingly enveloped in fog, and yet the curvaceous contours of willows were still distinguishable. Vaguely visible over the tree tops were mountains from afar, even though in outline only. A couple of street lights peeked through the trees lethargically looking like sleepy eyes. The most vivacious at the time were the buzzing from cicadas and the croaking from frogs. But while they were partying away, I was left in thecold.

忽然想起采莲的事情来了。采莲是江南的旧俗，似乎很早就有，而六朝时为盛；从诗歌里可以约略知道。采莲的是少年的女子，她们是荡的小船，唱着艳歌去的，采莲人不用说很多，还有看采莲的人。那是有个热闹的季节，也是一个风流的季节。

All of a sudden my mind switched to lotus-seed picking, which was an old tradition of Jiangnan from way back. It was most prevalent during the era of the Six Dynasties. Poems and songs more or less could tell us lotus seed pickers were teenage girls drifting around in small boats while humming beautiful melodies. Needless to say there were plenty of pickers and spectators. That was an exciting festival full of romances.

梁元帝《采莲赋》里说得好：

于是妖童媛女，荡舟心许；鹢首徐回，兼传羽杯；棹将移而藻挂，船欲动而萍开。尔其纤腰束素，迁延顾步；夏始春余，叶嫩花初，恐沾裳而浅笑，畏倾船而敛裙。

Emperor Yuan of the Liang Dynasty, in his “Ode to Lotus Picking”, described it well:

“And so the handsome lad and sweet maiden drifted around in a small boat while pledging their undying love to each other. Back and forth the little craft was rowed and the wine glasses were passed. Algae draped over the paddling oars and floating duckweed made way for the moving boat. With a white ribbon tied around her slender waist, she hesitated in advancing the boat and kept looking back at where she started. The time was late spring and early summer when leaves were greening and flowers were budding. She giggled when her dress was in danger of getting wet, and lifted up the bottom of her skirt in fear the boat might tilt.”

可见当时嬉游的光景了。这真是有趣的事，可惜我们现在早已无福消受了。

That was a glimpse of playing around then. It was a fun event, but regretfully we could no longer enjoy it nowadays.

于是又记起《西洲曲》里的句子：采莲南塘秋，莲花过人头；低头弄莲子，莲子清如水。

And then I recall verses in “Ballad of Xizhou”: “In picking lotus seeds in South Pond during the fall, the plants measured in excess of man’s height. Looking down at those seeds being handled, they were as clear as water.”

今晚若有采莲人，这儿的莲花也算得“过人头”了；只不见一些流水的影子，是不行的。这令我到底惦着江南了。——这样想着，猛一抬头，不觉已是自己的门前；轻轻地推门进去，什么声息也没有，妻已睡熟好久了。

If there were lotus-seed pickers that night, they would consider the plants there to be taller than a man. However, it just didn’t seem right that streams of flowing water were missing from the scene; that brought back the memory of Jiangnan. While deep in thought, I abruptly looked up and unaware to me I had arrived at my home doorstep. I softly pushed open the door. It was quiet, and my wife had already been deep in sleep for quite some time.