The tale of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is a tragedy of forbidden love. They are eternally separated by the Heavenly River, and only on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month are they allowed to meet upon a bridge formed by magpies. Today, some Asian countries see this day as equivalent to Valentine’s, and lovers would rejoice under stars.
ORIGINALLY BY Su Dong Po
TRANSLATED BY Wen Yu Yang
This is a translated and rendered version of a piece of Ci (詞 a type of Chinese lyrical poetry). It was written by one of the most celebrated Chinese poets of all time, Su Shi (蘇軾)—also known by his alias, Dong Po (東坡).
Desolation and solitude colour the poem as the poet writes, alone on Qixi, seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the moon as his only companion during his days banished from court.
Original poem:
皎皎牽牛河漢女。
盈盈臨水無由語。
望斷碧雲空日暮。
無尋處。
夢迴芳草生春浦。
鳥散餘花紛似雨，
汀洲蘋老香風度。
明月多情來照戶。
但攬取。清光長送人歸去。
— 《漁家傲·七夕》，《全宋詞》
Translated poem:
The Cowherd[1]/and the Weaver Girl[2] stars/glisten
on either side of/the Milky Way/gazing
and touching shore/glimmering silver/void of/words
My gaze reaches/horizon’s break/blank skies/yearn for
old friends/nowhere found but
in dreams of/fresh grass beside/springtime waters
Birds scatter/and remaining blossoms shower/like rain
water clovers among/patches of land on lake/are withered now
The bright moon takes pity/and shines/on my window
I shall grasp/its light/as a gift for myself/when I go/one last time.
[1] The Cowherd star = Altair
[2] The Weaver Girl star = Vega
Wen is an editor on the UNSWeetened team.
