I behold you, the beauty I planted myself
Dizzying my senses. Spring has just slipped away
And summer dons a yellow dress dotted with tiny blossoms
So radiant! As if all four seasons exist merely to set you off!
Qin Xianmao, who once wrote under the pseudonym Xianmeng. Admitted to the Department of Physics, Sichuan University in 1981, he joined the Sichuan University Poetry Society during his college years, composing the long poem Awkwardness, with his poems included in Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Campus Poets. In 1985, he was assigned to work at a radio factory in Nanjing. In 1986, under the pen name “Oriental Man”, he took part in the genre grand exhibition co-hosted by Shenzhen Youth News and Poetry Newspaper. After 1989, he successively participated in the private poetry journals Pioneer Poetry Newspaper, Poetry Studies and Original Form based in Nanjing. He compiled The Modern Poetry Movement of 1987 and Pure Thoughts: The Modern Poetry Movement of 1989, both collections preserved in the Library of Leiden University. Over the following decades, shifting from factory work to academic posts in universities, he devoted himself to in-depth research on Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic), I Ching (The Book of Changes), The Great Learning, The Analects, as well as the wuxia novels of Jin Yong and Gu Long. His work What the I Ching Tells Us became a bestseller across mainland China and Taiwan. As for Jin Yong and Gu Long, he authored multiple monographs from interdisciplinary perspectives—drawing on psychology, philosophy and comparative literature—propelling scholarly research on wuxia fiction to greater depth and exerting far-reaching influence in academic circles on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. He has also published more than ten novels, with a total of thirty works of various genres to his name, an impressive literary output comparable in volume to his own height. Beyond written works, he has created special feature programs exploring the wuxia universe and Qiong Yao’s romantic narratives for Hunan Satellite TV and Hunan Education Television respectively.
覃贤茂，曾用笔名闲梦等。1981年考入四川大学物理系，在校期间加入川大诗社，写出长诗《尴尬》，并有诗作收入《中国当代校园诗人诗选》。1985年，分配到南京一家无线电工厂工作。1986年以“东方人”参加《深圳青年报》和《诗歌报》的流派大展。1989后，先后参与南京《先锋诗报》《诗歌研究》《原样》民刊。编有《87年现代诗歌运动》《思无邪：89年现代诗歌运动》，收藏于莱顿大学图书馆。其后数十年，从工厂到大学，潜心研究《黄帝内经》《易经》《大学》《论语》以及金庸、古龙，把《易经说什么》写成两岸畅销书，而对于金庸和古龙，通过跨学科视角（心理学、哲学、比较文学）的多本专著，将武侠研究推向更深层次，在两岸学术界产生广泛影响。另出版小说10余部，各类著作累计30种，可谓等身。此外，还先后在湖南卫视和湖南教育电视台做了关于武侠和琼瑶爱情世界的专题节目。
Translated by Yongbo Ma
Water Lilies
I
I behold you, the beauty I planted myself
dizzying my senses. Spring has just slipped away
and summer dons a yellow dress dotted with tiny blossoms
so radiant! As if all four seasons exist merely to set you off!
The pond frames your form, yet how such beauty came to be remains in doubt
beneath midday sun, old dreams fade into a washed-out backdrop
a thousand divinations amount to nothing but helpless folly
yet when despair creeps in, it hardly matters anymore
I say, have mercy on the fish swimming in this pond
let your full bloom adorn the world in the name of the season
your existence is utterly real; only memories are hollow
like round leaves afloat on water, each lifts gently beneath clear skies
II
Proud as you are, you refuse to utter words of surrender in the dark
you will not let dim ripples dilute love swallowed by the fish
nor cling to lonely resolve when shadows close in
you would not even choose—for darkness is a blank void itself
You well know this quiet solace that arrives at dusk
you brush aside drifting duckweed and floating clouds alike
and quell that compulsive urge to shut out everything within
must one erase all things to overcome stark, utter emptiness?
This sweetness runs deeper, felt only when one lets go
only dreamers can grasp this truth—those who love to dream
who long to dream on without end, to see every dream through to its close
it cares nothing for tomorrow; it is wind stirring ripples, water burning with raw passion
III
Sleep now. While you slumber, I shall hold fast to your grace
I will hide the fish’s tears deep beneath the water, and even
make the sunset hang suspended over this pond
where shimmering waves roll silent and unspoken
Sleep now. Summer’s once lavish splendour is a gift of passing years
autumn winds bring nothing but restraint to the heart
the wind blows on, through every season without cease
only winter’s cold freezes solid, like longing turned to ice
Sleep now. I know tomorrow you will bloom bright as ever
since things are as they are, let it be so
let light be nothing but light, beauty nothing but beauty
when you wake, may every mood behold your loveliness bathed in sunlight!
睡莲
1
我看见了你，那是我种下的美丽
让我晕眩。好吧，春天刚刚过去
夏天，穿上了黄色碎花的连衣裙
那么明艳！仿佛四季，都是你的陪衬！
水池给出了环境，但美的养成，值得怀疑
正午的阳光下，梦只是褪色的背景
一千遍的卜筮，只是无助的愚蠢
但在灰心之时，也无所谓
我说，那么你就怜惜这水池中的鱼儿吧
那么你的盛开，就用季节的名义来装饰吧
你的存在，真实无虚，虚无的只是回忆
就像那圆润的水上的叶片，一一轻晴举
2
你的骄傲不愿意在黑夜中说出放弃的言语
你不愿意通过黯淡的水波荡开被鱼儿淹没的爱意
不愿意在遮蔽之时选择孤独者的坚持
甚至不愿意选择，因为黑暗即如空白
你熟知这种在黄昏来临时，这隐忍的安慰
忽略左右流之的浮萍，同时忽略浮云
同时忽略那些强迫症般的想要要忽略一切的情绪
难道要用忽略，来战胜，空无一物的明明白白？
这更重要，这是只有放弃时才能体会到的甜蜜
喜欢做梦的人才能懂得这些，喜欢做梦
而且喜欢一直做梦，而且喜欢把梦一直做完
这无关于明天，这是风吹水涣，这是水在燃烧的激情
3
睡吧，你睡着的时候，我会记得你的美
我会把鱼儿的眼泪，藏在水里，我甚至会
让夕阳，都凝结在这水池
让波光荡漾，如无语
睡吧，夏天曾经的盛大，这都是年岁的恩赐
秋风能够带来的，不过是情绪的节制
风在吹，风四季都在吹
只有冬天，寒冷如思念的结冰
睡吧，我知道，明天你展现的一定是如此明媚
既然已经如此，不如
让光只是光，让美只是美
让所有的心情，在醒来之后，都能看到你在阳光下的美！
***
The Pond
- The Pond Where Spring Grass Grows
Growth spreads everywhere. Without an inner leaning
why do birds sing, why do they suddenly bring you to tears
your childish fondness for willows and green grass from long ago lingers still
just as the spring water of the pond drifts soft, softer still
is there no scenery that matches the romance held deep in the heart?
- II. The Swollen Pond of Early Summer
No, this is greed and desire, do not blame the shift of seasons
is happiness veiled away by solitary hours and quiet space?
see the pond swollen after early summer rains, swallowing paths hidden in grass
you sigh once more: no, there can never be more than this
no scenery, no matter how lovely, can outshine a hidden mood locked inside
III. The Pond with Withered Lotus in Autumn
This is the beauty in dreams: empires and beauties, shattered by autumn winds
yet beauty remains, the vision lingers, murmurs of scholars lost in reverie
only the withered lotus leaves understand the glory and grief of the defeated
cold drips fall hour after hour through the rain, till dusk, or till dawn breaks
can scenery heavy with symbolism truly speak all you long to voice?
- IV. The Pond After Winter Snow
Old wanderings, faded love, pale mourning hues laid down in remembrance
all things lay bare, and at this hour one sees how all is empty vanity
cradled by snow-laden ice across the pond, the cold strangely brings solace
mountains and waters become essential; you bathe and burn incense, casting divinations for a stirring heart
all landscapes wait, for the beloved ones who must journey home
池塘
1、春草生长的池塘
生长无处不在，如果没有内心的倾向
这鸟儿为何会鸣唱，为何会让你突然流泪
是的，你早年幼稚的对于杨柳与青草的爱，至今不改
正像池塘的春水，轻轻，轻轻地流淌
难道所有的风景，都不会与内心的浪漫一样？
2、初夏涨水的池塘
不，这是贪心和欲念，不要说这是节气的变换
幸福是被独处的空间和时间遮蔽起来的吗？
你看初夏雨后涨水的池塘，淹没了草丛中的小径
你不能不再次感叹，不，不可能是更多
再美丽的风景，也不可能多于某种被隐藏的心情
3、秋天枯荷的池塘
那是梦想中的美丽，江山美人，即使在秋风中破碎
但那还是美，但那还是梦境，还是才子小模样的梦呓
只有池塘枯荷的残叶，才能明白失败者的悲哀和荣耀
凄清的雨后，点点滴滴，直到黄昏，或是直到天明
富于象征的风景，可不可能真的暗示出你想说出的这些？
4、冬日雪后的池塘
旧日的游历，消失的爱情，哀悼般为了纪念而画出的素妆
万物如此上心，谁都会在此时，明白一切都是空虚
寒冷在池塘冰面积雪的怀抱中，竟然会因此而感到慰籍
山和水因此是必须的，你不能不沐浴焚香，因心动而卜筮
所有的风景，等待的是那些必须回家的爱人
___________________
Read: Willing to Bear the Sufferings
