石磬

Sounding stones,

是我喜歡的一種樂器

an instrument I favor.

我所遇見的石磬

These a set

是石編磬

from Spring and Autumn period,

春秋時代

made in the city Ying,

生於郢

so the family name is Chu.

所以姓楚

On their grey-green skin,

灰青色的肌膚上

ghosts of painted phoenix.

有隱約的彩繪鳳紋

Near Huayuankou,

住在

they dwell in a museum.

花園口附近

We’d come to view the tripod cauldron,

一所博物館裏

the calyx and tripod goblet,

我們本來是去看鼎

not knowing

看盂看爵

the sounding stones were there.

我可不知道

Then I saw them,

磬也在那裏

short and long,

直到看見它

their gently curved, bowing forms

短短又長長

pendant as hung sculpture,

倨句微弧的形狀

one cord

由一根長索

strung through angled tops.

貫串曲頂的圓孔

As for the tri-colored camel,

懸起來

the bronze mirror of flowers and birds,

好像動態的雕塑

the wine vessel carved with dragons,

對於

the white porcelain,

三彩駱駝

I ignored them all.

花鳥銅鏡

龍紋尊

Under the same roof,

白陶砵

a stone lion, stone rhino,

我就通通不管了

infantry, generals of the Qin Emperor,

and from the Zhao Mausoleum

在博物館裏

fine majestic horses

我還看見石獅石犀牛

sleeping deep

秦皇的步兵和將領

amid clay pots, huge boulders,

昭陵赫赫的駿馬

never to awaken.

他們都在巨石陶土中

A horde of fashioned lives,

慢慢沉睡

mouths

不再醒來

that cannot speak,

複製的生命羣

legs

即使有嘴

powerless to run.

不會說話

But these sounding stones—

有腿

listen:

也沒有能力奔跑了

you may conceive

a spare court dance

衹有磬

improvised from the moment,

你聽

this chime of earth’s and heaven’s breath

你甚至可以看到

singing its own

它即興時候

clear south concordia,

樸素的文舞

distant, ancient, tunneling

這天地的風鈴

all the way from the Warring States,

長歌它自己

young and immutable.

朗朗鬱穆的南音

湮遠而又古老

How strange,

透過戰國的隧道

mere stones.

仍然那麼

年輕

真奇怪

不過是幾塊石頭罷了