The song of the earth (lyrics)
The lyrics on which Gustav Mahler's symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde is based are German adaptations of Chinese poems from the Tang period , which were translated into French in the 19th century and further into German in the early 20th century. Because of the repeated translations, the versions of the poems used have changed so much, especially through enrichment with Western elements, but also through misinterpretations and omissions, that they have to be regarded as chinoiseries .
Genesis of the text version
Gustav Mahler
Hans Bethge
Léon d'Hervey de Saint-Denys
Judith Gautier
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For Das Lied von der Erde, Gustav Mahler used seven poems from the collection The Chinese Flute by Hans Bethge from 1907, albeit with some significant changes in the text.
Hans Bethge, in turn, bases his adaptations (that is, far more than just translations) on the following three works.
- Chinese lyric poetry, 12th century BC. BC to the present by Hans Heilmann , published in 1905. This book contains, among other things, prose translations from French, taken from the following two works.
- Five of the relevant poems come from the book Poésies de l'époque des Thang by Léon d'Hervey de Saint-Denys (published 1862).
- The remaining two poems can be found in the Le Livre de Jade collection by Judith Gautier , with Heilmann using the expanded edition from 1902.
The winding path of translations has been intensively researched (see bibliography ); In general, it can be said that there are blatant differences between the originals and Mahler's versions on all levels of meaning - "What Mahler set to music here has little to do with the text, only rudimentarily in terms of content and virtually nothing in terms of language with the Chinese original."
Transliteration, punctuation marks, raw translation
The transliteration of the Chinese characters in the following sections reflects today's standard Chinese pronunciation and not that of Tang-temporal Middle Chinese , which differs significantly from it and most closely resembles southern Chinese dialects such as Cantonese .
There are no punctuation marks in the original historical Chinese sources; the verse scheme alone provides the (hardly existing) grammatical structure. However, it is now common practice to use punctuation marks in Chinese editions to improve legibility.
A Chinese word, which is usually represented by one or more rarely two characters, can often be a noun, verb or adjective at the same time, although how it is to be interpreted depends on the context - Chinese is similar to a subject-verb-object language the German, but the subject is often left out ( pro-drop ). In the raw translation, an attempt is made to specify the correct part of speech, whereby the order of the characters is strictly adhered to. Since there is neither declension nor conjugation in Chinese, the infinitive is used for verbs and the nominative for nouns. The insertion of the necessary German particles such as articles or (additional) prepositions was omitted.
1st movement: The drinking song of the misery of the earth
The basis of the first movement is Li Bai's poem Song of Sorrows .
Li Bai
In the imperial collection of all the poems of the Tang dynasty ( Quan Tangshi , compiled in 1705 and containing around 49,000 poems by more than 2,200 poets), Li Bai's song of laughter , another drinking song that also has a recurring refrain, is immediately before the song of sorrow and by Saint-Denys, however, due to many historical allusions, is only reproduced in a retelling manner. The two poems belong together and have roughly the same message: "Society offers no security, only today counts, drinking is the best thing you can do."
李白
悲歌 行
悲 來 乎 ， 悲 來 乎。
主人 有 酒 且莫 斟 ，
聽 我 一曲 悲 來 吟。
悲 來 不 吟 還不 笑 ，
天下 無人 知 我 心。
君 有數 鬥酒 ，
我 有 三尺 琴。
琴 鳴 酒 樂 兩 相得 ，
一杯 不啻 千鈞 金。
悲 來 乎 ， 悲 來 乎。
天 雖 長 ， 地 雖 久 ，
金玉滿堂 應 不 守。
富貴 百年 能 幾何 ，
死 生 一度 人 皆有。
孤 猨 坐 啼 墳上 月 ，
且 須 一 盡 杯中 酒。
悲 來 乎 ， 悲 來 乎。
鳳皇 不 至 河 無 圖 ，
微 子 去 之 箕子 奴。
漢帝 不 憶 李 將軍 ，
楚王 放 卻 屈大夫。
悲 來 乎 ， 悲 來 乎。
秦 家 李斯 早 追悔 ，
虛名 撥 向 身 之外。
范 子 何曾 愛 五 湖 ，
功成名遂 身 自 退。
劒 是 一夫 用 ，
書 能知 姓名。
惠施 不肯 干 萬乘 ，
卜 式 未必 窮 一 經。
還須 黑頭 取 方伯 ，
莫 謾 白 首 爲 儒生。
Lǐ Bái
Bēi gēxíng
Bēi lái hū, bēi lái hū.
Zhǔrén yǒu jiǔ qiě mò zhēn,
Tīng wǒ yī qǔ bēi lái yín.
Bēi lái bù yín, hái bù xiào,
Tiānxià wú rén zhī wǒ xīn.
Jūn yǒu shù dòu jiǔ,
Wǒ yǒu sānchǐ qīn.
Qīn míng jiǔ lè liǎng xiāngdé,
Yī bēi bùchì qián jūn jīn.
Bēi lái hū, bēi lái hū!
Tiān suí cháng, dì suí jiǔ,
Jīnyù mǎn táng yīng bù shǒu.
Fùguì bǎi nián néng jǐhé,
Sǐshēng yīdù rén jiē yǒu.
Gū yuán zuò tí fén shàngyuè,
Qiě xū yī jìn bēi zhōng jiǔ.
[...]
Rough translation
Lǐ Bái
sorrow song (two characters)
sorrow come <exclamation particle> , sorrow come <exclamation particle> .
Host (two characters) have not yet wine pouring,
hear me a song "sorrows come poem".
Sorrow don't come sing, don't laugh either
on-the-world (two signs) no one knows my heart.
you have several carafes of wine
I have a three-foot-long (two character) zither.
Zither sounding wine needing joy for each other
a mug worth as much as (two characters) a thousand 20kg gold.
Sorrow come <exclamation particle> , sorrow come <exclamation particle> .
Heaven though eternal, earth though long-lasting,
Guess (two characters) to the end-going hall should not get.
Wealth-and-fame (two signs) a hundred years can be how much,
Life-and-death (two signs) once (two signs) human all / everyone have.
alone monkey sitting howling / complaining grave moonlight (two signs) ,
therefore should empty a cup with wine.
[...]
Saint-Denys
Saint-Denys only translated the first two of the four stanzas, so that the second part is also missing in the transmissions by Heilmann and Bethge. By omitting the last two stanzas, which provide an explanation for the prevailing sad mood, but are practically untranslatable due to many historical allusions without detailed commentary, the character of a lament is removed from the song and the emphasis is shifted to a drinking song.
Li-Taï-Pé: La chanson du chagrin
Le maître de céans a du vin, mais ne le versez pas encore:
Attendez que je vous aie chanté la Chanson du chagrin .
Quand le chagrin vient, si je cesse de chanter ou de rire,
Personne, dans ce monde, ne connaîtra les sentiments de mon cœur.
Seigneur, vous avez quelques measures de vin,
Et moi je possède un luth long de trois pieds;
Jouer du luth et boire du vin sont deux choses qui vont bien ensemble.
Une cup de vin vaut, en son temps, mille onces d'or.
Bien que le ciel ne périsse point, bien que la terre soit de longue durée,
Combien pourra durer pour nous la possession de l'or et du jade?
Cent ans au plus. Voilà le terme de la plus longue espérance.
Vivre et mourir une fois, voilà ce dont tout homme est assuré.
Écoutez là-bas, sous les rayons de la lune, écoutez le singe accroupi qui pleure, tout seul, sur les tombeaux.
Et maintenant remplissez ma cup; il est temps de la vider d'un seul trait.
Heilmann
In a footnote, Saint-Denys mentions that between the stanzas the recurring refrain Peï laï ho! Peï laï ho! (The sorrow is coming! The sorrow comes!) Located. Based on this information, Heilmann took over the refrain in the German text, but without consulting the Chinese original, which means that it appears in the wrong places.
Li-Tai-Pe: A Song of Sorrow.
The master of the house has wine, but has not yet filled the goblets:
Wait until I have sung the song of sorrow!
When grief comes, when my singing, my laughter dies,
then no one can measure what moves my soul.
(Peï laï ho! Peï laï ho!)
Lord, you have a lot of fine wine,
I have my long lute.
Striking the lute and drinking wine are two things that go perfectly with each other.
A cup of wine at the right time is worth a thousand ounces of gold.
(Peï laï ho! Peï laï ho!)
If the sky is eternal and the earth is still long,
how long will we enjoy gold and jade?
A hundred years is the limit of the wildest hopes.
Live and then die, that is the only thing man can be sure of.
(Peï laï ho! Peï laï ho!)
Do you hear him down there, in the moonlight, do you hear the monkey that sits huddled up there and howls, lonely under graves?
And now fill the cup for me, now it's time to empty it in one go!
(Peï laï ho! Peï laï ho!)
Bethge
From Heilmann's prose translation, Bethge forms a poem in blank verse .
Li-Tai-Po: The drinking song of the misery of the earth
The wine is already waving in golden goblets -
but don't drink yet! First I'll sing you a song!
Let the
song of grief
sound in your soul laughing! When sorrow approaches,
joy dies, singing dies,
the rooms of my soul lie desolate.
Dark is life, is death.
Your cellar contains the abundance of golden wine,
master of this house - I have other things:
I call this long lute mine!
Hit the lute and empty the glasses,
these are two things that go together!
A full cup of wine at the right time
is worth more than the riches of this earth.
Dark is life, is death.
The firmament is forever blue, and the earth
will long stand firm on its old feet. - But
you, human, how long do you live?
You may not enjoy yourself for a hundred years
in all the rotten tande of this earth,
only one possession is certain to you:
That is the grave, the grinning one, at the end.
Dark is life, is death.
Look down there! In the moonlight on the graves
sits a wild, ghostly figure.
It is a monkey! Do you hear how his howl
glows out into the sweet smell of the evening?
Now take the wine! Now is the time comrades!
Empty your golden cups to the bottom!
Dark is life, is death!
Mahler
The textual differences to the Bethge version are highlighted or underlined in bold; unused text is shown with a line through it.
Li-Tai-Po: The drinking song of the misery of the earth
The wine is already waving in the golden cup,
But don't drink yet, first I'll sing you a song!
The song of sorrow
should sound a laugh in your soul.
When sorrow approaches,
the gardens of the soul lie desolate,
wither and joy, the song dies.
Dark is life, is death.
Lord of this house!
Your cellar holds the abundance of golden wine!
Here, I call this long lute mine!
Strike the lute and empty the glasses,
these are the things that go together.
A full cup of wine at the right time
is worth more than all the kingdoms of this earth!
Dark is life, is death!
The firmament is forever blue, and the earth
will stand for a long time and bloom in spring .
But you, human, how long do you live?
You must not enjoy yourself for a hundred years
in all the rotten tandes of this earth!
You are only certain of one possession:
That is the grave, the grinning one, at the end.
Dark is life, is death.
Look down there! In the moonlight on the graves
crouches a wild, ghostly figure - it's
a monkey ! Do you hear how his howls
gurgles out into the sweet scent of life !
Now take the wine! Now is the time comrades!
Empty your golden cups to the ground!
Dark is life, is death!
2nd movement: The lonely one in autumn
Judith Gautier (1845–1917), daughter of Théophile Gautier , published the book Le Livre de Jade in 1867 under the pseudonym Judith Walter , which contains 71 poems "translated from Chinese", in collaboration with Tin-tun-ling ( 丁敦 齡 , Dīng Dūnlíng , 1830? –1886), a political refugee from China who found refuge with the Gautier family. In 1902 an expanded edition with an additional 40 poems appeared under her own name.
Gautier took Chinese lessons from Tin-tung-ling, but was otherwise an amateur, unlike Saint-Denys, who was a recognized sinologist. She did not literally translate many of the poems, but used them as the basis for her own chinoiseries , which for a long time prevented her sources from being identified.
The first translation of Qián Qǐs poem in the old style: Long Autumn Months into a Western Language can be found at Saint-Denys, but Gautier apparently did not consult it.
Qian Qi
錢 起
效 古 秋夜 長
秋 漢 飛 玉霜 ，
北風 掃 荷香。
含情 紡織 孤燈 盡 ，
拭淚 相思 寒 漏 長。
月 弔 棲 烏啼 鳥 起。
誰家 少婦 事 鴛 機 ，
錦 幕 雲屏 深 掩 扉。
白玉 窗 中 聞 落葉 ，
應 憐 寒 女 獨 無 衣。
Qián Qǐ
Xiào gǔ qiū yè zhǎng
Qiū hàn fēi yù shuāng,
běifēng sǎo hé xiāng.
Hánqíng fǎngzhī gū dēng jǐn,
shì lèi xiāngsī hán lòu zhǎng.
Rough translation
Qián Qǐ
imitation old "autumn nights long"
autumn milky way fly jade frost,
North wind (two characters) sweep away lotus flower scent.
In-love (two signs) spin / weave (two signs) alone / individually lamp goes out,
wipe away tear-miss you-miss (two signs) cold run away for a long time.
Gautier
The identification of the original poem was also made more difficult by the fact that Gautier gave a false name as the author (Tchang-Tsi) - and in addition, in the 1902 edition, incorrect Chinese characters were used in the poem vignette ( 李巍 , Lǐ Wéi , a poet with this name did not exist in the Tang period).
She uses only the first four lines of the original poem in her prose version, but these are heavily embellished. As a result, the rest of the poem is also missing from Heilmann, Bethge and Mahler.
Tchang-Tsi: Le Soir d'automne
La vapeur bleue de l'automne, s'étend sur le fleuve; les petites herbes sont couvertes de gelée blanche,
Comme si un sculpteur avait laissé tomber sur elles de la poussière de jade.
Les fleurs n'ont déjà plus de parfums; le vent du nord va les faire tomber, et bientôt les nénuphars navigueront sur le fleuve.
Ma lampe s'est éteinte d'elle-même, la soirée est finie, je vais aller me coucher.
L'automne est bien long dans mon cœur, et les larmes, que j'essuie sur mon visage se renouvelleront toujours.
Quand donc le soleil du mariage viendra-t-il sécher mes larmes?
Heilmann
Heilmann's translation is almost literal, but with an expanded title, which Bethge also adopts.
Tschang-Tsi: Autumn evening of the lonely.
The bluish autumn mist drifts across the river; the little grasses are covered with frost,
As if a sculptor had dropped jade dust over them.
The flowers have lost their fragrance, the north wind bows them down, and soon the lotus leaves will float on the water.
My lamp goes out, midnight falls, now I want to go to rest too.
It has long been autumn in my heart and I cry in my loneliness.
When will the sun of love come and dry my tears?
Bethge
Bethge again uses blank verses for the adaptation of the second poem.
Tschang-Tsi: The lonely in autumn
Autumn mist billows bluish over the river,
All the grasses are covered by the frost,
One thinks that an artist has scattered dust of jade
over the fine stalks.
The sweet scent of the flowers is gone,
A cold wind bends their stems;
Soon the withered golden leaves of
the lotus blossoms will draw on the water.
My heart is tired My little lamp
went out with a crackling sound, a reminder of sleep.
I come to you, dear resting place, -
Yes, give me sleep, I need refreshment!
I cry a lot in my loneliness,
The autumn in my heart lasts too long;
Sun of love, will you never shine again
To dry up my bitter tears?
Mahler
Tschang-Tsi: The lonely in autumn
Autumn fog billows bluish over the lake;
All the grasses stand on the rime;
It is believed that an artist scattered dust from jade
over the fine blossoms .
The sweet scent of the flowers is gone;
A cold wind bends their stalks.
Soon the withered, golden leaves of
the lotus blossoms will pull on the water.
My heart is tired My little lamp
went out with a crackling sound, it reminds me of sleep.
I come to you, dear resting place!
Yes, give me rest , I need refreshment!
I cry a lot in my loneliness.
The autumn in my heart lasts too long.
Sun of love, will you never seem
To my tears bitter mild dry up?
3rd movement: Of the youth
The origin of this poem has not yet been clarified exactly. Since Fusako Hamao's 1995 article, there has been general consensus that it is a banquet in the Tao family pavilion of Li Bai.
Li Bai
李白
宴 陶家亭 子
高 門 大 士 家。
池 開 照 膽 鏡 ，
林 吐 破 顏 花。
綠水 藏 春日 ，
青 軒 秘 晚霞。
若 聞 弦管 妙 ，
金谷 不能 夸。
Lǐ Bái
Yàn táo jiā tíngzi
Gāo mén dàshì jiā.
Chí kāi zhàodǎn jìng,
Lín tǔ pò yán huā.
Lǜ shuǐ cáng chūnrì,
Qīng xuān mì wǎnxiá.
Ruò wén xián guǎn miào,
Jīngǔ bùnéng kuā.
Rough translation
A complete translation can be found at Weber.
Lǐ Bái
Banquet Táo Family Pavilion (two characters)
high gate of eminent-scholar (two notes) house.
Pond open clear mirror (two characters) reflect,
Gautier
Gautier uses the title of the poem for the first verse in her prose transmission, although she most likely did not recognize that the character 陶 in the context can only be the family name "Táo" and does not mean "porcelain". The same applies to the following sign: 家 here means “family” and not “house” - instead of “Táo family pavilion” it erroneously read “porcelain house pavilion”.
A commentary in a work by Li Bai from 1759 is the basis for verses 2 and 3; At the time of the first edition of Le Livre de Jade in 1867, this book was already in the Bibliothèque Impériale, today's French national library , which Gautier consulted for study purposes. Without this background knowledge, it would be completely inexplicable why Gautier's version deviates so strongly from the Chinese original.
The fourth verse uses line 3 of the Chinese poem; the rest remains untranslated. The technique of translating only parts of poems or of making several French poems from a longer original runs through Gautier's entire book.
Many decorations such as the “artificial lake”, the colors green and white and the jade bridge are nevertheless Gautier's inventions, possibly resulting from impressions from the World Exhibition in Paris in 1867 - for the Chinese department, by the way, Saint-Denys was commissioner for the Chinese Empire responsible - on which a Chinese pavilion made of porcelain plates was shown, allegedly a replica of a structure of the summer palace near Beijing, which was destroyed in 1860 by English and French troops .
Li-Taï-Pé: Le Pavillon de porcelaine
Au milieu du petit lac artificiel, s'élève un pavillon de porcelaine verte et blanche; on y arrive par un pont de jade, qui se voûte comme le dos d'un tigre.
Dans ce pavillon, quelques amis, vêtus de robes claires, boivent ensemble des tasses de vin tiède.
Ils causent gaiement, ou tracent des vers, en repoussant leurs chapeaux en arrière, en relevant un peu leurs someches,
Et, dans le lac, où le petit pont, renversé, semble un croissant de jade, quelques amis, vêtus de robes claires, boivent, la tête en bas dans un pavillon de porcelaine.
Heilmann
Again an almost literal translation from French.
Li-Tai-Pe: The porcelain pavilion.
A pavilion made of green and white porcelain rises in the middle of the small artificial lake; it is reached on a bridge of jade that arches like the back of a tiger.
In this pavilion the friends sit in light robes with wine.
They chat happily with each other or they write down verses; to do this, they push back their main coverings and pull on their sleeves a little.
And in the lake, in which the little bridge appears upside down like a crescent moon of jade, the friends, dressed in light robes, drink standing on their heads in a porcelain pavilion.
Bethge
Bethge uses a four- lever trochee as a meter .
Li-Tai-Po: The porcelain pavilion
In the middle of the small pond is
a pavilion made of green
and white porcelain.
Like the back of a tiger, the
jade bridge arches
over to the pavilion.
Friends sit in the little house,
nicely dressed, drink, chat, -
some write down verses.
Her silk sleeves slide
backwards, her silk hats crouch
merrily low on the neck.
On the quiet
surface of the small pond , everything is
miraculously reflected in the mirror:
The
inverted arch bridge shines like a crescent moon . Friends,
nicely dressed, drinking, chatting,
all standing on their heads,
In the pavilion made of green
and white porcelain.
Mahler
In the Lied von der Erde , Mahler changes the title and swaps the last two stanzas.
Li-Tai-Po: From the youth
In the middle of the small pond there is
a pavilion made of green
and white porcelain.
Like the back of a tiger, the
jade bridge arches
over to the pavilion.
Friends sit in the little house,
nicely dressed, drink, chat,
some write down verses.
Her silk sleeves slide
backwards, her silk hats crouch
merrily low on the neck. Everything is
miraculously reflected in
the small pond of silent
water
.
Everything upside down
In the pavilion made of green
and white porcelain;
The bridge stands like a crescent moon, the
arch the other way round. Friends,
nicely dressed, drinking, chatting.
4th movement: From beauty
The content of the transcriptions of Li Bai's poem Lotus Plucking Song comes very close to the original, although here, too, in every step from Li Bai to Mahler, the concise Chinese verses are increasingly highlighted, especially on an emotional level.
Li Bai
李白
采蓮曲
若耶溪旁采蓮女,
笑 隔 荷花 共 人 語。
日照 新 妝 水底 明 ，
風 飄香 袂 空中 舉。
岸上 誰家 遊 冶 郎 ，
三 三五 五 映 垂楊。
紫 騮 嘶 入 落花 去 ，
見此 踟 躕 空 斷腸。
Lǐ Bái
Cǎi lián qū
Ruò yé xī páng cǎi lián nǚ,
Xiào gé héhuā gòng rén yǔ.
Rì zhào xīn zhuāng shuǐ dǐ míng,
Fēng piāo xiāng mèi kōngzhōng jǔ.
Àn shàng shuí jiā yóuyě láng,
Sān sān wǔ wǔ yìng chuí yáng.
Zǐliú sī rù luòhuā qù,
Jiàn cǐ chíchú kōng duàncháng.
Rough translation
Lǐ Bái
picking lotus song
Ruò Yé Bach near-by picking lotus girl,
laugh split lotus (two characters) people talk.
Sun shine fresh make-up water bottom clear,
Wind fluttering fragrant lift up your sleeves in-the-air (two signs) .
Bank on / on who stroll <person suffix > (two characters) young men,
three three five five reflected weeping willow (two characters) .
Zǐliú (horse's name, two characters) neigh step in , fall down flowers go,
see this hesitation-in-the-heart (two signs) empty / vain inconsolable (two signs) .
Saint-Denys
In the Chinese original, a subject is missing in the last line of verse, and it is up to the reader to assign the feelings described. Saint-Denys, on the other hand, with his very ornate interpretation sticks to one possible version, namely that a girl's heart is moved. While Weber thinks that such an approach is permissible, Teng-Leong Chew criticizes it as a blatant mistranslation. In his opinion, it would be clear that no one is in love here, but only reacts to the trampled lotus blossoms.
Li-Taï-Pé: Sur les bords du Jo-yeh
Sur les bords du Jo-yeh, les jeunes filles cueillent la fleur du nénuphar,
Des touffes de fleurs et de feuilles les séparent; elles rient et, sans se voir, échangent de gais propos.
Un brilliant soleil reflète au fond de l'eau leurs coquettes parures;
Le vent, qui se parfume dans leurs some things, en soulève le tissu léger.
Mais quels sont ces beaux jeunes gens qui se promènent sur la rive?
Trois par trois, cinq par cinq, ils apparaissent entre les saules pleureurs.
Tout à coup le cheval de l'un d'eux hennit et s'éloigne, en foulant aux pieds les fleurs tombées.
Ce que voyant, l'une des jeunes filles semble interdite, se trouble, et laisse percer l'agitation de son cœur.
Heilmann
Interestingly, in Heilmann's otherwise almost literal translation from French, the last line of the poem is additionally embellished with the addition of "treacherously the artificial version".
Li-Tai-Pe: On the banks of the Jo-yeh.
On the banks of the Jo-yeh the young girls pick the lotus blossoms.
Bushes of flowers and leaves separate them; laughing without seeing one another, they shout lively teasing each other.
The bright sunlight reflects her delicate plaster in the depth of the water.
The wind lifts the delicate fabric of their sleeves and takes the scent of their fragrances with it.
But what kind of beautiful youngsters are on the bank up there?
Three and five of them appear between the weeping willows.
Suddenly the horse of one of them neighs and goes through, pounding the fallen blossoms with its hooves.
A lovely child stares after him, full of fear, and the excitement of her heart treacherously breaks the artificial composure.
Bethge
Comparable to Gautier, Bethge avoids Chinese names in his blank verse version (here the name of the river).
Li-Tai-Po: On the bank
Young girls pick lotus flowers
on the bank.
They sit between bushes, between leaves and collect
blossoms, blossoms in their laps and call
teasing each other.
Golden sun weaves around the figures,
reflects them in the clear water.
Her clothes, her sweet eyes,
And the wind caressingly lifts the fabric of
your sleeves and carries the magic of
your fragrances through the air.
See what beautiful boys cavort
on the bank on brave horses?
They trot along
between the branches of the weeping willows
. The horse of the one
neighs and shies and rushes along and
pounds the sunken flowers.
And the most beautiful of the virgins sends
long glances after his concern.
Her proud
demeanor is only a lie: the excitement of her heart wails
in the sparkle of her large eyes
.
Mahler
Mahler changed this poem particularly intensively, whereby Weber notes that in Chinese poems only people have emotional characteristics and therefore “brave horses” who “neigh happily” are purely Western idioms.
From the beauty
young girl picking flowers,
picking lotus flowers at the edge of the shore.
Between bushes and leaves they sit, and
collecting flowers, flowers in her lap and call
yourself another teasing about.
Golden sun weaves around the figures,
reflects them in the clear water.
Sun reflects
your slender limbs, your clothes, your sweet eyes,
And the zephyr lifts up with flattering
the fabric of
yoursleeves, and
carries the magic of
your fragrances through the air.
Oh, look, what beautiful boyscavort
there on the edge of the bank on courageous horses,
Shining as far as the sun's rays;
Already between the branches of the green willow
the young people trot along!
The horse of one of them neighs happily
And shies andwhizzesalong
, hooves sway over flowers, grasses,
you suddenly
trample the sunken blossoms in the storm ,
Hey! How his manes flutter in the tumult, his
nostrils steam hot!
Golden sun weaves around the figures,
reflects them in the clear water.
And the most beautiful of the Jungfrau'n sends
long looks of longing after him.
Their proud demeanor is only pretense.
In the twinkling of her large eyes,
In the dark of her hot gaze
, the excitement of
your heart still resonates plaintively .
5th movement: The drunk in spring
The original is again a poem by Li Bai: Feelings on Awakening from Intoxication on a Spring Day .
Li Bai
李白
春日醉起言志
處世若夢大,
胡 爲 勞 其 生。
所以 終日 醉 ，
頹然 臥 前 楹。
覺 來 盼 庭前 ，
一 鳥 花 間 鳴。
借 問 此 何時 ，
春風 語 流鶯。
感 之 欲 歎息 ，
對 酒 還 自 傾。
浩歌 待 明月 ，
曲 盡 已 忘情。
Lǐ Bái
Chūn rì zuì qǐ yán zhì
Chǔ shì ruò dà mèng,
Hú wèi láo qí shēng.
Suǒyǐ zhōng rì zuì,
Tuí rán wò qián yíng.
Jué lái pàn tíng qián,
Yī niǎo huā jiān míng.
Jièwèn cǐ héshí,
Chūn fēng yǔ liú yīng.
Gǎn zhī yù tànxī,
Duì jiǔ hái zì qīng.
Hào gē dài míng yuè,
Qū jìnyǐ wàngqíng.
Rough translation
Lǐ Bái
spring day get up drunk saying will / intention
live earth / world as if big dream,
why his / do / make work oneself life.
therefore (two characters) get-drunk all-day (two characters) ,
depressed / listless <adverb suffix> crouch in front / entrance pillar.
wake up come see yard in front of it,
a bird calling flowers in between.
ask (two characters) what time (two characters) ,
Spring wind chirping flow oriole.
moved by it want to sigh (two characters) ,
pour out for drink yourself.
a lot of singing waiting bright moon,
song to end (two characters) let-go (two characters) .
Saint-Denys
Apart from embellishments, the translation by Saint-Denys contains a small mistake: He personifies the answering bird and lets it answer directly, whereas the original only speaks of an oriole chirping in the spring wind.
Li-Taï-Pé: Un jour de printemps
[Le poète exprime ses sentiments au sortir de l'ivresse]
Si la vie est comme un grand songe,
A quoi bon tourmenter son existence!
Pour moi je m'enivre tout le jour,
Et quand je viens à chanceler, je m'endors au pied des premières colonnes.
A mon réveil je jette les yeux devant moi;
Un oiseau chante au milieu des fleurs;
Je lui demande à quelle époque de l'année nous sommes,
Il me répond à l'époque où le souffle du printemps fait chanter l'oiseau.
Je me sens ému et prêt à soupirer,
Mais je me verse encore à boire;
Je chante à haute voix jusqu'à ce que la lune brille,
Et à l'heure où finissent mes chants, j'ai de nouveau perdu le sentiment de ce qui m'entoure.
Heilmann
Li-Tai-Pe: A spring day.
If life is a dream,
why toil and toil!
I, I get intoxicated all day
and when I start to sway, I sink to sleep in front of the door of my house.
When I wake up again, I open my eyes.
A bird sings in the blossoming branches.
I ask him what time of year we live.
He tells me the time when the breath of spring makes the bird sing.
I'm shaken, sighs swell my chest.
But again I pour myself full the cup.
I sing in a loud voice until the moon shines.
And when my singing dies, I have lost the feeling for the world around me again.
Bethge
Bethge's adaptation uses iambic four- and three-pointers alternately.
Li-Tai-Po: The Drinker in Spring
If existence is only a dream,
then why toil and trouble?
I drink until I can't anymore,
all day long.
And when I can no longer drink,
Because
my body and throat are full, I stumble in front of my door
and sleep wonderfully!
What do I hear when I wake up? Listen,
a bird is singing in the tree.
I ask him if spring is already -
I feel like in a dream.
The bird chirps, yes, spring
will come overnight,
I sigh deeply moved,
the bird sings and laughs.
I fill the cup again
And empty it to the bottom
And sing until the moon shines
On the black round sky.
And when I can't sing anymore, I'll fall
asleep again.
What does spring concern me!
Let me be drunk!
Mahler
Li Tai-Bo: The Drunkard in Spring
when just a dream that life is,
why because toil and Plag '!?
I drink until I can't anymore,
all day long!
And when I can't drink anymore,
Because my throat and soul are full,
I stumble to my door
and sleep wonderfully!
What do I hear when I wake up? Listen!
A bird sings in the tree.
I ask him whether it is spring already,
I feel like in a dream.
The bird chirps: Yes! The spring
is there, come over night!
From the deepest look I listen,
the bird sings and laughs!
I refill the cup
And empty it to the bottom
And sing until the moon shines
In the black firmament!
And when I can't sing anymore,
I'll go back to sleep.
What do I care about spring !?
Let me be drunk!
6th movement: Farewell
The following two poems are the original sources for the 6th movement: Meng Haoran , overnight stay in Master Yès Bergklause, waiting in vain for Brother Dīng , and Wang Wei , farewell .
Meng Haoran
孟浩然
宿 業 師 山房 ，
待 丁 大 不 至
夕陽 度 西嶺 ，
群 壑 倏 已 暝。
松 月 生 夜 涼 ，
風 泉 滿清 聽。
樵 人 歸 欲盡 ，
煙 鳥 棲 初定。
之 子 期 宿 來 ，
孤 琴 候 蘿 徑。
Mèng Hàorán
Sù Yè shī shān fáng,
Dài Dīng dà bù zhì
Xī yáng dù xī lǐng,
Qún hè shū yǐ míng.
Sōng yuè shēng yè liáng,
Fēng quán mǎn qīng tīng.
Qiáo rén guī yù jǐn,
Yān niǎo qī chū dìng.
Zhī zǐ qī sù lái,
Gū qín hòu luó jìng.
Wang Wei
王維 送別
下馬
飲 君 酒 ，
問 君何 所 之。
君 言 不 得意 ，
歸 臥 南山 陲。
但 去 莫 復 問 ，
白雲 無盡 時。
Wáng Wéi
Sòngbié
Xià mǎ yìn jūn jiǔ,
Wèn jūn hé suǒ zhī.
Jūn yán bù déyì,
Guī wò nán shān chuí.
Dàn qù mò fù wèn,
Bái yún wú jìn shí.
Raw translations
"Brother Dīng" means 丁鳳 , Dīng Fèng , an acquaintance of Meng.
Mèng Hàorán
stay overnight Yè (name) Meister Berg Hütte,
wait Dīng (name) "brother" do not arrive
Evening sun pass / pass west mountains,
Group valley suddenly already dark.
Pine moon bring coolness to night,
Wind source fill hear clearly.
Firewood man return wish / longing greatest,
Fog birds sleep / sit definitely start.
That person expect to come stay overnight
alone zither await creepers way.
In most of the lines of the second poem the subject is absent; you have to imagine the lyrical self . In the penultimate line of the two possible solutions "Please go. Don't ask any further!" And "Please go. I don't ask any further!", Only the latter makes sense.
Wáng Wéi
say goodbye (two characters)
dismount horse you drink wine,
you ask where place to go.
you say unsuccessful (two characters) ,
go back lie down south mountain boundary.
but don't go ask again
know clouds don't end time.
Saint-Denys
Mong-kao-jen: Le poète attend son ami Ting-kong
dans une grotte du mont Nié-chy
Le soleil a franchi pour se coucher la chaîne de ces hautes montagnes,
Et bientôt toutes les vallées se sont perdues dans les ombres du soir.
La lune surgit du milieu des pins, amenant la fraîcheur avec elle,
Le vent qui souffle et les ruisseaux qui coulent remplissent mon oreille de sons purs.
Le book regagne son gîte pour réparer ses forces épuiseés;
L'oiseau a choisi sa branche, il perche déjà dans l'immobilité du repos.
Un ami m'avait promis de venir en ces lieux jouir avec moi d'une nuit si belle;
Je prends mon luth et, solitaire, je vais l'attendre dans les sentiers herbeux.
Ouang-oey: En se séparant d'un voyageur
Je descendis de cheval; je lui offris le vin de l'adieu,
Et je lui demandai quel était le but de son voyage.
Il me répondit: Je n'ai pas réussi dans les affaires du monde;
Je m'en retourne aux monts Nan-chan pour y chercher le repos.
Vous n'aurez plus désormais à m'interroger sur de nouveaux voyages,
Car la nature est immuable, et les nuages blancs sont éternels.
Heilmann
Mong-Kao-Jen: evening.
The sun sinks and disappears behind the high mountains;
The valleys are lost in the shadows of the evening;
The moon rises between the spruce trees and brings refreshing coolness with it,
The wind blows and the rushing of the brook fills my ears with louder sound.
The wood cutter goes to his bed to gain new strength.
The bird chooses its branch and sits in motionless rest.
A friend had promised me to come and enjoy the beauty of the night with me at this point.
I take my lute and walk lonely on grassy paths waiting for him.
The use of "San-Chan" is likely a typographical error; at Saint-Denys it says “Nan-Chan”. The interpretation as Nan-Shan - or Zhongnan Shan mountain range is probably incorrect - the literal translation of "nan shan" is simply "southern mountains / hills" and thus the location of Meng Haoran's family seat near Xiangyang in today's Hubei .
Wang Wei: Farewell to a friend.
I got off the horse, offered him the farewell
drink, and asked him the destination and purpose of his journey.
He said: I have had no luck in the world
and withdraw to my San-chan mountains to find peace there.
I will no longer wander into the distance,
because nature is always the same, and the white clouds are eternal.
Bethge
In the book The Chinese Flute , the two poems are arranged side by side on a double page. The notes mention that Meng Haoran and Wang Wei are friends, and that the expected person in the first poem is Wang Wei. The two poets were indeed friends, but the second claim is wrong, as one can easily see from the original title of the poem. Furthermore, Bethge claims in the same note, as also Saint-Denys before, that the person who wants to withdraw in the second poem is Meng Haoran, which is probably correct based on his life story.
Both poems use blank verses.
Mong-Kao-Jen: In anticipation of the friend
The sun parted behind the mountains,
In all the valleys the evening descended
With its shadows, which are full of cooling.
O see how a silver barge floats.
The moon rises behind the dark pines,
I feel a fine wind blowing.
The brook sings loudly through the darkness
Of rest and sleep ... The hardworking people
go home, full of longing for sleep.
The birds crouch tired in the branches,
The world falls asleep ... I stand here and wait for the
friend who promised to come to me.
I long, my friend,
to enjoy the beauty of this evening by your side -
where are you staying? You leave me alone for a long time!
I walk up and down with the lute
On paths that swell with soft grass, -
Oh, if you would come, if you would, unfaithful friend!
Wang-Wei: The friend's farewell
I got off my horse and gave him the drink of
Farewell. I asked him where
and why he wanted to travel. He
said
in a confused voice: You my friend, I was not lucky in this world.
Where am i going I wander in the mountains,
I'm looking for rest for my lonely heart.
I will never wander into the distance again, -
Tired is my foot, and tired is my soul,
the earth is the same everywhere,
and eternal, eternal are the white clouds ...
Mahler
In the song of the earth , the two poems are merged into a whole, only separated by an extensive orchestral interlude. Mahler's interventions in the text are serious and shift the meaning of the texts even more in the direction of Weltschmerz than is already given in Bethge's adaptation.
Meng-Hao-Ran / Wang-Wei: Farewell
The sun parted behind the mountains.
The evening descends in all the valleys
With its shadows that are full of cooling.
O see! Like a silver barge
the moon floats up on the blue sky lake.
I feel a fine wind blowing
behind the dark spruce trees!
The brook sings loudly through the darkness.
The flowers pale in the twilight.
The earth breathes full of rest and sleep,
All longing now wants to dream,
The tired people go home,
To
learn anew in their sleep, forget happiness and youth!
The birds crouch quietly in their branches.
The world is falling asleep!
It blows cool in the shade of my pines.
I stand here and wait for my friend;
I wait for his last farewell.
I long, my friend, by your side
to enjoy the beauty of this evening.
Where are you only ? You leave me alone for a long time!
I wander up and down with my lute
On paths that swell with soft grass.
O beauty! O eternal love - life's drunken world!
He got off his horse and handed him the drink of
Farewell. He asked him where
it was going and why it had to be.
He spoke, his voice was muffled: You, my friend,
I was not lucky in this world !
Where am I going? I'm going, I'm hiking in the mountains.
I'm looking for rest for my lonely heart!
I am walking home! My place!
I will never go far.
My heart is still and awaits its hour!
The dear earth everywhere
blossoms in spring and turns green again!
Everywhere and eternally
blue light the distant!
Forever ... forever ...
Remarks
- ↑ Bethge: The Chinese Flute . S. 103 f .
- ↑ Hamao: The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde . S. 85 .
- ↑ Weber: Chinese poems without Chinese in Gustav Mahler's "Song of the Earth" . S. 2 .
- ↑ Lo: Chinese poetry as the textual basis for Mahler's "Song of the Earth" . S. 517 f .
- ↑ Saint-Denys: Poésies de l'époque des Thang . S. 71 . A translation can be found in Weber: Chinese poems without Chinese in Gustav Mahler's “Song of the Earth” . S. 12 .
- ↑ Weber: Chinese poems without Chinese in Gustav Mahler's "Song of the Earth" . S. 13 .
- ↑ A jūn ( 鈞 ) is 30 jīn ( 斤 ). In the Tang Dynasty, a jīn was around 660g , so a jūn corresponds to almost 20kg and 1000 jūn therefore corresponds to 20 tons, an almost unimaginable amount of gold.
- ↑ A complete translation can be found in Weber: Chinese poems without Chinese in Gustav Mahler's “Song of the Earth” . S. 9 f .
- ↑ Lo: Chinese poetry as the textual basis for Mahler's "Song of the Earth" . S. 513 .
- ↑ Saint-Denys: Poésies de l'époque des Thang . S. 71 .
- ^ Tin-tun-ling. Retrieved April 2, 2020 (French).
- ↑ Hamao: The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde . S. 83 . This article also gives a more detailed description of Gautier's method of translating the roughly 60 poems whose originals can be identified.
- ↑ Saint-Denys: Poésies de l'époque des Thang . S. 277 .
- ↑ Hamao: The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde . S. 89 .
- ↑ Gautier did not recognize the meaning of the character 漢 and instead used the incorrect translation here, “ (Han) river ”.
- ↑ A complete translation can be found in Weber: Chinese poems without Chinese in Gustav Mahler's “Song of the Earth” . S. 14 .
- ↑ Hamao: The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde . S. 91 .
- ↑ Weber: Chinese poems without Chinese in Gustav Mahler's "Song of the Earth" . S. 16 .
- ↑ 王琦 , Wáng Qí : 李 太白 文集 輯 註 , Lǐ Tàibái wénjí jí zhù - "Comments on Lǐ Bái" . Beijing (?) 1759, chap. 20 (Chinese, digitized ).
- ↑ Hamao: The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde . S. 92 .
- ↑ Hamao: The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde . S. 84 .
- ↑ Hamao: The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde . S. 85 f .
- ↑ Hamao: The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde . S. 94 .
- ↑ This stream is located in today's Zhejiang Province , southeast of Shaoxing City .
- ↑ Weber: Chinese poems without Chinese in Gustav Mahler's "Song of the Earth" . S. 18 .
- ↑ de La Grange: A New Life Cut Short . S. 1308 (The section "On Chinese Poetry" was written by Chew.).
- ↑ Weber: Chinese poems without Chinese in Gustav Mahler's "Song of the Earth" . S. 18 .
- ↑ So the reading in Quantangshi. In other classic editions there is 丁 公 , Dīng gōng , where 公 is an honorable address of a higher-ranking personality.
- ↑ Bryant: The high T'ang poet Meng Hao-jan . S. 383, 220, 323 (footnote 117) .
- ↑ Bryant: The high T'ang poet Meng Hao-jan . S. 175A .
- ↑ Bethge: The Chinese Flute . S. 111 .
- ↑ Saint-Denys: Poésies de l'époque des Thang . S. 202 .
- ↑ Bryant: The high T'ang poet Meng Hao-jan . S. 163 ff .
- ↑ de La Grange: A New Life Cut Short . S. 1363 ff .
swell
- 全 唐詩 , Quán Tángshī - "All Tang Poems". Peking 1705 (Chinese,text on Wikisource- Largest collection of Tang poems, published under the name of the Qing EmperorKangxi).
- Léon d'Hervey de Saint-Denys : Poésies de l'époque des Thang (VII e , VIII e et IX e siècles de notre ère) . Traduites du chinois pour la première fois, une étude sur l'art poétique en Chine et des notes explicatives par le Marquis d'Hervey-Saint-Denys . Amyot, Paris 1862 (French, full text in the Google book search).
- Judith Gautier: Le Livre de Jade, poésies traduites du chinois . Nouvelle édition considérablement augmentée et ornée de vignettes et de gravures hors texte d'après les artistes chinois . Félix Juven, Paris 1902 (French, digitized ).
- Hans Heilmann : Chinese poetry, from the 12th century BC. Until the present . In German translation, with an introduction and comments by Hans Heilmann. R. Piper, Munich / Leipzig 1905.
- Hans Bethge : The Chinese Flute. Adaptations of Chinese poetry. YinYang Media, Kelkheim 2007, ISBN 3-9806799-5-0 (reprint of the first edition from 1907).
Secondary literature
- Daniel Joseph Bryant: The high T'ang poet Meng Hao-jan: studies in biography and textual history . University of British Columbia, Vancouver 1977 (English, digitized, 25MB ).
- Fusako Hamao: The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde . In: Nineteenth Century Music . tape 19 . University of California Press, Oakland 1995, pp. 83-95 , doi : 10.2307 / 746721 , JSTOR : 746721 (English).
- Henry-Louis de La Grange : A New Life Cut Short (1907-1911) . In: Gustav Mahler . tape 4 . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-816387-9 , Appendix 1Ba: The Song of the Earth (English).
- Kii-Ming Lo : Chinese poetry as the textual basis for Mahler's "Song of the Earth" . In: Matthias Theodor Vogt (Ed.): The Gustav Mahler Festival Hamburg 1989 . Report on the international Gustav Mahler Congress. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1991, ISBN 3-7618-1015-6 , p. 509-528 .
- Jürgen Weber: Chinese poems without Chinese in Gustav Mahler's “Song of the Earth”. A literal translation of the originals compared to the post-poetry. (PDF; 0.4 MB) 2009 .