English translation of Tang poem 雷霆空霹雳......

[jadeblomma]

Would anyone have a good English translation of the Tang poem by Dufu beginning with 雷霆空霹雳云雨竟虚无?

[jbradfor]

No, but I have a really bad translation. Just for grins I wondered what google translation would make of it.

雷霆空霹靂，雲雨竟虛無。

炎赫衣流汗，低垂氣不蘇。

乞為寒水玉，願作冷秋菇。

何似兒童歲，風涼出舞雩。

瘴雲終不滅，瀘水復西來。

閉戶人高臥，歸林鳥卻回。

峽中都似火，江上隻空雷。

想見陰宮雪，風門颯踏開。

朱李沈不冷，雕胡炊屢新。

將衰骨盡痛，被褐味空頻。

欻翕炎蒸景，飄搖征戍人。

十年可解甲，為爾一沾巾。

Thunder empty thunder, clouds and rain is actually nothing.

Yan He sweat clothes, downcast air is not the Soviet Union.

The begging for Kansui Jade would like to make a cold autumn mushrooms.

How like children, cool dance yu.

Miasma cloud end is immortal, the Lushui complex to the West.

Close family Gaowo owned by the birds in the forest back.

The Gap fire, the river only empty mine.

Imagine Yin Palace snow, riding open throttle Sa.

Zhu Li Shen is not cold, new carved Hu cooking repeated.

Bad bone to make the pain, brown flavor space frequency.

Xu Xi Yan steamed King sway Garrison.

Decade can be disarmament, demobilization and Seoul for a soiled towel.

[jadeblomma]

???

[jadeblomma]

My question is serious. I really need help finding an (or several) English translation(s) of the poem; especially the first few couplets. Obviously not without the source(s).

[Guest realmayo]

Red mark for your butchery jbardfor!

jadeblomma, I don't see a translation in any of the online places I would expect to. Do you know if this is a relatively obscure poem? Can I ask why you are looking for translations?

[jadeblomma]

I am comparing translations with originals to see how good they are at keeping the associations and play with words/characters; how close to the original they manage to stay, and since this is one so full of it and therefore would be a great challenge for anyone translating it, I would like to use it for my paper at University. I know it is commonly used to examplify the aptitude of Chinese characters for poetry. Perhaps the challenge being to huge, no one has yet translated it...

[jbradfor]

There are many books of translations of Dufu's poems; I think this calls for going to your University's library and looking. Old school, I know, but that's what research often calls for.

[skylee]

jadeblomma, if you are able to compare the different renditions to the original (this is what you plan to do, right?), that means you are going to assess their merits and critique them. Then why don't you translate the poem yourself, and share your version with us? As you have noted there does not seem to be an exising English translation (at least not on the internet), yours could be the first, and may attract others to contribute their versions.