Tossed in Translation

Another gnarly day of translation, though far gnarlier for the BKF than me. Saturday was an eight-hour job and today was just a bit less. Translation is not as glamorous as they make it seem on television, in Hollywood, or on the Great White Way. The piece we are working on is what the BKF calls a “library piece” which means, among other things, it is heavily footnoted in ways that require Chinese and Korean characters. BKF plugged away on this while I worked on some poetry translation. Since BKF was somewhat unsure on the original Chinese content of the poem, what I had to start with was a bit vague and the whole thing kind of suffered.

I got the first cut done, though, and it looks like this:

Have you not seen? The rules of the Qin Dynasty failed And nobles seeking literary pleasure have worshipped honest living have you also not seen the earls and dukes of the nation fought and disrupted the harmony And the arrogant Zhangzi of the Black Garden toyed with bones of chickens Some who were free of greed repaired to bamboo groves Others of the people stayed in the chaos they spoke of their hearts as grey ash (bitter) The historical figures of ancient time cannot return but they left their words in vain in history books 1,000 years old Now I look at this painting and my mind quiets. Clear blue inspiration rises from the wind and dust In a quiet bamboo grove, the leaves fall and the wind whistles An old tree's branches are gnarled and knotted Twisted roots and parched branches harbor love The winter branches are broken in cold weather and you can almost hear the sound I clean an empty room and unfold the picture And suddenly the white wall lets out the sound of nature. A talented painter dared to show the heavenly creation His painting cleanses my mind which is full of dirt and residue Wieon and Munnyeoga have already become but ghosts Who wielded the branches and conveyed their lofty image He must have seen only the bamboo and tree beyond his preconceptions Not only beyond, but beyond himself as well He got the world and himself out of his mind and sat quietly And the thread of endless new change must have shined at that moment in him The true mystery resides where his brushtrokes are not yet manifested He obtained the mystery and it conveyed itself to his hands The brush painted harmony and his intention soared sky-high Each branch and stalk are unadulterated with his preconception Waving and weaving of their own accord. His expertise and painting exemplifies nature and can't be put to words Words can describe only things that fit in our conceptual framework. Facing quietly the painting and severing even the smallest thought The desire of the painter to draw took its roots in nature/mystery How could an ordinary scholar understand the painter's attainment? The child of the mountain pestles a medicine from time to time.

Are you not aware that the rules of the Qin Dynasty have been failing? While nobles seeking literary pleasure have worshipped honest living Have you also not seen the Dukes and Earls fighting and breaking harmony? The arrogant Zhangzi of the Black Garden toyed with bones of chickens for augury. Some people who were free of greed repaired to a solitary bamboo thicket Others confessed to hearts as grey as ash, they stayed in the world of the wicked The historical figures of ancient time cannot come back again They left words in 1,000 year old history books, but alas in vain Now I look at this painting and my mind become quiet and remote. Clear blue inspiration rises from the wind and dust mote In a quiet bamboo grove, the leaves fall and wind whistles An ancient tree's branches are roughly gnarled and gristled Twisted roots and parched branches encircle love around Winter branches snap in cold weather - you can almost hear the sound I clean an empty room and then unfold the picture And suddenly the white wall lets out the sound of nature. A talented painter dared to paint the heavenly creation His painting cleanses my mind of dirt and exfoliation. Wieon and Munnyeoga have passed beyond the living Who then wielded branches and conveyed their lofty vision He must have seen only the bamboo and tree, not his preconceptions Not only beyond these, but beyond his own limitations The world and himself were not in his mind as he sat tranquilly The thread of ongoing change then shined, within and endlessly The true mystery resides where brushstrokes are not manifested He came to know the mystery and through his hands expressed it. His brush painted harmony and his intention soared to the heavens Every branch and every stalk are unadulterated with preconceptions Each undulates and weaves expressing their own nature Expert painting exemplifies reality that words would just denature. Language can describe only things that fit in where we think they ought. Quietly facing the painting and severing even the smallest thought The desire of the painter to draw found its roots in mystery How can an ordinary scholar understand the painter's mastery? The child of the mountain pestles medicine periodically.

Beyond that, I found the website of the actual grant and we looked at pay structure and the overall structure of the grant. Besides the fact that BKF and I seem to NOT meet the minimum requirements for inclusion, it all seemed good.

We assume that the Korean Womans College will be taking care of covering that bit of it and if not, we won't get the grant, which would be far from tragic. This grant is just one of the things that we have, in partnership and alone, coming down the pike. It is an unsettled but promising future with these projects, and I suppose that is all I can ask for.

While out with the BAG yesterday I had something like an epiphany of how Korea could/should do its tourism advertising and, for no good reason, I am actually photoslopping some demos together. They would never make sense to the Korean Ministry Of Scaring Tourists Off To Japan, but they do make a bit of sense to me.

Whatever the case, I feel confident some kind of job will come from this and I will be able to get out of the current job nightmare and directly into the next job nightmare. ;=)