浣溪沙.簌簌衣巾落枣花 Blossoms of date trees rain down on shirts and kerchiefs

浣溪沙 . 簌簌衣巾落枣花（其三）

原作：苏轼

英译：戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红

簌簌衣巾落枣花，

村南村北响缲车。

牛衣古柳卖黄瓜。

酒困路长惟欲睡，

日高人渴漫思茶，

敲门试问野人家。

Blossoms of date trees rain down on shirts and kerchiefs

 - to the tune of Huanxisha

Chinese original: Su Shi (11^th century)

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

New English version: Julia Min (2025)

Blossoms of date trees rain down on shirts and kerchiefs,

The village hums with joy as spinning wheels grow busy.

An old man in cape sells cucumbers by an old willow tree.

And me, drinking wine along the way drowsing in fatigue.

The sun is high and I feel dry, really, for a cup of tea; -

Good as home is the first door here in the hills I can see.

Appreciation:

This is very much in Su Shi’s key: rustic detail, bodily fatigue, gentle humour, and sudden warmth at the end. A series of five short poems was composed there and then, reflecting the simple but intense lives of the villages he experienced during his stay, offering a glimpse of the lives of common subjects in artistic works, a change from the Tang’s ‘Glorious Grace’. It’s also a major shift in the East Renaissance. 

In the spring of 1078, there was a drought around Xuzhou area where Su Shi, as the governor, led local people in prayers before altars for rains – a traditional service in China even in some remote countryside today. By early summer, the land was relieved by rains and followed with a harvest, so it was time to show gratitude to the gods.

For your information, the smell of the cocoons’ being boiled actually is anything but inviting, but it is fragrant to the people in times of good harvest after the long dry spell is lifted.

Reference:

Reference:

1. Old version: Blooming Alone in Winter by Gordon Osing, Julia Min, and Huang Haipeng， published by the People's Publication House Henan Province in 1990 (《寒心未肯随春态》戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红，黄海鹏) – “Blossoms of date trees rain down on shirts and kerchiefs/when, everywhere in the village, the spinning wheel is heard./An old man in his staw cape sells cucumbers under the oldest willow./And me? I’ve been drinking again along the way and want only to drowse./The sun is high and I’m thirsty, really, for a cup of tea./The first door I come to here in the hills is good as home.”

2. 古诗文网https://so.gushiwen.cn/

3. All pictures are selected from google search.

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