Aquatarkus Posted November 15, 2012 at 11:52 AM Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 at 11:52 AM Hi folks, I'm trying to comprehend the meaning of this small story and it's turning out to be quite difficult. Could you please point out the most obvious mistakes and propose some better variants? I'm especially stuck at the phrases marked with (?)... 雨荷 Lotus in the rain 有一次，雨中走过荷池，一塘的绿云绵延，独有一朵半开的红莲挺然期间。 Once, during the rain I was passing by a lake overgrown with lotus, thick black clouds were reflected in the lake, and there was one half-open red lotus in it. 我一时为之惊鄂驻足，那样似开不开，欲语不语，将红未红，待香未香的一株红莲！ I stopped frightenedly for a moment, it seemed that a lotus flower was going to open, hesitant to talk, it was beginning to redden and exhale fragrance. (?) 漫天的雨纷然又漠然，广不可及的灰色中竟有这样一株红莲！ Rain was falling indifferently and incessantly from the overcast sky, when such a red lotus flower suddenly appeared among overwhelming greyness. 象一堆即将燃起的火，像一罐立刻要倾泼的颜色！ It looked like the bonfire that was going to burst into flames, looked like a pot full of paint that was at the edge of spilling over. 我立在池畔，虽不欲捞月，也几成失足。 I stood at the lakeside, and though I didn't want to catch the moon out of the water, however I almost stumbled. (?) 生命不也如一场雨吗？ Isn't life like rain? 你曾无知地在期间雀跃，你曾痴迷地在期间沉吟 - - 但更多的时候，你得忍受那些寒冷和潮湿，那些无奈与寂廖，并且以晴日的幻想度日。 Sometimes you rejoice and dance like a birdie, sometimes you fall into meditativeness, but most of the time you have to endure this severe frost and damp, this helpless silent loneliness, and beguile your days, dreaming of a sunshine. 可是，看那株莲花，在雨中怎样地唯我而又忘我，当没有阳光的时候，它自己便是阳光。 But look at this red lotus flower, it forgot everything in the rain, when there is no sunshine, it shines itself. (?) 当没有欢乐的时候，它自己就是欢乐！ When there is no joy, it is joy itself! 一株莲花里有怎样完美自足的世界！ What a perfect and all-sufficient inner world lies inside this lotus flower! 一池的绿，一池无声的歌，在乡间不惹眼的路边--岂只有研究院中才有答案？ Green of the lake, silent song of the lake, on the side of inconspicuous country road - does only scientific academy have the answer? (?) 一笔简单的雨荷可绘出多少形象之外的美善，一片亭亭青叶支撑了多少世纪的傲骨！ How many beautiful images can a rainy lotus picture with one stroke of a brush, for how many centuries it proudly stood out of the green leaves? (?) 倘有荷在池，倘有荷在心，则长长的雨季何患？ If there is a lotus in the lake, and there is a lotus in the heart, then why worry about the long rainy season? *********************** Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted November 15, 2012 at 12:12 PM Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 at 12:12 PM I am on a train and will write more later. But - The green clouds in the first passage refer to the lotus leaves on the pond (not lake), not the real clouds above. 驚愕 does not mean frightened here. It's more like stunned. Look up 雀躍 (dance like a birdie is no good). The falling in the water part is about the poet 李白. Info here. Among the many legends about Li Bai, the most enduring is the account of his death. Like Ishmael in the crow's nest, wanting to penetrate the illusory world that he saw reflected in the water, Li Bai was said to be so drunk in a boat that he fell overboard and drowned, trying to embrace the moon reflected in the water. More later. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted November 15, 2012 at 01:15 PM Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 at 01:15 PM More below - 那样似开不开，欲语不语，将红未红，待香未香的一株红莲！ is the description of that one flower that was about to blossom. It was such a flower - about to blossom, about to express itself, about to turn red/colourful, and about to release its fragrance. 岂只有研究院中才有答案？ means that you can understand life, happiness and the world without going to graduate school (graduate school / the academic world is not the only place where you can find the answers you need). As to 一笔简单的雨荷可绘出多少形象之外的美善，一片亭亭青叶支撑了多少世纪的傲骨, I think the writer is overinterpreting the scene and frankly I don't know what he/she is trying to say. But take a look at 愛蓮說, and you will probably understand it (the goodness and the noble and unyielding character of the flower) better. PS - perhaps something like "the beauty and goodness that a lotus in the rain can convey is so much more than how it looks, and the flower's unyieding character is as constant as the green leaves that have supported it throughout the centuries". That's all I have to say. Hope it helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatarkus Posted November 15, 2012 at 02:16 PM Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 at 02:16 PM Thank you skylee, your comments are very helpful. Going to dig a little bit deeper into Li Bai's history tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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