白居易《荔枝图序》

[Don_Horhe]

《荔枝图序》 is one of the texts in our Classical Chinese textbooks (古代汉语课本 by 徐宗才), and I'm having some trouble with the below phrase:

其实过之，若离...

In what precedes it, Bai Juyi describes the tree, leaves, fruit, etc. of lychees, and what follows is a description of how the fruit changes in color, smell and taste after being picked. The Mandarin translation at the back of the book renders it as "它的果实超过成熟期，如果离开...", while online sources give "它的实际情况要超过它，若果实离...", "那实际的情况比介绍的这些还要好。假如果实离开...", "它的实际情况比它还要详细。如果果实离开...". I'd rather go with the second interpretation, in which 其实 is "actually, in fact", not "its fruit", and especially the last one, where 之 stands for the preceeding description. Furthermore, the description ends in 大略如彼, in which the author asserts that he hasn't gone into too much detail, after which he proceeds with "While in fact it is more [complex] than this - if picked from its branch, its color changes on the first day, its odor changes on the second, its taste on the third..." and so on.

What do you think? On one hand, the second interpretation makes more sense to me, while on the other, BLCUP doesn't publish just anyone.

[skylee]

Here you can find a document on this writing from the Education Bureau of HK Government. It is some sample teaching materials for primary school students. Notes 12 and 13 are relevant.

[Don_Horhe]

Thanks!