第一回: Chunk 12
derek
July 23, 2008, 02:35 AM posted in General Discussion第一回: Chunk 12
While henning is on holiday I have managed to catch up, here is my effort with the next sentence.
此石听了,不觉打动凡心,也想要到人间去享一享这荣华富贵,但自恨粗蠢 ,不得已,便口吐人言,向那僧道说道:"大师,弟子蠢物,不能见礼了.
Translation:
This stone listened, unconsciously moved [its] mortal heart, and also wanted to enter the human world to enjoy this splendour and wealth, but hating its own crude, foolish [nature], had no alternative but to speak common human words, saying to the Buddhist and Daoist monks: Great Master[s], [this] disciple is a stupid thing, not able to show courtesy.
Breakdown:
此石听了 -> This stone listened
不觉打动凡心 -> unconsciously moved [its] mortal heart
(凡心 could also mean wholedheartedly but I chose mortal heart because its suits the mystical theme of this section.)
也想要到人间去享一享这荣华富贵 -> also wanted to enter/go to the human world to enjoy this splendour and wealth
但自恨粗蠢 -> but hating its own crudeness/foolishness
(自恨粗蠢 may be a set expression meaning self-loathing etc.)
不得已 -> have no alternative
便口吐人言 -> to speak [informal/common/plain] human words
(This one is a bit difficult, it may be a set expression meaning to speak crudely or to have an uncultured manner of speech, any suggestions?)
向那僧道说道 -> saying to the Buddhist and Daoist monks
大师,弟子蠢物,不能见礼了 -> Great Master[s], [this] disciple is a stupid thing, not able to show courtesy.
(不能见礼 may also be a set phrase meaning uncultured and crude behaviour.)
marcelbdt
July 23, 2008, 07:03 AMI would suggest "打动凡心" = "Wakened its wordly desires" - the stone is getting caught in the illusions of the world.
derek
July 23, 2008, 08:15 AMThanks for your help guys, all my dictionaries are totally useless for translating this type of literature, so I have to guess a lot of the meanings from context.
The rest of this paragraph is quite difficult, but I will try to post a translation tomorrow.
henning
August 06, 2008, 05:47 AMThis cleared up some dark spots in my own (faulty) version, esp. the 见礼 makes sense now and I also like Marcels suggestion for 打动凡心.
changye
July 23, 2008, 03:22 AMHi derek,
Great pinch-hitting! I believe that owing to your contribution, henning can fully enjoy his holidays. I think that there is no problem with your translation, as far as I can see. 便口吐 probably means 就说出 or something like that in modern Chinese, and in this case it doesn't have a crude connotation. I also think 见礼 should be translated as "show courtesy" or "greet" in this context. I look forward to your next posting. Thanks.