The Lantern And The Night Moths 灯与夜蛾
a mini review + a bilingual reader's thoughts on reading poetry translations
The Lantern And The Night Moths 灯与夜蛾 — 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘠𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘨 王艺霖
This was a short volume worth multiple re-reads. I loved the inclusion of Chinese text alongside the English translations; and appreciated the inclusion of translator notes and context about the featured poets and poems.
Although I’ve heard of Qiu Jin 秋瑾 and Dai Wangshu 戴望舒, I’ve had not had the chance to sample their poetry, which makes this slim collection a nice entry point. While I enjoyed all five poets in the collection, the words of the contemporary female poets, Zhang Qiao Hui 张巧慧 & Xiao Xi 小西, resonated with me the most.
My reading process:
I read in Chinese first and formed a general impression of the poem. Then I read the English translation, trying to see it as a work in itself, before comparing its mood and vibe to the original.
After which I read Yilin’s notes and reread the poems again, this time attempting a line-by-line English and Chinese comparison, from which I revised or clarified my understanding. It’s a multi-layered reading process. Then again, translation itself is multi-layered: a decoding and encoding process that deserves to be respected.
Chinese, especially Classical Chinese, can be an incredibly economical language—sparse, yet laden with allusions, stuffed with homophones, singing with rhyme and cadence. Some might argue that something is always lost in translation, but Yilin here— with her meticulous research and mindful interpretations, makes me hopeful that it is also in such gaps that magic happens. Like what she has so earnestly conveyed in her notes: every act of translation is also an act of creation—a meeting of minds across space and time to form a new work of art—intended for a new audience.