Galleries and Translations > Models of Masterpieces > Modelling and English Translation of Sun Guoting's "A Narrative on Calligraphy" 孫過庭 《書譜》之臨習與英譯
Modelling and English Translation of Sun Guoting's "A Narrative on Calligraphy"
(Part IX)
by Kwan Sheung Vincent POON (潘君尚)
Feb. 5, 2018
Published on www.vincentpoon.com, Toronto
A. Modelling (by KS Vincent POON)
A model of Sun Guoting's "A Narrative on Calligraphy" (Part I)
臨孫過庭《書譜》 (第一部份)
35 X 137cm (11)
Click to Enlarge. In reserve, not available in Shop.
B. Historical Information
Please see Part I
Readers are strongly encouraged to read the blue numerical footnotes below to gain a better understanding of the original Chinese text and to review some major errors in the translations made by others.
English Translation
Original Chinese Text
Yet, the variations (消息,203) within the art are many, and one’s own temperaments are never one and the same.
212. 然消息多方，性情不一。
213. 乍剛柔以合體，忽勞逸而分驅;
214. 或恬憺雍容，內涵筋骨;
FOR LINES 215-241,
PLEASE PURCHASE THE REVISED AND ENHANCED EDITION WITH FOOTNOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY:
215. 或折挫槎枿，外曜峯芒。
216. 察之者尚精，擬之者貴似。
217. 況擬不能似，察不能精，分布猶疎，形骸未檢:
218. 躍泉之態，未覩其妍;
219. 窺井之談，已聞其醜。
220. 縱欲搪突羲、獻，誣罔鍾、張, 安能掩當年之目，杜將來之口？
221. 慕習之輩，尤宜慎諸。
222. 至有未悟淹留，偏追劔疾；不能迅速，翻效遲重。
223. 夫勁速者超逸之機，遲留者賞會之致。
224. 將反其速，行臻會美之方；
225. 專溺於遲，終爽絕倫之妙。
226. 能速不速，所謂淹留；因遲就遲，詎名賞會？
227. 非夫心閑手敏，難以兼通者焉。
228. 假令眾妙攸歸，務存骨氣，骨既存矣，而遒潤加之。
229. 亦猶枝榦扶疎，淩霜雪而彌勁；
230. 花葉鮮茂，與雲日而相暉。
231. 如其骨力偏多，遒麗蓋少，
232. 則若枯槎架險，巨石當路。雖妍媚云闕，而體質存焉。
233. 若遒麗居優，骨氣將劣，
234. 譬夫芳林落
(蘂)，空照灼而無依；蘭沼漂蓱，徒青翠而奚託？
(蘂)，空照灼而無依；蘭沼漂蓱，徒青翠而奚託？
235. 是知偏工易就，盡善難求。
236. 雖學宗一家，而變成多體, 莫不隨其性欲，便以為姿。
237. 質直者則俓侹不遒，剛佷者又掘強無潤；
238. 矜斂者弊於拘束，脫易者失於規矩；
239. 溫柔者傷於軟緩，躁勇者過於剽迫；
240. 狐疑者溺於滯澁，遲重者終於蹇鈍，輕瑣者染於俗吏。
FOR FURTHER TRANSLATION, FOOTNOTES, AND
ELABORATIONS
PLEASE SEE :
A Narrative on Calligraphy by Sun Guoting Revised and Enchanced Edition 英譯書譜 增訂版Translated by KS Vincent POON and Kwok Kin POON (Mar. 2019)
ISBN 978-1-989485-10-1
A Narrative on Calligraphy (Shu Pu, 書譜) was written in 687AD by the renowned Tang dynasty calligrapher Sun Guoting (孫過庭) of the seventh century and is regarded to be one of the most important narratives in examining the traditional art of Chinese calligraphy. Yet, there is currently no satisfactory English translation of it. This book provides readers an accurate, annotated, line-by-line, consistent and comprehensive English translation of A Narrative on Calligraphy. Furthermore, various major and fundamental mistakes found in the two previous English translations by Chang & Frankel and De Laurentis are detailed and discussed.
This book is the revised and enhanced version of the previous book and delivers an even more precise translation with 20 titled thematic paragraphs that is based on Dr. Kwok Kin POON’s The Vernacular Chinese Translation of Sun Guoting’s A Narrative on Calligraphy (孫過庭書譜白話對譯. Toronto: The SenSeis, Feb. 2019).
WorldCat/Library: [WorldCat] [Oxford U] [U of T] [Harvard U] [Columbia U] [HKU] [CUHK] [Kyoto U] [National Taiwan U]
241. 斯皆獨行之士，偏翫所乖!
END OF PART IX (Feb. 5, 2018)