Liang Ping

 

 

(China)

 

 

 

Longquan Posthouse

 

The swift horse is a lightning,

The posthouse is bright with light, like the sun and the moon.

The hoofprints on the bricks of Han Dynasty are duplicated on the road of flagstones of Tang Dynasty,

A piece of ci-form poetry in Song Dynasty is trampled into Yuan drama,

To be dispersed along the Sichuan Road of Ming Dynasty which is perilous

Three thousand li from Longquan to Fengjie

There is only one beat, the rhythm of tarrying feudal officials and military plan,

Hurried and soothing, writing in dull, flat style.

The end of Qing Dynasty, the post route recedes in seclusion,

The hoofbeats are broken, far away,

A blossom after another blossom into the cover.

 

The Longquan Posthouse through seven dynasties of one thousand years,

The posters who are paid by the imperial court,

Only take one road in their life, which tolerates no mistakes.

The being-left-home feet can not walk out,

Checking the feudal official tallies and military secrets,

To change horses according to the order of priority of events,

And to fatten the left-over horse which is lean

And with long hair, to be in good spirits.

As for which county magistrate is to be promoted as the governor,

Which town is to be taken over,

A deaf ear is turned to.

 

The soul water in the Soul Mountain,

One scoop would dispel the distracting thoughts. An errand is an errand,

An underling is an underling, without any inordinate ambitions.

Broth and simple dishes to fill the belly, a bean-like light in the night,

Even without tallies and military secrets,

The correspondence of people, the interflow of goods and materials,

Are in regular order, without any mistake of “a single needle or a piece of thread”.

The Soul Mountain is running with mountain spring,

The integrity and fame of the posthouse through one thousand years,

Has cleansed dirt and filth, and the epiphany,

Really any river can be holy.

 

With the presence of a dragon. The soul water in Yuan and Ming dynasties

Has been changed into dragon water, and the moving of dragon head and tail,

Brings favorable weather here.

Peach flowers blossom wantonly, charming and fascinating before and after the house,

Each face is tinctured with red.

Later poetry is grown with branches and twigs,

And my poem drops down, fallen in mud and ground to dust,

Back to the post route which has disappeared.

 

 

Revised on October 9, 2016

 

© Trans. by Zhang Zhizhong

 

 

 

TALE OF A TREE

 

A tree of mystery

Encouraged by early summer

Turns freely into green…

(The seed was sown in May

This passionate month

Has been named the Tree-Planting Festival)

 

A fruit of mystery

Once fell and lost itself on this nameless land

Now no mystery, no more, right?

Here mishaps will not dominate

Here sorrows will not cover you up

 

But why fruit must bear?

Why much earlier than the season?

Too early to announce your maturity

It is the tree’s faults

The fruit also has faults

(This May has faults

And this earth has all the faults)

 

But to grow green

Is to grow wildly green

And leafy, enchanting

Gentle yet foolishly wild!

You should ignore all jealousy

From this ignorant wind

For faults have been done

All done

 

 

© Trans. by Jin Zhong

 

 

 

CAT’S EYE, HUMAN EYE

 

Inside the cat’s eye

There is a quiet fountain

Exchanging stares with her

Creates excitement

 

We are shot

By each other’s eyes

We all turn upside-down

 

Something just discovered about the cat

I want to tell her

She seems to realize it

By starting to whimper

 

I have seen the problems

But the cat still not quite aware

Assuming by turning herself over

She can resolve everything

 

So attempting to succeed

She turns over and over

 

My heart starts to suffer

For the struggling cat

For the eyes in my face

 

For the upside-downs we made

By exchanging stares

The cat follows up by overturning her body

Onto the earth

 

But I simply cannot follow

Never

 

 

© Trans. by Jin Zhong

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Liang Ping, is a member of the National Committee of Chinese Writers Association, a member of the Poetry Committee of Chinese Writers Association, vice chairman of Sichuan Provincial Writers Association, chairman of Chengdu Literary Federation, and chairman of Chengdu Writers Association, as well as editor-in-chief of Young Writers and Thatched Cottage Poetry, and he is an expert who enjoys special government allowances from the State Council. He has ever been the editor-in-chief of The Red Rock and The Star Poetry Periodical. He has published 10 poetry collections, such as The Places of Ba and Shu: Two Duets, The Amber-Colored Poland, Genealogy, and Every Dog Has Its Day, etc., as well as a collection of poetry criticism entitled The Reading Posture and a novel entitled Chaotianmen. He has won many domestic prizes such as the National Prize of “Five-One Project”, special award for the 2nd Chinese Books, Guo Moruo Poetry Award by Chinese Writers, and the golden award for Ba and Shu Literature and Art, etc.