“故國行千里，新蟬忽數聲”：經典詠蟬唐詩十六首英譯

唐詩詠蟬借蟲抒懷，依托賦比興古法凝練東方哲思與田園意趣。寒蟬棲枝、風鳴高樹，既繪山野清景，又托士子心志。甄選十六首經典詠蟬詩作做英譯集錦，立足文化出海初心，打破語言壁壘，把中式含蓄詩情譯向四海，讓域外讀者讀懂唐人托物言志的古典美學。

1、《蟬》

（唐）虞世南

垂緌飲清露，流響出疏桐。

居高聲自遠，非是藉秋風。

1. The Cicada

By Yu Shinan (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. WangYongli

Its tassels sip the dewdrops pure andclear,

Through sparse parasol trees its ringingsong doth appear.

Perched high, its voice travels afar of itsown might,

It needs no autumn wind to spread its soundin flight.

2、《在獄詠蟬》

（唐）駱賓王

西陸蟬聲唱，南冠客思深。

不堪玄鬢影，來對白頭吟。

露重飛難進，風多響易沉。

無人信高潔，誰為表予心？

2. Singing to the Cicada in Prison

By Luo Binwang (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. WangYongli

In autumn climes the cicadas loud resound,

A captive’s sorrowwells up all around.

I cannot bear your dark wing’s shadow nigh,

Against my hoary hair I sigh and cry.

Bowed down by dew, you strive in vain tofly;

Drowned by rough winds, your song fades inthe sky.

No one believes our pure and noble part—

Who will stand forth to plead for my pureheart?

3、《蟬》

（唐）李商隱

本以高難飽，徒勞恨費聲。

五更疏欲斷，一樹碧無情。

薄宦梗猶泛，故園蕪已平。

煩君最相警，我亦舉家清。

The Cicada

By Li Shangyin (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. WangYongli

From heights, contentment seldom flows dayby day,

Your plaintive cries are wasted on the way.

Before the dawn, your faint song turns tochill;

A tree in emerald green, heartless andstill.

A petty official, I drift like floatingreed,

My old home’sovergrown with weeds indeed.

You warn me well —your fate is plain to see:

My whole household, like you, lives pureand free.

4、《聞蟬》

唐·杜牧

火云初似滅，曉角欲微清。

故國行千里，新蟬忽數聲。

時行仍仿佛，度日更分明。

不敢頻傾耳，唯憂白發生。

Hearing the Cicada

By Du Mu (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. Wang Yongli

The fiery summer clouds begin to fade,

Dawn bugles breathe a cool and gentleshade.

A thousand miles away from native land,

New cicadas’ songsacross the air expand.

Time flows in weary monotony through days;

Yet stands in stark and piercing clarity.

I dare not listen closely to their lay,

Lest gray hairs grow and youth decay away.

5、《聞蟬感懷》

(唐)賈島

新蟬忽發最高枝，不覺立聽無限時。

正遇友人來告別，一心分作兩般悲。

Hearing the Cicada, Stirred by Grief

By Jia Dao (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. Wang Yongli

A new cry breaks from off the topmost bough—

Unwares, I stand entranced, lost in thenow.

Just then a friend comes near to bidfarewell—

One heart is split: two griefs in onebreast dwell.

6、《風蟬》

唐·賈島

風蟬旦夕鳴，伴葉送新聲。

故里客歸盡，水邊身獨行。

噪軒高樹合，驚枕暮山橫。

聽處無人見，塵埃滿甑生。

The Wind-Blown Cicada

By Jia Dao (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. Wang Yongli

From dawn to dusk the wind-borne cicadascry,

With rustling leaves, they send their freshnotes nigh.

All wanderers from my hometown have gonehome—

Alone I pace along the stream's white foam.

Their clamor fills the eaves where talltrees blend,

I wake—and see duskmountains ridge on end.

None watches me as I listen, lone andstill,

Dust crusts my cooking pot, my house ischill.

7、《六月三日夜聞蟬》

唐·白居易

荷香清露墜，柳動好風生。

微月初三夜，新蟬第一聲。

乍聞愁北客，靜聽憶東京。

我有竹林宅，別來蟬再鳴。

不知池上月，誰撥小船行。

Hearing the Cicada on the Third Night ofthe Sixth Lunar Month

By Bai Juyi (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. WangYongli

Lotus scent blends with falling dewdropsclear,

Willows sway soft and gentle winds appear.

On this third night with faint crescentmoon on high,

The first new cicada’s song drifts through the sky.

The note stirs grief in this far northernguest,

I dream of Eastern Capital in my breast.

A cottage in bamboo grove once was mine toown;

The cicadas sing again while I’m alone.

Beneath the moon above the pond’s still tide,

Who is gently rowing the small boat inside?

8、《畫蟬》

（唐）戴叔倫

飲露身何潔，吟風韻更長。

斜陽千萬樹，無處避螳螂。

The Painted Cicada

By Dai Shulun (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. WangYongli

You drink pure dew, your form immaculateand bright;

Your song on winds extends its puredelight.

The light of setting sun through myriadtrees now streams;

Nowhere to hide from the mantis thatschemes.

9、《蟬》

（唐）陸龜蒙

只憑風作使，全仰柳為都。

一腹清何甚，雙翎薄更無。

伴貂金換酒，并雀畫成圖。

恐是千年恨，偏令落日呼。

The Cicada

By Lu Guimeng (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. WangYongli

You ride the wind as your envoys go,

And dwell in willows, your city below.

How pure and clear your slender body lies!

Your wings are thin beyond compare in size.

Men pawn gold cicadas with sable tails forwine,

With sparrows you in painted scrollscombine.

Perhaps a thousand years of grief you bear,

That makes you cry beneath the sunset'sglare.

Note: In ancient China, high-rankingofficials wore crowns inlaid with golden cicada ornaments and sable tails.Impoverished literati often pawned these noble accessories for wine. Cicadastogether with sparrows were common motifs on traditional Chinese silkpaintings. The poet endows the cicada with eternal sorrow, venting the unspokengrievances of frustrated scholars.

10、《新蟬》

唐·劉兼

齊女屏幃失舊容，侍中冠冕有芳蹤。

翅翻晚鬢尋香露，聲引秋絲逐遠風。

旅館聽時髭欲白，戍樓聞處葉多紅。

只知送恨添愁事，誰見凌霄羽蛻功。

The New Cicada

By Liu Jian (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. WangYongli

The legend of the Cicada Maid fades behindscreen and veil,

Yet golden cicada crests still grace Attendant-in-chief’smail.

Your wings brush twilight locks to seeksweet crystal dew,

Your sounds draw the autumn spider's silkto follow distant wind anew.

A roving scholar hears your tone, his beardturns hoary-gray;

On border towers, red autumn leaves decayaway.

Men only mark your song as grief and sorrow’s heavy load—

Who sees you shed your shell to soar whereheaven’s breezes road?

Notes:

The Cicada Maid: Ancient Chinese legendtells a palace maiden who died of longing and turned into a cicada, origin ofthe cicada’s mournful cry.

Golden cicada crests: A mark of rank forimperial attendants in Han Dynasty, golden cicada ornaments sewn on officialhats, symbolizing purity and nobility.

Shed your shell to soar: The cicada moltsits earthly shell to fly high toward the sky, a metaphor for virtuous scholarstranscending worldly hardship.

11、《病蟬》

（唐）賈島

病蟬飛不得，向我掌中行。

拆翼猶能薄，酸吟尚極清。

露華凝在腹，塵點誤侵睛。

黃雀并鳶鳥，俱懷害爾情。

The Sick Cicada

By Jia Dao (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. Wang Yongli

The sick cicada cannot fly afar,

It creeps and crawls within my open palm.

Broken-winged, yet thin notes stillresound;

Bitter chanting, its purest tone unbound.

Bright dewdrops rest upon its fragilebreast,

Dim dust mars its clear eyes in sad unrest.

Both yellow sparrows and the hawk on wing,

Would seek to harm this frail and harmlessthing.

12、《蟬》

（唐）羅鄴

才入新秋百感生，就中蟬噪最堪驚。

能催時節凋雙鬢，愁到江山聽一聲。

不傍管弦拘醉態，偏依楊柳撓離情。

故園聞處猶惆悵，況是經年萬里行。

The Cicada

By Luo Ye (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. Wang Yongli

When autumn barely comes, a hundredthoughts arise,

But none so startles me as cicadas' cries.

They hasten seasons on and turn my templesgrey;

One note of grief o'er hills and streamsholds sway.

They shun no feast, nor wine-drownedrevelry—

Yet cling to willows, stirring memory.

Even in my homeland, their song would bringme pain—

How much more now, when years of roaming invain

Have driven me ten thousand miles away!

13、《聽蟬》

（唐）趙嘏

噪蟬聲亂日初曛，弦管樓中永不聞。

獨奈愁人數莖發，故園秋隔五湖云。

Hearing the Cicada

By Zhao Gu (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. Wang Yongli

The noise of cicadas disrupts the air atsunset hour,

The building's inner music fades beyondrecall or power.

My sparse gray hairs reveal my sorrow'sbrand;

Five lakes and clouds divide me from mybless'd land.

14、《蟬》

（唐）薛濤

露滌清音遠，風吹數葉齊。

聲聲似相接，各在一枝棲。

The Cicada

By Xue Tao (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. Wang Yongli

Dew cleans its voice—so far, so clear;

Autumn wind whispers, and leaves join thecheer.

Their notes connect in one unbroken flow,

Yet each alone upon its own bough.

15、《新蟬》

（唐）盧仝

泉溜潛幽咽，琴鳴乍往還。

長風翦不斷，還在樹枝間。

The New Cicada

By Lu Tong (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. Wang Yongli

The stream murmurs in soft and low refrain,

The zither-like notes suddenly drift andreturn again.

Strong winds may strive to cut your song intwo,

Yet still your voice lingers the branchesthrough.

16、《早蟬》

（唐）雍裕之

一聲清溽暑，幾處促流年。

志士心偏苦，初聞獨泫然。

The Early Cicada

By Yong Yuzhi (Tang Dynasty) / Tr. WangYongli

One clear note chases summer’s sultry air,

How swiftly flow the years, here and there!

Men of high purpose bear the deepest woe;

At your first song, their tears begin toflow.

十六首詠蟬英譯恪守信達雅準則，以譯筆為舟楫跨越山海。文字輾轉流轉間，蟬鳴古韻走出華夏故土，賦比興的東方文脈借外文落地生根，讓千載唐音跨越地域界限，在異域延續詩意生機。(王永利)