江城子·十年生死两茫茫 It's ten years you're gone and I'm living

江城子·十年生死两茫茫

（乙卯正月二十日夜记梦）

原作：【宋】苏轼

英译：戈登.奥赛茵、闵晓红

十年生死两茫茫，

不思量，自难忘，

千里孤坟 无处话凄凉。

纵使相逢应不识，

尘满面，鬓如霜。

夜来幽梦忽还乡，

小轩窗，正梳妆，

相顾无言，唯有泪千行。

料得年年肠断处，

明月夜，短松冈。

It's ten years you're gone and I'm living

- to the tune of Jiangchengzi

(my dream on January 20th,1075)

Chinese original: Su Shi ( 11th Century)

English old version: G. Osing, J. Min & H. Huang(1991)

English new version: Julia Min (2025)

It's ten years you're gone and I'm living,

in two worlds apart and fading.

If I've tried hard not to recall,

I’d also say I can't ignore.

It's a thousand miles to your tomb;

To whom can I share my mood of gloom?

You would not know me by now,

my temples frosted with lines on my brow.

Last night in the mist of my dream-world,

I was home again, by your crafted window.

You were adorning yourself, still young and fair.

Our eyes meet and freeze ---

we're in silence and in tears;

Then the dream ends right there.

Where the moon illumines your ridge of pines.

I swear my heart breaks further each year.

Picture retrieved from Google

Notes:

1. “yi mao”in the title, the year of Yi-mao, 1075.

2. “shi nian sheng si”, Su Shi's wife, died in 1065. The dead (Wang Fu) and the living know nothing of each other in their separate worlds.

3. Wang Fu was buried in Pengshan County,Sichuan Province, very far from Mizhou“duan song gang”, which is the place of her burial.

For Appreciation:

Some scholars believe this work ranks among the earliest elegies written in the form of ci, a distinctive freer verse genre with deep significance in Chinese classical literature. Ten years after the poet's wife passed away, he experienced profound emotional and career upheavals, facing tumultuous highs and lows as he navigated changes in his official duties and personal life. The second stanza of the poem is especially poignant, vividly recalling a quiet, informal moment they once shared—an intimate memory that highlights their strong bond and the poet's enduring love and longing. This elegy not only conveys personal grief but also reflects the cultural richness of ci poetry in expressing subtle, heartfelt emotions and personal reflection during that era.

Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation:

jiāng chéng zǐ （yǐ mǎo zhèng yuè èr shí rì yè jì mèng ）- to the tune of Jiangchengzi --- a night dream on January 20 in 1075 ( 3 days after the first full moon, Chinese calendar)

shí nián shēng sǐ liǎng máng máng – ten years the alive and the dead both distant apart.

bú sī liàng ，zì nán wàng – not always think about you but difficult to forget.

qiān lǐ gū fén - thousand li desolate tomb,

wú chù huà qī liáng – nowhere to tell loneliness.

zòng shǐ xiàng féng yīng bú shí - even if we meet again, should not recognize,

chén mǎn miàn ，bìn rú shuāng – dust covers my face, temples like frost.

yè lái yōu mèng hū hái xiāng – at night gloomy dream suddenly return my native place.

xiǎo xuān chuāng ，zhèng shū zhuāng - by small room window, she is making up.

xiàng gù wú yán - face each other no word,

wéi yǒu lèi qiān háng - only there are tears thousand lines.

liào dé nián nián cháng duàn chù -guess year by year heart-broken place;

míng yuè yè ，duǎn sōng gāng - bright moon night, short pine tree ridge

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