有一句話說出就是禍,
有一句話能點得著火
別看五千年沒有說破,
你猜得透火山的緘默?
說不定是突然著了魔,
突然青天裏一個霹靂
爆一聲
「咱們的中國!」
這話叫我今天怎麼說?
你不信鐵樹開花也可,
那麼有一句話你聽著:
等火山忍不住了緘默,
不要發抖,伸舌頭,頓腳,
等到青天裏一個霹靂
爆一聲:
「咱們的中國!」
聞一多 的《一句話》
An utterance can cost lives
An utterance can light a fire
Five thousand years of silence
Why the volcano so quiet
One day it may suddenly gone mad
Abrupt thunder from the clear blue sky
Exploded
“Cry our beloved country”
What can I say today?
Believe it or not
An utterance you have to listen
When the volcano can stand the silence no longer
Don’t tremble, stick out your tongue, stamp your feet
When thunder from the clear blue sky
Exploded
“Cry our beloved country”
Why is line 10 “你不信鐵樹開花也可” not translated?
For the structure/format of Wen Yiduo’s (1899-1946) New Moon School Poetry, see http://laiwaichun.tripod.com/rhymes.htm#p5
10 top resons why “你不信鐵樹開花也可” not translated
1. Too lazy
2. A lousy job
3. English not as rich as Chinese, no equivalent
4. ‘m no botanist
5. Never seen it before
6. Too rare an occurrence
7. Read between the lines
8. Missed it
9. Thought it was obscene, not translatable
10. Different types of translation, 直譯 , 意譯 etc