Because I'm not tall, the shirt is a little too long for me. Tonight I went to my mom to have it altered. My dad marveled at the shirt and suggested I translate the poem into English. On my way back home, I was thinking about how I would translate it. However, I got stuck at the very beginning. The first sentence 明月幾時有 can be translated as "When will the moon be bright?" No one would say the English sentence is wrong, but it is just not so beautiful as the Chinese line. Then I would translate the second sentence 把酒問青天 as "With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky." Again, the English version doesn't sound poetic at all. Translation is really not easy!
Then before I wrote this entry, I surfed the Internet for a translation of the poem. Here is one from www.chinaenglish.com.cn.
水調歌頭
明月幾時有，
把酒問青天？
不知天上宮闕，今夕是何年。
我欲乘風歸去，
唯恐瓊樓玉宇，高處不勝寒。
起舞弄清影，
何似在人間。
轉朱閣，低綺戶。
照無眠。
不應有恨，
何事長向別時圓？
人有悲歡離合，
月有陰晴圓缺，
此事古難全。
但願人長久，
千里共嬋娟。
"Thinking of You"
When will the moon be clear and bright?
With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.
I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.
I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.
Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.
Dancing with my moon-lit shadow
It does not seem like the human world
The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors
Shines upon the sleepless
Bearing no grudge
Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?
People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart
The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane
This has been going on since the beginning of time
May we all be blessed with longevity
Though far apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.
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