feng zhi

Feng Zhi

Feng Zhi was born Feng Chengzhi in 1905 in Hebei province. He graduated from Beijing University, where he had studied German from 1921–27 and later (1930–35), studied German philosophy and literature in Berlin and Heidelberg. He published two poetry collections, Songs of Yesterday (1927) and Northern Wanderings and Other Poems (1929), and then didn’t publish for over a decade. He began writing again after fleeing Beijing for the south of China.

 

Sonnet 15: Look at Those Teams of Pack Horses

english translation

Sonnet 15: Look at Those Teams of Pack Horses

original Chinese poem

15. 看这一队队的驮马

      看这一队队的骡马
      驮来了远方的货物,
      水也会冲来一些泥沙
      从些不知名的远处,

      风从千万里外也会
      掠来些他乡的叹息:
      我们走过无数的山水,
      随时占有,随时又放弃,

      仿佛鸟飞行在空中,
      它随时都管领太空,
      随时都感到一无所有。

      什么是我们的实在?
      从远方什么也带不来
      从面前什么也带不走

 

Chou Ping

Chou Ping is a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. He has coedited/co-translated several books with Tony Barnstone, including Chinese Erotic Poetry (Everyman, 2007); The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry (Anchor, 2005); and The Art of Writing: Teachings of the Chinese Masters (Shambhala, 1996).

 

 

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