Ana here! For the next while I’ll be handpicking translations of Chinese prose and poetry from our print publication, Spittoon Literary Magazine. Our purpose is for these introductions to introduce you to the art in translation. This month, we have two poems from Issue 4 — Du Lulu’s “She and the Girls” and “Hello,” translated into English by Stephen Nashef.
In the first poem, “She and the Girls,” a certain feeling of sequencing reigns. This, to me, is present in the original text by means of certain words and expressions such as 安排好字的秩序 or repetitive structures such as 一个正在……一个正在. It is then reinforced by verbs such as 走出来 or the ending of a line coinciding with the beginning of the next, like the use of 一排 in lines 14 and 15. Nashef maintains this and reinforces it with distinct word choice:
She puts them in order. In perfect formation, they set off.
…………………………………
they stride out of her, a non-stop
barrage of girls spawning more girls
They form a line in front of her eyes
…………………………………
poke the rank and file of her words.
There is a faint military vibe here that, to me, works well with the poem.
Chinese characters are often lacking in direct meanings that are easily detected and translatable into a Western language. They thus require the reader’s expertise to extract their whole, hidden potential. In the poem, “Hello,” the first line has the word 迫来, the meanings of which Nashef merges into one: A sad face forces its way over.
Here’s another difficult line from “Hello”:
他的眼球长进了我 his eyeballs bulging at me
The idea of eyes 长进 at somebody is, for starters, not all that straight-forward to picture, and certainly not that easy to convey in a literary and/or aesthetic fashion. Eyes that are extending? Rather, eyes that lengthen in at somebody—eyes that are eager about what they’re seeing. Eyes that are bulging at the poem’s “I.”
两手老实点 / 垂下来 / 像胸脯那样松软躺下来(…) let both hands / dutifully descend / and lie down soft as a bosom
老实(点) initially has the meanings of “honest, sincere, well-behaved,” none of which would fit “hands” too well. Hands, however, can act dutifully—as they do in this line, always keeping the rhythm of the poem in tune with the characteristics of the target language.
Enjoy!
— Ana Padilla Fornieles
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Note: For small screens, try landscape view to minimize scrolling or line wrapping.
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你好 一张忧伤的脸向我迫来。 他靠得太近，眼睑触犯到我的 他的眼球长进了我 不断放大的瞳孔、心脏 还要怎么呼吸呢？ 抓住这两具不断退后的 物体。 它们有温度，有良知 它们在交流每一刻的醒悟。 这是我睡着时发生的事。 今天下午，我洗了澡洗干净牙齿 洗了昨天的记忆 与明天的可能性，这一天我只愿意 想着此刻。 像个尝试运用扫帚的女巫， 抬起腿 又放下，我飞不起来， 动不了啦。 很困，亲爱的。 我睡在床上，停止身体所有晃动 安静的娃娃， 你们见过的，就是那个样子 脱下帽子，放平脑袋与肩膀，两手老实点 垂下来， 像胸脯那样松软躺下来。 我要独自呆会儿， 别提醒我傍晚必须爬起来。 什么也和我没关系。 谁也别来。 不要让我嚷嚷，我看不见倒退的事实。 这房子让它旋转吧， 像一道白光散开吧。 带上我， 随便去哪里。 哦，我说的是先前的想法， 这张脸来之前。 它来了， 它像个恶狠狠的混蛋堵到我面前。 而我尚未认出它便 举起了白旗。 “你好。” 2014.11.10 Hello A sad face forces its way over. He is too close, his eyelids infringing on mine his eyeballs bulging at me, my dilating pupils and heart, how can I breathe? Grab hold of those two objects that keep pulling back. They have some warmth and a conscience, they speak with each moment of realisation. This is something that took place as I slept. This afternoon I showered, brushed my teeth, cleaned away yesterday’s memories and tomorrow’s possibilities. Today I want only to think of right now. Like a witch trying to take off on her broom, lifting my legs then putting them down. I cannot fly. I can’t move. I’m tired, my darling. I’ll just take a nap on the bed, shut down the trembling in my body. Quiet baby. You’ve seen it before, you all know how it’s done: take off your hat, rest your head and shoulders flat, let both hands dutifully descend and lie down soft as a bosom. I want to stay a while on my own. Don’t remind me of nightfall when I must climb up again. Nothing concerns me, no one is to come. You must not let me shout. I cannot see the truth making its way back. Let’s make the house spin and diffract like a beam of white light. Take me with you wherever. Oh but these are earlier thoughts, from the time before that face came. Then it came, like some feral bastard choking my space and without even knowing what it was I raised the white flag. “Hello.” 2014.11.10
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女孩们与她 那些打算对你说的话 在这个女人的小腹里沤烂， 她隔着肚皮用手指与 这些话做过交流，试图和解 字与字之间的矛盾。 这一刻与下一刻的不同。 她安排好字的秩序，整队，出发 她张开嘴唇，深深叹出一口气 这声连绵不绝的气息 从她心里挖出 一个正在叹气的女孩。 一个正在吐出另一个女孩的人。 她们从她的心里走出来，不断 生出更多的女孩。她们在她面前站成一排。 一排叹气的长发女孩。 她们蹲下来，躺下来， 抚摸她的肚皮，用手敲击她组建好的字词队伍 打散已有的秩序。 她们无赖地对着她喘气，胡言乱语。 她们弄砸了这一切。 她们让她变成了口吃的傻瓜。 听，她艰难地想吐出几个 尚能保持完整的字。她说，“我——” “我”需要什么？“我”会怎样？ “我”正急切的等待与你说话。 这个“我”，在她口中持续了相当长的发音， 以至于再没有第二个音出现。 她们无事可做了，又跳进她的嘴里。 我没有回去， 我留在她身边擦着她的眼泪。 2015.2.8 She and the Girls Those things this woman planned to say to you are in her stomach frothing and rotting. With her finger up against the skin of her belly she confers with the words, attempts to resolve the conflicts between characters. The difference between this moment and the next. She puts them in order. In perfect formation, they set off. She opens her mouth and lets out a deep sigh. This long, unbroken breath unearths from inside a girl who is sighing. A girl exhaling another girl. They stride out of her, a non-stop barrage of girls spawning more girls. They form a line in front of her eyes. A row of exhaling girls with long hair. They get down on their knees, lie down on their backs. They stroke the skin of her belly, poke the rank and file of her words, destroying her order, a team of panting delinquents talking nonsense at her. They shatter it all. They turn her into a stammering fool. Listen, she’s struggling to spit out one or two words that have maintained some integrity. She says, “I –” What do “I” need? What will “I” become? “I” am anxious to talk with you. The “I” draws itself out in her mouth until no other sound can follow. There is nothing more to be done so they jump back into her mouth. I didn’t go back. I stayed by her side to help her wipe her tears. 2015.2.8
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To read the full set of Nashef’s translations of Du Lulu, buy a copy of Spittoon Literary Magazine Issue 4.
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Du Lulu 杜绿绿 was born in Hefei, Anhui in August 1979 and currently lives in Guangzhou. Her published collections include: Let Us Talk About the Right Flame, She Has Not Met a Brown Horse, Adventure Island, and Approximation. Her latest work, Dragonfly Gods: 23 Poems, was published independently by Dufu Bookstore. She is the recipient of the Pearl River International Poetry Festival’s Young Poet’s Award, the October Poetry Award, and the Biennial Top Ten Chinese Poems.
Ana Padilla Fornieles 林诗安 is a Spanish writer and translator currently based in Beijing. Her work in both fields has been featured in Womankind magazine, The Shanghai Literary Review, Spittoon Literary Magazine, 聲韻詩刊 (Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine) and the Spanish website China traducida y por traducir, and her comics have been featured in the Shanghai zine Shaving in the Dark. She is a moderator for the feminist book club Our Shared Shelf and a regular contributor to Spanish cultural magazine Le Miau Noir. You can follow her on Instagram @holdenslake.