The source text.

蝶恋花
晚止昌乐馆寄姊妹

泪湿罗衣脂粉满，四叠阳关，唱到千千遍。人道山长山又断，萧萧微雨闻孤馆。惜别伤离方寸乱，忘了临行，酒盏深和浅。好把音书凭过雁，东莱不似蓬莱远。

 

 

A “literal” explanation and translation of the poem, along with notes on form and an audio reading of the poem in Mandarin.

The chart below the source text with its pinyin and the tone patterns (see the end of this section a brief explanation of the three tone categories “平” level, “仄” changing, and “中” any, which are based on their ancient pronunciations), along with some English literal translations and brief explanations of any allusions or idioms.

平 (ping) = denoting a character that has a long flat tone
仄 (ze) = denoting a character that has an uneven, changing tone
中 (zhong) = a character that can have any tone 

 

A note on the poem’s form: this poem by Song dynasty poet Li Qingzhao is a cipai 词牌 (a type of ancient Chinese poetic form that became popularized in the Song Dynasty), specifically the cipai named as 蝶恋花 (“The Butterfly Loves the Flower”). These cipai forms, which are akin to other poetic forms such as the haiku or the sonnet, each contain a set of rules that constrain a poem’s syllable (character) count per line, the rhythmic and tonal patterns, and the rhyme scheme. 

What makes the cipai unique from other poetic forms is that each cipai form’s conventions were derived from a corresponding melody that existed in ancient China and is named after that melody. To write a poem in the form of a particular cipai would therefore be to write the lyrics for the pre-existing melody for that cipai. Poems written in the form of cipai were meant to be sung rather than recited, but the original melodies that inspired the creation of cipai forms have been lost, leaving only written records of the cipai forms and the poems written in these forms. 

While the melody for the “The Butterfly Loves the Flower” cipai form no longer exists, and it is very difficult to confirm how the poem was read in Classical Chinese in the Song dynasty, Yilin has recorded a reading of the poem in modern Mandarin below.

 

 

 

A Translation by Yilin Wang, with commentary about her translation process in the footnotes:

 

The Butterfly Loves the Flower

For my sisters, as I stop at Chang-Le Inn for the night¹

 

Trails² of tears seeped through silk gowns, smearing makeup everywhere;
the farewell song of “Yang Pass,” a four-line verse repeated twice,
sung again and again, for thousands and thousands of times.
People speak of how the mountain path stretches on and on, yet abruptly it ends;³
among the soft susurration⁴ of gentle rain, I listen, in the lonely inn.

Loathing to part, a sorrowful goodbye, the heart in turmoil,⁵
forgetting that at the send-off feast,
how much rice wine had been poured and drunk.⁶
Please endeavor to impart your tidings⁷ to the wild geese soaring past;
Donglai is not as far away as the mythical Penglai.⁸

__________________

¹ I decided to break the title into a main title (the cipai form) and a subtitle, because in Chinese literature, the cipai form is often displayed as a separate title above the poem’s title. I read the line “晚止昌乐馆寄姊妹” as suggesting the poem is both written to and for the sisters, so I phrased the subtitle like a dedication to allude to the Chinese tradition of writing poems dedicated to other people.
² I use the phrase “trails of tears” as opposed to just “tears” or “teardrops” here because I decided to translate the emotions rather than the literal words, in order to convey that the sisters wept so much their makeup smeared everywhere.
³ I interpreted this line as describing the speaker’s travels before they reached the inn, and translated it while paying attention to this contrast. The phrase “stretches on and on” echoes the repetition of the character 山 (mountain) in the Chinese (山长山又段) and hints at the endlessness. I also use “abruptly” to emphasize the sudden, abrupt feeling of the character “断” (break).
⁴ 萧萧 simultaneously a really soft word for describing the sounds of wind/rain, as well as a word that conveys a sad, gentle, and lonely feeling. I chose “susurration” because of its soft “s” sounds, then tried to strengthen the mood here with deliberate word choices like “lonely,” “gentle,” and “soft.”
⁵ For this line, I went for more literal translations, breaking the line into three word units, paying attention to the sentence’s progression, from being “sad to part” to the “goodbye” itself to the speaker’s feelings. I kept the diction simple and straightforward to reflect the directness of the Chinese.
⁶ Since this line alludes to past lines in Classical Chinese poetry about forgetting how much wine has been drunk, I translated the sentence more for its implied meaning rather than focusing on the literal “depth” and “shallowness” of the wine in the cup.
⁷ For the word 音书, I wanted to find an archaic and more poetic word for “personal updates and news from home”. Ideally, it would also flow with the allusion about the wild geese carrying one’s feelings and news to loved ones far away. I eventually settled on the word “tidings.”
⁸ I glossed the pinyin place names in this line to clarify that Donglai is a “county” and that Penglai is a mythical place that’s far away.

 

 

A Translation by Vivian Li, along with commentary about translation choices in the footnotes

 

The Butterfly Loves the Flower: An Evening⁹ Poem to my Sisters from Chang-Le Inn

Tears seeping through silk gowns and smudging¹⁰ makeup everywhere;
a parting melody, “Yang Pass,” four lines echoed twice,
sung thousands upon thousands of times.¹¹
Others have said, the mountain path is long and everlasting—and yet, it crumples¹²,
the whispers of soft rain lingering, I listen, alone, in the deserted inn.¹³

Abhorring farewells, rueful of departures, my heart tumultuous,¹⁴
forgetting at the farewell dinner,¹⁵ how many times my wine cup was emptied and refilled¹⁶.
Please convey your sentiments¹⁷ to the wild geese skimming¹⁸ past;
Donglai is not as distant as the legendary Penglai.

__________________

⁹ I decided to include “Evening” in order to capture the mood and the reflective quality of the poem, including how it feels like a confessional letter at times. Darkness often brings out the fears and woes we have carried and managed to ignore for most of the day due to daily tasks.
¹⁰ I employed “smudging” as I interpreted this moment as tears interacting with powder and thus colouring the speaker’s environment.
¹¹ I focus on echoing quality as I interpreted that emotions related to the farewell are multiplying and deeply related to the previous moment of the speaker’s memory.
¹² I approached the line with more of a metaphorical interpretation, wherein the speaker laments that others think the path of familial relationships is timeless and everlasting when in actuality the previous easy communication between her and her sisters has collapsed (at least for the moment), and cannot be bridged.
¹³ I decided to utilize “whisper” to reflect softness in lonely and cold moods found in the melancholy movement of nature. I also included “deserted” as I interpreted how the speaker might see their surroundings as empty given their current state of mind.
¹⁴ I included a more archaic tone to this line as I feel there’s a subtle turn from the first stanza to the second, where the speaker reaches deeper into her past. I wanted to show this slightly different shift in language.
¹⁵ I didn’t include a break in this line due to the implied similarities and flow between the dinner and the wine cup being refilled.
¹⁶ I took on a more interpretive approach to this phrase, focusing on how many times the cup was emptied rather than its shallowness or depth.
¹⁷ I decided to translate 音书 to “sentiments” as it includes the implicit news, fears, and emotions that can be delivered through the wild geese to loved ones (in a symbolic manner). The fact that letters from home are often filled with emotions also influenced my choice.
¹⁸ I decided on “skimming” as I interpreted the speaker as wanting her heart to be as light as their wings when she’s finally able to reconnect with her sisters.

 

 

“The Butterfly Loves the Flower(s)” Cipai Form

 

A Poem Sent to My Sisters, as I Stoppeth at Prosperity Inn for the Night

Co-translated by Yilin Wang and Vivian Li

 

Tears soaked through Luo Silk gowns, smeared blush and powder everywhere,
farewell tune of “Sunhill Passage,”
four lines sung twice, a thousand times over.
People speaketh: the mountain path is long; but then it ends.
The faint rain whispering mournfully through the lonely inn.

Loathing to part, a sorrowful goodbye, the heart aching.
Failing to recall the last feast,
how shallow or deep my wine cup remained.
Please relay your messages to the wild geese passing by,
Donglai is not as faraway as the fabled Penglai. 

 

Translators’ Note: We decided to complete a co-translation of the poem where we prioritized translating and recreating the poem’s formal elements, specifically its cipai form “The Butterfly Loves Flower(s)” (蝶恋花). We decided to choose more archaic diction and include an elevated register to preserve the formal diction of the original. Then, we charted out the poem’s meter and formal elements based on the poem’s cipai, and tried to find ways to transpose them into English.

Firstly, we decided to equate each Chinese character (syllable) with two English syllables in order to accommodate the fact that many English words tend to have multiple syllables, so each line of the English translation has twice as many syllables as each line in the Chinese cipai. Secondly, to try to recreate the tonal patterns of the cipai in the English translation, we decided to match the level and changing tones of the original to unstressed and stressed syllables in English, which is one of its closer formal equivalents. Thirdly, despite the fact it is impossible to know what the poem sounded like in the Classical Chinese spoken in the Song dynasty, we tried to preserve the sound of the original poem as read in Mandarin by implementing a similar rhyme scheme with perfect and slant rhyme.

 

"The Butterfly Loves Flower(s)” Cipai Form Song by Vivian (Xiao Wen) Li

 

 

Translator's Note: The addition of the song is due to Song Dynasty cipai being traditionally sung based on the music of the cipai form, which has since been lost. I have attempted to envision a musical piece with similar principles to the patterns and rhythms of the above translation. I tried to repeat harmonies and melodies for similar tone patterns, as well as echoing the stanzas while maintaining a melancholic and slightly hopeful mood within the piece. The rain invites moments of reflection in the song. I feel there is an implicit rise in conflict and confusion with “Loathing to part,” which is then reflected in the crescendos and intensity of the music. The rhythm and rhyme of the poem was also emphasized through dips and rising movements of the piece. For instance, “but then it ends” lingers on an E5, as is “lonely inn”, thus highlighting the rhyme between these two lines. I’ve composed two versions of the song, and for this rendition, I focused on emotion and conveying the loneliness and internal conflict/ dissonance of the speaker’s mood.

The process of writing this piece was first considering the notes and chords employed in Chinese classical music, as well as choosing the key and meter. I decided on A minor due to its more sorrowful tone and emotional charge. I attempted to parallel the tone patterns from the original Chinese in the rhythm of the song, then decided on repeating harmonies that would highlight the rhyme and/or patterns in the music. I recorded my piano track first on Logic Pro, delving into the emotions evoked by the poem, before pairing the music with a vocal track on Adobe Audition and rain background. The ending A minor 7 chord reflects the slightly hopeful ending of the poem, as the speaker realizes her family’s sentiments can still reach her despite their distance.

 

 

___________________

Biographies

 

Li Qingzhao 李清照 (1084-1155) was a Song dynasty Chinese poet and essayist, and widely considered the most renowned and talented female poet from Chinese history. A representative poet of the Wǎnyuē School (婉约派, literally “the subtle and restrained”), Li wrote primarily in the cípái form. She wrote six volumes of poetry during her lifetime, of which only around 60 poems survive.

 

Yilin Wang 王艺霖 (she/they) is a writer, a poet, and Chinese-English translator. Her writing has appeared in Clarkesworld, Fantasy Magazine, The Malahat Review, Grain, CV2, The Puritan, The Toronto Star, The Tyee, Words Without Borders, and elsewhere. She is the editor and translator of The Lantern and Night Moths (Invisible Publishing, 2024). Her translations have also appeared in POETRY, Guernica, Room, Asymptote, Samovar, The Common, LA Review of Books’ “China Channel,” and the anthology The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories (TorDotCom 2022). She has won the Foster Poetry Prize, received an Honorable Mention in the poetry category of Canada’s National Magazine Award, and has been longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize. Yilin has an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and is a graduate of the 2021 Clarion West Writers Workshop.

WEBSITE

 

Vivian (Xiao Wen) Li is a queer and neurodivergent Chinese-Canadian writer, musician, and interdisciplinary artist suffering from depression. Her creative works have been published in The Fiddlehead, QWERTY, The Massachusetts Review, Uncanny, and The New Quarterly, among others. Most recently, she was Shortlisted for the Peter Hinchcliffe Short Fiction Award, Shortlisted for the Vancouver City Poems Contest, and Shortlisted for The Kenyon Review Short Nonfiction Contest Contest. She is the author of Someday I Promise, I'll Love You (845 Press), and the writer/ director of three short films that have premiered across Canada as well as internationally in festivals such as Reel Asian Film Festival, Bali International Short Film Festival, and Whistler Film Festival. She is a 2024 ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition Semifinalist, and her full-length play, The Unknown, My Child had a staged reading at Arts Club Theatre last year. She is currently editing her adult experimental thesis novel involving letters, sisterhood, and reincarnation. Her writing often engages with in-between identity, mental health, and music. She loves mountains, cafes, and can be reached @vivianlicreates.