Today I’d like to share a translation of a poem by Fei Ming on my blog. I translated this poem years ago after first encountering Fei Ming’s work but didn’t end up including it in my anthology. Since it’s titled “the nineteenth night of december,” I figured I’d release it as a bonus translation on December 19th. Hope the poem brings folks some warmth on winter nights!
十二月十九夜
废名
深夜一枝灯，
若高山流水，
有身外之海。
星之空是鸟林，
是花，是鱼，
是天上的梦，
海是夜的镜子。
思想是一个美人，
是家，
是日，
是月，
是灯，
是炉火，
炉火是墙上的树影，
是冬夜的声音。
the nineteenth night of december
By Fei Ming
Translated by Yilin Wang from the Chinese
in the late night, the lantern
is like the songs of lofty mountains and flowing waters,
a sea beyond the physical self.
the realm of stars is a forest of birds,
is flowers, is fish,
is the dreams of the sky above.
the sea is a mirror for the night.
contemplation is a beautiful person,
is home,
is the sun,
is the moon,
is the lantern,
is flames.
flames are the shadows of trees on the wall,
the melody of winter nights.
Fei Ming 废名 (1901–1967) was an influential modern Chinese poet, short story writer, novelist, and essayist, and a member of the Yǔ Sī Sè 语丝社, a literary group founded by Lu Xun 鲁迅 and Zhou Zuoren 周作人. He was the author of various poetry books, short story collections, and novels, including Mirror《镜》, The 108 Stories of the Bamboo Grove《竹林的故事》, and Bridge《桥》. Fei Ming’s work was deeply influenced by Buddhism, Daoism, and different schools of Chinese philosophy.
If you enjoyed reading this poem, you can tip me on ko-fi to support my translation work, so I can make more pieces such as these publicly available. In light of various barriers I have experienced when dealing with the traditional publishing industry, I’m experimenting with different modes of sharing my translations (including on my website), to identify the best approaches that would allow me to preserve the integrity of my work as it is meant to appear.
For more translations of Fei Ming’s poetry, an essay on translating his work, and more translations of poetry by modern and contemporary Chinese poets, please check out my debut book The Lantern and the Night Moths. You can also support my work by requesting your local library to order it, which helps make it available to folks who may not otherwise be able to access it.
