Transcript
Eva Yung 1Symbolist uses imagery or objects to send a subtle message or express emotion from the poet. According to Lin, “t o evoke and intimate rather than to state directly was a primary aim of the Symbolists.” 1 The ambiguity of the symbolism in these poems can also draw out the reader‟s inner self as he attributes his own meanings during the reading process. Symbolist poetry was first introduced to China in the 1920s, by Li Jinfa, one of China‟s most important modern poets. Little is known about Li ‟s life. From bits and pieces of information, we know Li was born in Guangdong sometime around 1900. His given name wasShuliang, but he adopted the pen name Jinfa (Golden Hair) after the blond goddess who appeared before him during a hallucination when he was ill. 2 In his twenties, he traveled to Europe andwhile he was in France, he became interested in French Symbolist poetry. 3 Translating FrenchSymbolist poetry and writing some of his own, he was able to introduce this expressive art to aChinese audience. However, many Chinese were unable to comprehend his “medley of enigmatic images and private symbolism. ” 4 In addition, not only were his poemsincomprehensible, many of his themes were dark and depressing, while ironically (for mostreaders) displaying some form of love. “Tenderness,” “Thoughts , ” “ Misfortune ,” “WomanForsaken” are four of his poems that contain these dark themes and love, as well as his infamoussymbolism. Close readings of the translations of these four poems (translations by Lin [1972],Yeh [1992], and Hsu [1964]) reveal that his poems are not only beautifully constructed, but theyalso express the different perspectives of each individual reader or translator. 1 Lin, 153 2 Yeh (1992), p. 17 3 Lin, p. 152-153 4 Lin, p. 153 Eva Yung 2In Modern Chinese Poetry: An Introduction, Julia Lin interprets “Tenderness ( 温柔 ) ”(1922) as “Li Jinfa‟s ambivalent attitude toward Beauty :” 5 With my rude fingertipsI feel the warmth of your flesh;The small fawn lost his way in the woods;Only the sighs of dead leaves remain.Your low feeble voiceScreams in my barren heart,And I, the conqueror of all,Have broken my spear and shield. Your “tender glance” Is like a butcher‟s warning of slaughter; Your lips? No need to mention them!I would rather trust your arms.I believe in the crazy fairy tales, But not in a woman‟s love. I am not used to making comparisons,But you do resemble the shepherdess in fiction.I exhaust all musical tunes,But fail to please your ears;I use every color,But none can capture your beauty. 6 Lin suggests that Li Jinfa is personifying Beauty. She states, “[Beauty] is the object of his love as well as his frustrations.” 7 However, in Lin‟s translations, this poem comes to be about both the stages of a man‟s love for a woman and the influence they have in each other‟s lives .In the first stanza, we see that it accentuates both the speaker„s and the woman‟s fleetinginnocence. From the first two lines, “With my rude fingertips/I feel the warmth of your flesh,” it seems as if her beauty is tainted by his love. His “rude fingertips” touch her warm flesh, or skin. 5 Lin, p. 158 6 Lin, p. 158-159 7 Lin, p. 158 Eva Yung 3 “Rude fingertips” are not soft or gentle; they are usually dry, cracked, and prodding. When wethink of warm flesh, it has a gentle, pure, and soft connotation. So touching her warm flesh with his “rude fingertips” represents his negative influence on her innocence .The poem continues with the theme of innocence – in the third line – the small fawn thatappears represents innocence. To be more specific, the speaker ‟s innocence. His innocence is in question as he “[loses] his way in the woods.” Getting lost in the woods, the fawn has deviatedfrom his path. In other words, the speaker‟s innocence has stra yed from the path it oncefollowed. Therefore, he is not innocent or pure as he was. The “sighs of dead leaves” further emphasize this point. The sighs are the sounds of crinkled leaves either being stepped on by thefawn or being blown in the wind, grazing the ground. This symbolizes his purity is fleeting as hestays with his lover – she is negatively influencing him as well.From the second stanza to the end, we see from the speaker ‟s perspective, how he hasinflue nced his lover‟s life , and she his own. “Your low feeble voice/screams in my barren heart.” Even though her voice is weak, it echoes within his soul, like a first love unable to escape the heart‟s memory. Her image resonates within him. Although he seems to be a “conqueror of all,” he is unable to drive “[her] voice” from his heart. He breaks his weapons because as much as he fights to rid his tainted heart of her, he cannot. He is surrendering to his love. However, “[her] „tender glance‟” is compared to a “butcher‟s warning of slaughter.” This shows that their love has become bittersweet and her innocence has turned to violence. In thenext two lines, lips represent words and arms represent actions. He would rather believe in her actions than her words; he cannot trust her when she states her love. He can only trust her physical expressions. The fourth stanza furthers this idea by instigating that the speaker would Eva Yung 4rather trust “crazy fairy tales” than this woman‟s love. Alt hough crazy, fairy tales are static; thetales and the morals never change, but love is fickle – it‟s constantly changing. Nevertheless, through the frustrations that they both face, he cannot forget her for she “resembles the shepherdess in fiction . ” 8 Like the prince in the tale, the speaker cannot overlook her appearance. The last stanza fully emphasizes the speaker‟s point: no tunes or images canever capture her beauty. In the end, this woman has greatly influenced the speaker and he cannotescape the memories of her.Julia Lin, Kai-Yu Hsu, and Michelle Yeh all have translated this particular piece by LiJinfa. They read the same srcinal Chinese text from Li Jinfa, but each translates the poemdifferently. For the first line, “ 我以冒昧的指尖 ,” Lin and Yeh translate 指尖 as “ fingertips, ” but Hsu uses “ fingers. ” Fingertips are more sensual than fingers. Touching her with his fingertips,the speaker caresses her skin with care, afraid to damage her. However, replacing it with “ fingers, ” evokes an image of roughness, which fits well with Hsu‟s description of t hese fingers, “rude and crude.” Hsu, Lin, and Yeh all translate the rest of the stanza differently. The third line in thesrcinal, “ 小鹿在林里失路 ,” does not state the sex of the baby deer. Hsu follows the srcinalChinese text – opting to use the neuter possessive pronoun: “The little fawn lost its way in theforest.” The fawn here represents innocence. Because of the ambiguity of the fawn ‟s sex , we donot know whose innocence is in question. Therefore, it can represent that of the speaker, hislover, or both. Lin and Yeh, however, assign a sex for the deer . Lin thinks the fawn is male: “ The 8 According to Lin, Li is referring to Paul Sébillot‟s “The Dirty Shepherdess , ” a French fairy tale. A beautiful princess, disguised as a shepherdess, dresses in filthy clothing and covers her hands and face in mud in order to findwork after her father banished her from the court. One day, in order to relive her past, she wears her fine clothes anda prince catches her. He falls in love with her beauty and is determined to meet with her. After some obstacles (similar to Disney‟s Cinderella), the prince and the princess meet and marry. At the wedding, the princess‟s father realizes he had misunderstood his daughter‟s words and they reconcile. (http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/371.htm)
