Night in Taipei
台北之夜
作者：紀弦
開始有了一些兒秋意的夏夜，
月蝕後的月亮真的更圓，更好看了。
風吹飄起你的桃色的裙和我的金領帶，
使發出旗一般的颯颯之響。
清涼，神秘，寧靜，織著鑲銀邊的藍夢，
睡眠在月光下的台北有七種美。
所以我深愛這蒼黑的，跨越鐵道的天橋，
和這橋上無言而多詩的小立。
Night in Taipei
by Ji Xian
There is a touch of autumn chill this summer night
After eclipse the moon looks fuller and prettier
Like a banner, the sighing breeze gently teases
Your pink skirt, my golden tie
A blue dream framed in a silver circle is quietly woven
Dreaming under moonlight, Taipei reveals seven faces of its beauty
That’s why I really love this dark railway bridge
Where I stand silent filled with poetry.
-Translated by Karl K. Zhang, George Mason University
Die Nacht in Taipeh
von Ji Xian
Es ist ein Hauch von Herbsteskühle in dieser Sommernacht,
der Mond scheint voller und schöner nach der Verfinsterung,
Wie mit einer Fahne spielt die Brise
mit deinem rosafarbenen Rock und meiner goldenen Krawatte.
Ein blauer Traum, von einem Silberkreis umgeben, wird still gewebt,
im Mondlicht träumend, enthüllt Taipeh seine sieben Schönheiten.
Darum liebe ich diese dunkle Eisenbahnbrücke,
auf der ich schweigend stehe – voller Poesie.
-Übersetzt von Felix R. Zhang, Pomona College und Heribert Uschtrin, Goethe-Institut Washington
About the Poet: Ji Xian (b. 1913)
This groundbreaking poet was an advocate of wholesale westernization in Chinese poetry. After leaving Shanghai in 1948, he was looked upon as “the high priest of modernism” in Taiwan, where he taught school until his retirement in 1974. He now lives in California.
About the Poem: Night in Taipei
This poem demonstrates convincingly that romance can flourish on a city street as easily as in a country garden. Typically, perhaps, it is a man we encounter here, moved by the contrasts of a changing season and the re-appearing moon to recognize the beauty all around him. On such a night, we can believe, a railroad bridge is every bit as suitable as any ancient castle wall for poetry and love.
