Comments on: archy and mehitabel and du fu

By: Wentao

Wentao — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:16:46 +0000

I suppose some 流水对 in ancient poetry may be considered as a sort of “enjambment”. Such “run-on lines” would be more common if 对仗 is not necessary.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:40:01 +0000

@Magnus — Goddammit! Yes, you got me. I still stand by my point.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:39:28 +0000

Hey Jim — it basically depends, but if I’m working, then I’m going for speed, which means that I’m using computer dictionaries wherever possible. nCiku is pretty good in a lot of contexts, as is Adso. Google Translate is getting better, but still has the nasty habit of occasionally giving very reasonable-sounding but utterly wrong translations. For neologisms, Baidu Zhidao is invaluable, as people have often asked (in Chinese) for explanations of new coinages.

Also, real men use Chi- etc etc.

By: Cheng

Cheng — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:29:43 +0000

good lord. U know Chinese better than I do.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:04:07 +0000

Brendan,

Which Chinese-English dictionary do you rely on when translating? I have several dead-tree dictionaries that are at least better than Wenlin et al. But I’m still not satisfied. Anyway, just wondering what you use. (If you say that real men only use Chinese-Chinese dictionaries or something along those lines, then I’ll harrumph at you loudly.)

Thanks

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:24:26 +0000

You made me look up a character there

By: Magnus Nordenhake

Magnus Nordenhake — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:56:42 +0000

I thought
旧时王谢堂前燕
飞入寻常百姓家
in 刘禹锡’s 乌衣巷was the only exception?

By: Brendan O'Kane

Brendan O'Kane — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:18:02 +0000

@Hao: I understand that using profanity in one’s dissertation is frowned upon, so probably not, at least for now.

@jdmartinsen: There was a great Metafilter thread a while ago where people took great poems and rewrote them as limericks. (Jim contributed a wonderful rendition of “Dulce et Decorum” that pretty much won the thread as far as I was concerned.) May be time to do that for Chinese poems too.

A filial girl named Mulan
Didn’t want Dad to fight for the Khan.
So she got her a saddle
And rode off to battle,
The whole while disguised as a man.

By: jdmartinsen

jdmartinsen — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:57:48 +0000

The results can be quite grim for the reverse, too.

It could always be worse. Consider Li Yi’s immortal “Limerick of the Southern River”:

My husband, a merchant of Kui,
Puts off my needs day after day.
If instead I’d relied
On the regular tide,
A surfer’s wife I’d be today.

By: alai

alai — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:33:44 +0000

ftw a+