A Poem for Moon-cake Festival

Dear friends,

I have penned a Mid-Autumn Festival poem for you and your family. I thought since Moon-cake Festival is a Chinese festival seeped in tradition, it would best for me to write them in Chinese instead of in English. So I decided to translate my poem into Chinese which is just below each English verse.

But since some Chinese are English educated like myself, they may not know how to read Chinese characters, I have also translated the characters into Romanized Chinese (pinyin) so that even English educated friends can read the Romanized version.

Unfortunately, Chinese is a tonal language, and with Mandarin Chinese, it is based on 4 tones, plus a neutral tone. But I am unable to type these 4 tonal strokes to indicate how they should be pronounced (the pitch) since Microsoft word does not support pinyin. So you need to guess a bit, especially if you have not studied Chinese language (Mandarin) before.

I hope I have translated my poem originally composed in English correctly into Chinese. Having done that, I have to translate them again into pinyin to indicate how they should sound (pronounced) in English. Thus it was quite a task for me since I was English educated, and have never studied Chinese before.

I am not fluent in Chinese language myself having only learnt Mandarin only at the age of 69 (I am now 71) which I taught myself entirely without a teacher. This was long after my retirement from Civil Service in 1994. It was just two years ago (2008) that I decided to learn Mandarin as part of my life-long education.

This is the same position when I started to learn to play the violin at the age of 67 while others start to learn it at the age 6. But now I can play almost all classical composition for the violin except violin concertos. But it can be done. It is a matter of putting 6-10 hours a day in violin practice for another 6 months. It is a matter of determination, and willingness to learn no matter what age.

Having given the reasons above, you need to excuse me if I make mistakes with my Mandarin translation.

I hope you like my poem.

Best wishes for Moon-cake Festival & regards

jb lim

A Poem for Moon-cake Festival:
一个月饼节的诗：
yi ge yue bing de shi

A Mid-Autumn Dream
一个中秋梦
yi ge zhong qiu jie

In an ancient village
在一个古老的村庄
zai yi ge gu lao de chun zhuang

On a lonely night
在一个孤独的夜晚
zai yi ge gu du de ye wan

In bygone days of early China
在早期中国往日
zai zao qi zhong guo wang ri

Nestled in a valley among hills
坐落在一个山谷之间的丘陵
zhuo luo zai yi ge shan gu zhi jian de qiu ling

As Mother Nature has it
正如大自然有它
zhen ru da zhi ran you da

A lonely river through the village
一个孤独的河穿过村庄
yi ge gu du de he chuan guo chun zhuang

Avenue with weeping willow tress
大街上垂柳枝条
Da jie shang chui liu zhi tiao

Running crystal clear waters in moonlight
运行在月光清澈
Yun xing zai yue guang qing che

Meandering its course down
蜿蜒的课程下来
Wan yan de ke xhen xia lai

The hills and valleys below
以下的丘陵和山谷
Yi xia de qiu ling ge shan gu

In moonlight and in tranquility
在月光下与安宁
Zai yue guang xia yu an ning

On a mid autumn night
在一个中秋夜
Zai yi ge zhong qiu ye

Conjure up the bright Full Moon above
想起了上面的明亮的圆月
Xiang qi le shang mian de ming guang de yuan yue

On a mid autumn night
在一个中秋夜
Zai yi ge zhong qiu ye

Her cool radiance shines
她的寒光闪耀
Ta de han guang shan yao

Over mountains and valleys
在高山和峡谷
Zai gao shan he xia gu

The village and placid streams
平静的村庄和溪流
Ping jing de chun zhuang he xi liu

In the stillness of the night
在寂静的夜晚
Zai ji jing de ye wan

On a breezy mid autumn night
在一个凉风习习中秋夜
Zai yi ge liang feng xi xi zhong qiu ye

Crystal clear, bright, solitary her light
清澈，明亮，孤独的她的光芒
Qing che, ming liang, gu du de ta de guang mang

Dreamy and romantic
梦幻和浪漫
Meng huan he lang man

Small children gazing at the Moon
在赏月的小孩子
Zai shang yue de xiao hai zi

Red lanterns, moon cakes they carry
大红灯笼，他们携带月饼
Da hong deng long, ta men xie tai yue bing

Through the village in solitude
通过在村庄孤独
Tong guo de chun zhuang gu du

Come, Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
来吧，中秋中秋
Lai ba, zhong qiu zhong qiu

Enchanting and captivating
迷人魅力
Mi ren mei li

How placid and tranquil life would be
如何平静和安宁的生活会
Ru he ping jing he an ning de shen huo hui

Prescribed in Chinese traditions
在中国传统的订明
Zai zhong guo chuan tong de ding ming

Ordained by ancient customs and cultures
晋铎的古老的习俗和文化
Jin duo de gu lao de xi su he wen hua

This vision I cherish
我珍惜这一设想
Wo zhen xi zhe yi she xiang

In dreams by night
夜间在梦中
Ye jian de meng zhong

A thousand years be a night
一千年是一个夜晚
Yi qian nian shi yi ge ye wan

Blissful and enthralling
德佑和迷人
De you he mi ren

In quietude I surmise
在宁静我猜测
Zai ning jing wo cai che

Come autumn be my bride
秋天来成为我的新娘
Qiu tian laic hen wei wo de xin liang

On a mid-autumn night
在一个中秋夜
Zai yi ge zhong qiu ye

Be betrothed in romance
许配浪漫
Xu pei lang man

A Moon a-shining in glory
月亮荣耀的照映
Yue guang rong yao de zhao ying

The moon cake awaiting
月饼等待
Yue bing den dai

I yearn to gaze and eat
我渴望的目光和吃
Wo ke wang de mu guang he chi

By a river in moonlight
由一个在月光河
You yi ge zai yue guang he

In an ancient village
在一个古老的村庄
Zai yi ge gu lao de chun zhuang

Pretty lanterns and willow trees
漂亮的灯笼和柳树
Piau liang de deng long he liu shu

Boulevard the waters
大道水域
Da dao shui yu

Romantic and enchanting
浪漫和迷人
Lang man he mi ren

At last, vision is but a vapor
最后，视觉只不过是水蒸气
Zui hou, shi jue zhi bu guo shi shui zhen qi

That vanishes by the break of the day
这消失的一天休息
Zhe xiao shi de yi tian xiu xi

Yet, this dream, my hope
然而，这个梦，我的希望
Ran er, zhe ge meng, wo de xi wang,

My desire, my wish
我的愿望，我的愿望
Wo de yuan wang, wo de yuan wang

A Joyful Moon Cake Festival
欢乐的月饼节
Huan le de yue bing jie

Before moonset for another day
另一天月落之前
Ling yi tian yue luo zhi qian

This, is my earnest wish for you
这是我对你的殷切希望
Zhe shi wo dui ni de yin qie xi wang

- lim ju boo 林 如 武 (Lin Ru Wu)