This Translation Tuesday, we feature three poems by the Lu Xun Literary Prize-winning writer Chen Xianfa. Chen’s meditative poems often begin from the plain contemplation of a minute object—a butterfly, the rain, an earthworm—only to draw them into a larger field of philosophical ideas where language and nature’s presumed certainties are interrogated. Reflecting on her translation of these poems, Romaine Scott emphasises “the process of dissolving linguistic and cultural borders to arrive at The Third Shore,” invoking Yang Lian’s notion of translation as forging a new element. So too does Chen write: “There is no such thing as an expression set in stone,” observing a word’s numerous metamorphoses. Immerse yourself in the sparse beauty of Chen’s poems where even a speck of the world can be made anew.
Lanruo Temple
The safest place for a butterfly to exist is in the word ‘butterfly’
There is no such thing as an expression set in stone
Nor can I speak unequivocally of a gust of wind
and though the temple may be built upon a speck
of dust, it will, nonetheless, collapse from within
There are moments when a butterfly is motionless
‘To live’ requires fewer strokes of the pen than ‘to take wing’
Taking Shelter From the Rain
It’s raining. In the square many people are running about blindly
a piece of clothing held over their heads
Of course, they are not actually blind
their eyes are simply fixed on taking shelter from the rain
Before the square was built, this was a shantytown
beneath whose poor-quality
bitumen roofs
the smell of poverty, excitement and rebellion rubbed shoulders
with the tavern’s moon. Heaven knows how many nights we
toasted each other
but then we lost touch
neither one searching for the other in thirty years
which may sound strange. Perhaps, it is simply a question
of boredom after sheltering under the same banner for so long
Giant whales are swimming about in the rain
Rain restores a shine to things grown dull with age
as well as removing the lustre from some folk
I find it hard to believe that my body has solidified
With barely a sound from the stagnant water there is a great explosion
Sometimes I open the curtains to see myself suddenly
seated on that big rock once again
a fir tree growing from my mouth
As soon as I open my mouth, I am touched by its sublime silence
Earthworm
Having cut an earthworm in two with a spade I now understand
the words of Bonnefoy
If it is true that everything in life is only experienced skin-deep
and there is no distinction between interior and exterior, then
what is the case when something is cut in two，
both parts alive, red-raw and wriggling,
making it impossible to say exactly which part
is the body and which part the soul
Translated from the Mandarin Chinese by Romaine Scott
Chen Xianfa, one of China’s most esteemed contemporary poets, lives in Hefei City and is currently Chairman of the Association for Literature and the Arts in Anhui Province. Born in Tongcheng, Anhui, in 1967, he graduated from Fudan University in 1989. He has written more than twenty poetry collections, novels, and philosophical essays. Chen Xianfa’s poems are distinctive: they combine the traditional writing techniques of Chinese poetry with Western concepts of existentialism and deconstruction, which renders them very potent. In 2018, he received the Lu Xun Literary Prize—China’s most prestigious literary award—for his poetry collection, Nine Chapters. King’s College, Cambridge University honoured him in 2021 with the Silver Willow Leaf award. In 2015, Chen Xianfa was selected by the China Book Company, China Central Television, and other publishers as one of the eleven most influential poets in China (including Bei Dao) and jointly received China’s Centennial New Poetry Contribution Award.
Romaine Scott studied arts and modern languages at the Universities of Sydney and Tasmania. In 2019, she received a poetry award to celebrate China’s National Day and participated at the Beijing Poetry Festival. Her greatest joy, however, is working in collaboration with other poets and writers. Her translations of their work have been published in China, the United States, and Israel. A recent novella is forthcoming in 2022 and will later be adapted for stage. Romaine is a senior editor and translator for the Contemporary Poetry Journal in China and is collaborating on the creation of a bilingual journal showcasing the work of contemporary Australian and Chinese poets.
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