(Translation) 哀絶陽
| Primary Source | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
Title | |
| English | A male lamenting his self-imposed castration | |
| Chinese | 哀絶陽 | |
| Korean(RR) | 애절양(Aejeoryang) | |
| Text Details | ||
| Genre | Literati writings | |
| Type | ||
| Author(s) | 茶山 丁若鏞 | |
| Year | 1803 | |
| Source | ||
| Key Concepts | ||
| Translation Info | ||
| Translator(s) | Participants of 2017 Summer Hanmun Workshop (Advanced Translation Group) | |
| Editor(s) | ||
| Year | 2017 | |
II-3. 茶山與黃裳書簡(夜能不痛否) 다산이 황상에게 보낸 시
목차
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Original Script
- 3 Translation
- 3.1 Student 1 : (Irina)
- 3.2 Student 2 : (Kim Young)
- 3.3 Student 3 : (Masha)
- 3.4 Student 4 : (Jong Woo Park)
- 3.5 Student 5 : (Kanghun Ahn)
- 3.6 Student 6 : (Hu Jing)
- 3.7 Student 7 : King Kwong Wong
- 3.8 Student 8 : (Zhijun Ren)
- 3.9 Student 9 : (Lidan Liu)
- 3.10 Student 10 : Martin
- 3.11 Student 11 : (YoungSuk)
- 3.12 Student 12 : (Write your name)
- 3.13 Student 13 : (Write your name)
- 3.14 Student 14 : (SJY)
- 4 Further Readings
Introduction
Original Script
| Classical Chinese | English |
|---|---|
|
蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。 夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。 舅喪已縞兒未澡。三代名簽在軍保。 薄言往愬虎守閽。里正咆哮牛去皁。 磨刀入房血滿席。自恨生兒遭窘厄。 蠶室淫刑豈有辜。閩囝去勢良亦慽。 生生之理天所予。乾道成男坤道女。 騸馬豶豕猶云悲。況乃生民思繼序。 豪家終歲奏管弦。粒米寸帛無所捐。 均吾赤子何厚薄。客窓重誦鳲鳩篇。
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(translation) |
Translation
Student 1 : (Irina)
蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。
Young bride laments loudly in the reed field
facing the village office gate, her voice rises up into the sky.
I have heard for men, who went to war and never came back
but never heard for someone castrated himself.
舅喪已縞兒未澡。三代名簽在軍保。薄言往愬虎守閽。里正咆哮牛去皁。
A bride’s father-in-law mourn is just over and she couldn’t even wash her newborn.
Heaving in her house three generations of men in the military raster
she tried to complain, but the guard, severe as a tiger, didn’t let her in.
The magistrate came, shouting, and pulled the cow out of the cowshed.
磨刀入房血滿席。自恨生兒遭窘厄。蠶室淫刑豈有辜。閩囝去勢良亦慽。
The room is all in blood, the husband with a sharp knife in his hand
blames his self for miserable fate that a boy was born to him.
Castration is a punishment for those who guilty are
it is so piteously to be castrated like a son of Ming. (1)
生生之理天所予。乾道成男坤道女。騸馬豶豕猶云悲。況乃生民思繼序。
To create life is the law of the Under heaven.
Heaven generates man, Earth generates woman
it is considered sad to geld even horses and pigs.
The will for lineage continuity is what generates human beings.
豪家終歲奏管弦。粒米寸帛無所捐。均吾赤子何厚薄。客窓重誦鳲鳩篇。
The rich ones enjoy music throughout the year
the others cultivate rice, silk and pay taxes.
All are called “our children”, but some get much, others – nothing
I look from afar and chant a verse about turtle dove. (2)
(1) Ming 閩 (909-945) was a Chinese kingdom which existed in the territory of modern-day Fujian province. In the kingdom was common practice for men to be castrated.
(2) Turtle dove is a verse from Book of Poetry (Book of Poetry, Lessons from the States, Odes of Cao, Shi Jiu; 詩經,國風,曹風,鳲鳩).
Student 2 : (Kim Young)
蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。
In the Reed Field town, a young lady's wailing goes on and on.
Crying to the county gate, she calls for the blue sky.
夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。
Husbands who were drafted and never made it back, there were many as such.
But from old times, I have not heard of a man who castrated himself [to avoid being drafted].
舅喪已縞兒未澡。三代名簽在軍保。
She just finished mourning for the father-in-law, and her son isn't even bathed yet,
but all three generations were enrolled on the military roster.
薄言往愬虎守閽。里正咆哮牛去皁。
Desperately she went to plead, but a beast-like man guarded the gate,
a clerk yelled at her, and her cow was taken from the stable.
- Discussion Questions:
Student 3 : (Masha)
蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。
In the reed marshes a young married woman's wailing is lasting, she cries toward the county gate howling at the azure skies.
夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。
Now, it is still possible that the men who went to war are unable to come back, yet since ancient times I have never heard of a man cutting off his masculinity.
舅喪已縞兒未澡。三代名簽在軍保。
Dressed in white mourning dress, her father-in-law funeral is over and and her baby son has not been even given a bath, yet the names of three generations are recorded in the military roaster.
薄言往愬虎守閽。里正咆哮牛去皁。
She proceeds to make an appeal to a tiger-like guard, the local clerk yells in rage and takes away a cow from the stable.
磨刀入房血滿席。自恨生兒遭窘厄。
He sharpens the knife, enters the chamber, and the blood steeps the mat. He blames himself for fathering a son and encountering this wretched poverty.
蠶室淫刑豈有辜。閩囝去勢良亦慽。
The silkworm prison overuses the punishment by castration, are they really at fault? Castration of Min children is likewise very much tragic.
生生之理天所予。乾道成男坤道女。
The principle of living and procreating is endowed by Heaven, heavenly way becomes male, earthly way becomes female.
騸馬豶豕猶云悲。況乃生民思繼序。
About gelding or castrated pig people say: "How sad!" Let alone the heavenly-born people who are thinking of carrying on the [generational] order.
豪家終歲奏管弦。粒米寸帛無所捐。
Eminent families all year round play music, yet nor a single grain of rice or a single patch of silk would they contribute to the government.
均吾赤子何厚薄。客窓重誦鳲鳩篇。
All are my children - how can we favor ones and discriminate against the others? At my temporary lodge I keep reciting verses of "Shijiu."
- Discussion Questions:
Student 4 : (Jong Woo Park)
1.
蘆田少婦哭聲長 In Nojŏn village, a wailing sound of a young lady endures
哭向縣門號穹蒼 Wailing toward the gate of the county seat, crying out to the lofty blue sky
夫征不復尙可有 It is possible that a husband who went to a war cannot return
自古未聞男絶陽 Since the old days, I have never heard of a male cutting off his genitalia.
2.
舅喪已縞兒未澡 For the mourning period of my father-in-law, I have worn a mourning suit; and my infant has not yet been washed
三代名簽在軍保 However, the names of these three generations all appear in the military roster
薄言往愬虎守閽 I went to the county seat to make a plea but the usher was like a tiger
里正咆哮牛去皁 The head of local clerks shouts at me and take my cow away from the stable
- Discussion Questions:
Student 5 : (Kanghun Ahn)
蘆田少婦哭聲長。In Kaldong, the wailing sound of a young lady is growing.
哭向縣門號穹蒼。At the county gate, she is crying out loud toward the blue sky.
夫征不復尙可有。A husband went to a war, and never came back again.
自古未聞男絶陽。Since antiquity, I have never heard about a guy castrating himself.
舅喪已縞兒未澡。The funeral of her father in law was over a while ago, and the baby hasn't been washed yet.
三代名簽在軍保。However, all three of them are still (and already) enrolled on the military roster.
薄言往愬虎守閽。Even if she wants to whine about it, the gate guard is scary like a tiger.
里正咆哮牛去皁。The local functionary yells, and even takes their cows from the stable.
磨刀入房血滿席。With a sharpened sword, the floor is full of blood.
自恨生兒遭窘厄。He laments himself, since he gave birth to a male child, and suffers a severe degree of destitution.
蠶室淫刑豈有辜。What sort of crimes did I commit only to be castrated at the silkworm room?
閩囝去勢良亦慽。Likewise, it is truly deplorable that the boys in Min have been castrated.
生生之理天所予。Production and reproduction (James' Legge's translation; giving birth to babies) is the principle given by the heaven.
乾道成男坤道女。Sons embody the heaven, and daughters embody the earth.
騸馬豶豕猶云悲。Gelding pigs and horses is lamentable enough.
況乃生民思繼序。Then, what about the people created by the heaven, wishing to continue their lineage?
豪家終歲奏管弦。Rich families enjoy symphonies (with wind and string instruments),
粒米寸帛無所捐。and do not pay taxes (not even with a single grain of rice or a single piece of silk).
均吾赤子何厚薄。Shouldn't we treat rich and poor equally?
客窓重誦鳲鳩篇。
Student 6 : (Hu Jing)
蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。
夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。
In the village of Nojeon, the wailing sound of a young lady is long reverberating.
She weeps at the gate of the county, bawling to the heaven.
The enlisted husband cannot return any more.
I have never heard a male castrating himself from the ancient time.
舅喪已縞兒未澡。三代名簽在軍保。
薄言往愬虎守閽。里正咆哮牛去皁。
Father-in-law has been passed away and the son has not been washed.
Three generations of the family are all on the militray roster.
The pale words of the lowly lady is unheeded by the ferocious gate keeper.
[And] the magistrate yells and loots the cow.
冒點則費一牛之直, 侵隣則刮百家之産
- Discussion Questions:
Student 7 : King Kwong Wong
哀絶陽
Lamentation of Severing Genital
蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。
In the village of Reedsfield, the wailing of a young madame is long. It reaches the gate of the county seat and howls to the Heaven.
夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。
It is not uncommon that men are lost after being levied for war. Since antiquity, however, never have I heard a man sever his genital.
舅喪已縞兒未澡。三代名簽在軍保。
The madame dresses in plain white clothes for the mourning of the father-in-law, and the newborn has not yet bathed. The names of three generations [however] have already signed in the military roster.
薄言往愬虎守閽。里正咆哮牛去皁。
She humbly makes a plea to the Tiger-guarded gate. The village clerk roars, and a cow is lost from the stable.
磨刀入房血滿席。自恨生兒遭窘厄。
Grinding a knife and entering a room, blood [thus] fills the mat. Her husband resents himself giving birth to a boy and suffering such hardship.
蠶室淫刑豈有辜。閩囝去勢良亦慽。
In the room where the punishment of castration is performed, how is there an innocent? Castration is truly a tragic affair if it is done to a child.
生生之理天所予。乾道成男坤道女。
To produce and to procreate is the pattern given by the Heaven. The Heaven becomes men and the Earth becomes women.
騸馬豶豕猶云悲。況乃生民思繼序。
Even for horses and pigs people lament their gelding, not to mention [doing the same to] Heavenly-created people who long for continuing their lineage.
豪家終歲奏管弦。粒米寸帛無所捐。
Rich families play the music of tubes and strings all year long, and [yet] they never donate a single grain of rice or a single inch of silk.
均吾赤子何厚薄。客窓重誦鳲鳩篇。
They are all my children, why is one treated generously while the other harshly? In nostalgic mood, I once again recite the chapter of Shi Jiu[1].
- ↑ a chapter in the Book of Poetry
- Discussion Questions:
Student 8 : (Zhijun Ren)
蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。 In the field of reeds, the wailing sound of a young wife lasted long, She wailed to the heaven, facing the gate of the government building. 夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。 There are instances where husband never returned from conscription, (But) since antiquity, I have never heard a man castrating himself.
Student 9 : (Lidan Liu)
蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。 In the village of Weed Field, there is young lady crying with long sounds; She cries to the local court/yamen howling “heaven.”
夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。 It is seen that men went to the battle field without returning; From time immemorial, I’ve never heard of a man castrating himself.
舅喪已縞兒未澡*。三代名簽在軍保。 The grandfather, in the white funeral clothes, has passed away, and the grandson hasn’t taken his first bath yet. The names of three generations are all enrolled in the military register.
(* [舊俗，嬰兒出生後三日或滿月時替其洗身，稱“洗兒”。 【前蜀】【花蕊夫人】《宮詞》之六三：『中尉傳聞三日宴，翰林當撰洗兒文。』
《資治通鑒‧唐玄宗天寶十載》：『上聞後宮歡笑，問其故，左右以貴妃三日洗〈祿兒〉對。上自往觀之，喜，賜貴妃洗兒金銀錢。』)
薄言往愬*虎守閽。里正咆哮牛去皁。 He went to propose [to the official], [but] the tiger-ish men are guarding the door. The local clerk, yelling and shouting, lead the cow away from the crib.
(*《詩經.邶風.柏舟》“薄言往愬，逢彼之怒”I went to talk to them. Yet I encountered their rages.)
- Discussion Questions:
Student 10 : Martin
蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。 In the village of Nojŏn a young lady cries out long, crying to the county seat declaring to the heavens
夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。 Husbands fighting may not return, since the ancient times I never heard of male castrating himself.
舅喪已縞兒未澡。三代名簽在軍保。 Father-in-law just gone but the child has not been bathed, three generations of names are enrolled in the military rosters,
薄言往愬虎守閽。里正咆哮牛去皁。 Anxious words of blame to the gatekeeper like a tiger, the local clerk shouted and took away the cow from the stable
(蘆田少婦哭聲長。哭向縣門號穹蒼。 Im Dorfe Nojon die Wehklagen einer jungen Frau hallen lange, zur Kreisverwaltung und zum Himmel droben,
夫征不復尙可有。自古未聞男絶陽。 Ehemänner aus dem Kriege kehren vielleicht nicht zurück, seit dem Altertum hörte ich nicht von einer Selbst-kastration.)
- Discussion Questions:
Student 11 : (YoungSuk)
哀絶陽 Grief over Castration
In the village of Reeds Field a young wife's cry long echoes
From the gate of country seat her cry reaches far off the sky.
Although she heard husbands went to war and did not return home
Ancient times onwards, never heard a story of men castrating.
In the mourning garment for her deceased father-in-law
The new-born child in her arm yet to be washed
Heartbroken still by the names of three generations enlisted
She went to the authority to plead in her inarticulate words
Only to face the fierce gate guard relentlessly standing
The local clerk not only roared but took her cow in the shed.
Sharpening a knife her husband came in and bled all over
Tormenting himself for the cursed life of the new-born child
What fault on earth would deserve such cruel punishment?
How sad to hear about the castrated children of Min tribe!
Life and procreation accord to the principle of Heaven
The Heaven firms men, the Earth firms women
Even the horses and pigs are said pitiful when castrated
Let alone the thought of family lineage to be discontinued.
All year round the music is heard from the affluent households
Nonetheless not a single grain or a scarf of silk comes out.
Should people be equal, how are they so differently treated?
At the traveler's lodge over and over I recite Shijiu.
- Discussion Questions:
Student 12 : (Write your name)
- Discussion Questions:
Student 13 : (Write your name)
- Discussion Questions:
Student 14 : (SJY)
1. In the village of Nojeon ("reed field"), the wailing sound of a young lady endures Crying toward the gate of the country seat she shouts at deep blue skies, Many is those who never returned from war Never has a married man cut off his genitalia.
2. 舅喪已縞兒未澡。 三代名簽在軍保。 薄言往愬虎守閽。 里正咆哮牛去皁。 Although her father-in-law's funeral's over and a baby has not yet been bathed The names of the three generations have been listed in the military roster She cried out for mercy but the guard is like a tiger Clerks yelled at her and the cow left the stable
- Discussion Questions:
