Groups - 第一回: Chunk 10
一日, 正当嗟悼之际,俄见一僧一道远远而来,生得骨格不凡,丰神迥异,说说笑 笑来至峰下, 坐于石边高谈快论.
My try:
The whining stone keeps us busy...
One day, the stone was just lamenting, he suddenly saw a Buddist monk and a Daoist monk coming from the distance. Their body looked astonishing, godlike and far from the ordinary, they spoke laughing until they reached that point under the summit, where they sat by the side of the stone. And they discussed loudly and fast.
Breakdown:
One day, just when (正当) lamenting (嗟悼)
俄见一僧一道远远而来
Suddenly [he] saw a (Buddhist) monk and a Daoist monk (一道) coming along from the distance (远远而来)
生得骨格不凡,
“Their skeleton grew” (生得骨格) -> They looked like (today one would probably say 长得) out of the ordinary (不凡)
丰神迥异
Very godlike (丰神) and far from the ordinary (迥异)
说说笑笑来至峰下
Spoke laughing until [they] reached that point under the summit (至峰下)
坐于石边高谈快论
They sat by the side of the stone (坐于石边)
And discussed loudly and fast (高谈快论)
Tags: 红楼梦， 第一回， 古文， classic,
Posted by henning July 19, 2008 in the Group 红楼梦.
Comments (5) 
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It seems that "骨格不凡" is a fixed expression, meaning something like "distinguished appearance". Here is what that net dictionary in Taiwan says about it (the example they give is a bit circular for us, but anyhow) : 形容人的氣度、相貌非凡。紅樓夢˙第一回：「俄見一僧一道遠遠而來，生得骨格不凡，丰神迥別。」
Wenlin translates 丰神 as "demeanor" and 迥异 as "widely different", maybe the two monks are behaving widely different from each other? Time and the rest of the chapter will tell.
Marcelbdt,
that absolutely makes sense. Initially I thought only one monk was coming (一僧 who was coming along 一道), so this possibility didn't come to my mind.
But it would perfectly explain the redundancy in my translation which results from the [骨格]不凡 and the 迥异...
Hi henning,
As marcelbdt pointed out, the character 神 sometimes used in the sense of 'countenance', such as 神气 and 神情. 神 doesn't always mean 'god'
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Hi henning,
I just recommend you to take up 金瓶梅 after you finish translating 红楼梦. I guarantee that it will attract a lot of comments mainly from male listeners. Of course, I will also visit every single thread you post.
changye,
actually that is a very good idea. From all I heard and read, 金瓶梅 actually plays in the high literature leage as well - despite its reputation.