A MILESTONE!!! The Nerdy Fengshen Translation Blog is No. 1 on Google! Whoo-hoo! As it's online I don't think I can do anything about enforcing copyright... ;P but please note that copyright and moral rights to this particular translation blog belong to me...
Enjoy!
The Cental Palace was to be managed by the King's
Wife, Queen Jiang, the Western Palace by his concubine
Huang, who was the sister of Huang Feihu, and the
Xinqing Palace was managed by another concubine,
Yang. All three palaces housed many concubines who were
quiet and dutiful.
With all this, King Zhou’s reign was good. There was
peace in and beyond the land, the rains came and went,
and the people were happy.
The Barons, all 800 of them, too paid homage to the
Shang. There were Four Greater Barons, who ruled over
800 Lesser Barons. In the East ruled the Eastern Baron,
Jiang Hengchu, who lived in the Land of Lu in the
East. The South was ruled by the Southern Baron
E Congyu, the West by the Western Baron Ji Chang, and
the North, by Cong Houhu, the Northern Baron. Each
Greater Baron ruled over 200 of the Lesser Barons,
hence the figure of 800 Barons who were ruled by
the Shang.
News of a rebellion by 72 Barons in the
North, led by the Baron Yuan Futong, were reported in
the Spring of the seventh year of King Zhou’s reign.
The Grand Minister Wen Zhong subsequently led an army
to quash the rebellion and succeeded, and the
rebellion was mentioned no more.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Chapter 1 Part 4
Here's some trivia... The Chinese phrases for 'Business' and 'Businessman' are 'Shang1ye4' and 'Shang1ren2', which mean 'The Shang Industry' and 'People of the Shang' respectively. Looks like they were good businessmen, then.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1, Part 4
King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty was the thirty-first descendent of Cheng Tang. He was the third son of King Di Yi, who had three sons in all. The eldest was called Weiziqi, the second was called Weiziyan; Shouwang was his third son.
One day, Di Yi was admiring the peonies in his garden with his ministers when he suffered crushing pains inside him. His strength spent, all he could do was to seize at a pillar for support. On seeing this, ministers, including Meibo and Zhao Qi, promptly proclaimed Shouwang as the Crown Prince, the King’s successor. Di Yi reigned for another thirteen years before he passed away.
The Taishi (Grand Minister) Wen Zhong proclaimed Shouwang as the Son of Heaven. Shouwang chose to be known as King Zhou of the Shang and established his capital in the city of Chaoge. As part of King Zhou’s government, Wen Zhong represented the Literati (Wen), and Huang Feihu, the Flying Tiger, the Wucheng King, represented the Martial Officers (Wu). The Literati were to maintain the laws and rites, and the Martial Officers were to be in charge of all things military.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1, Part 4
King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty was the thirty-first descendent of Cheng Tang. He was the third son of King Di Yi, who had three sons in all. The eldest was called Weiziqi, the second was called Weiziyan; Shouwang was his third son.
One day, Di Yi was admiring the peonies in his garden with his ministers when he suffered crushing pains inside him. His strength spent, all he could do was to seize at a pillar for support. On seeing this, ministers, including Meibo and Zhao Qi, promptly proclaimed Shouwang as the Crown Prince, the King’s successor. Di Yi reigned for another thirteen years before he passed away.
The Taishi (Grand Minister) Wen Zhong proclaimed Shouwang as the Son of Heaven. Shouwang chose to be known as King Zhou of the Shang and established his capital in the city of Chaoge. As part of King Zhou’s government, Wen Zhong represented the Literati (Wen), and Huang Feihu, the Flying Tiger, the Wucheng King, represented the Martial Officers (Wu). The Literati were to maintain the laws and rites, and the Martial Officers were to be in charge of all things military.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Chapter 1 Part 3
Well, I've been trying to do Part 2 for DAYS now. Ancient Chinese is strange - a phrase can have more than one meaning depending on the context. And as I don't know what the 'context' of the story is I cannot translate the second part of the Prologue-y rhyming couplet poem :P as yet. All I can say is that the missing part summarises the rest of the book. So here's Part 3 instead.
A note about names. Firstly I am using the Mandarin Chinese form of names transliterated using the Hanyu Pinyin system eg 'Huang Feihu' instead of ‘Flying Tiger Huang’. Some of the names are translated into English when possible or needed, for example 'Wen Taishi' becomes 'Grand Minister Wen'.
Next, a typical ‘low-class’ Chinese name has the surname written first followed by the name, which can consist of one or two characters. This is the convention I shall use when naming the characters eg 'Huang Feihu'. In some instances eg for Kings' names the surname and name may not be used. Rather, titles are used instead eg ‘King Zhou of Shang’ instead of ‘Yin Shouwang’. Also, in the very distant past, even the Chinese had no surnames, only names, which had one or two characters eg ‘Qi’ or ‘Cheng Tang’.
Last, the members of a ruling Dynasty had a surname that differed from the name they ruled under, eg the members of the Shang Dynasty (State) were surnamed ‘Yin’ and those of the Zhou Dynasty (State) were surnamed ‘Ji’.
Why ‘Kings’ and ‘States’ rather than ‘Emperors’ and ‘Dynasties’? Well, the latter system did not come about until 221 BC, during the Qin Dynasty. Prior to that there was no China but a loose confederation of states ruled by Barons and Dukes (see below).
Enjoy!
Part 3
Cheng Tang, surnamed Zi, was a King who ruled after the Yellow Emperor. His ancestor was Qi. Qi’s mother was the second concubine of Ku, one of the Lords From On High. Qi’s mother’s prayed to the heavens and was answered with his birth, which was auspicious. Qi ruled the people well, and was appointed Lord of the Shang. Thirteen generations later, Taiyi, (Shang) Cheng Tang, was born.
Jie, King of the Xia Dynasty, had a reign characterised by his neglect of his Kingly duties and his banishment of the wise and listening to of bad counsel. It was felt that Jie’s time had come, and so the land was passed to Cheng Tang, Lord of the Shang. King Jie’s deeds drove Cheng Tang to a tearful remonstration with him, which only served to infuriate King Jie, who subsequently imprisoned Cheng Tang in the Palace of the Xia. Cheng Tang was subsequently pardoned and released.
Returning to the Land of the Shang, Cheng Tang came across a group of people in the countryside who were spreading a net on the ground and who spoke to him, saying: ‘From heaven they will fall, from the earth they will appear, from everywhere they will come, and they will be trapped by our net.’
Cheng Tang glanced at them, and replied: ‘He whom I wish to go left will go left, he whom I wish to go right will go right. If I want him to be exalted, he will be exalted, and if I want him to be demoted, he shall be demoted. But it is those whom I will not command who will come into my net.’ When Han Nan heard this, he exclaimed: ‘Goodness has arrived with Cheng Tang!’ and he, alongside forty other states, yielded to Cheng Tang.
The people became tired of King Jie’s misdeeds, and together they rose in arms with Cheng Tang against him, defeating him and exiling him to the south. Cheng Tang declined the throne, offering it to the Barons who had helped him, but instead the Barons chose Cheng Tang as the Son of Heaven. Thus Cheng Tang became King. He established a Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty, and a capital.
All King Cheng Tang did pleased his people, and from near and far they came to pay him homage. When King Cheng Tang prayed in the mulberry woods, it rained after seven years. His distribution of alms also saved many. All swore to protect him, saying that he was a man of goodness, that he would save and protect them all.
King Cheng Tang was on the throne for thirteen years before he passed away at the grand age of 100. His descendents continued to rule as the Shang Dynasty for the next 640 years, in this order: Cheng Tang, Da Jia, Wo Ding, Tai Geng, Xiao Jia, Yong Ji, Tai Wu, Zhong Ding, Wai Ren, He Jia, Zu Yi, Zu Xing, Wo Jia, Zu Ding, Nan Geng, Yang Jia, Pan Geng, Xiao Xing, Xiao Yi, Wu Ding, Zu Geng, Zu Jia, Lin Xing, Geng Ding, Wu Yi, Tai Ding, Di Yi, Shou Xing.
A note about names. Firstly I am using the Mandarin Chinese form of names transliterated using the Hanyu Pinyin system eg 'Huang Feihu' instead of ‘Flying Tiger Huang’. Some of the names are translated into English when possible or needed, for example 'Wen Taishi' becomes 'Grand Minister Wen'.
Next, a typical ‘low-class’ Chinese name has the surname written first followed by the name, which can consist of one or two characters. This is the convention I shall use when naming the characters eg 'Huang Feihu'. In some instances eg for Kings' names the surname and name may not be used. Rather, titles are used instead eg ‘King Zhou of Shang’ instead of ‘Yin Shouwang’. Also, in the very distant past, even the Chinese had no surnames, only names, which had one or two characters eg ‘Qi’ or ‘Cheng Tang’.
Last, the members of a ruling Dynasty had a surname that differed from the name they ruled under, eg the members of the Shang Dynasty (State) were surnamed ‘Yin’ and those of the Zhou Dynasty (State) were surnamed ‘Ji’.
Why ‘Kings’ and ‘States’ rather than ‘Emperors’ and ‘Dynasties’? Well, the latter system did not come about until 221 BC, during the Qin Dynasty. Prior to that there was no China but a loose confederation of states ruled by Barons and Dukes (see below).
Enjoy!
Part 3
Cheng Tang, surnamed Zi, was a King who ruled after the Yellow Emperor. His ancestor was Qi. Qi’s mother was the second concubine of Ku, one of the Lords From On High. Qi’s mother’s prayed to the heavens and was answered with his birth, which was auspicious. Qi ruled the people well, and was appointed Lord of the Shang. Thirteen generations later, Taiyi, (Shang) Cheng Tang, was born.
Jie, King of the Xia Dynasty, had a reign characterised by his neglect of his Kingly duties and his banishment of the wise and listening to of bad counsel. It was felt that Jie’s time had come, and so the land was passed to Cheng Tang, Lord of the Shang. King Jie’s deeds drove Cheng Tang to a tearful remonstration with him, which only served to infuriate King Jie, who subsequently imprisoned Cheng Tang in the Palace of the Xia. Cheng Tang was subsequently pardoned and released.
Returning to the Land of the Shang, Cheng Tang came across a group of people in the countryside who were spreading a net on the ground and who spoke to him, saying: ‘From heaven they will fall, from the earth they will appear, from everywhere they will come, and they will be trapped by our net.’
Cheng Tang glanced at them, and replied: ‘He whom I wish to go left will go left, he whom I wish to go right will go right. If I want him to be exalted, he will be exalted, and if I want him to be demoted, he shall be demoted. But it is those whom I will not command who will come into my net.’ When Han Nan heard this, he exclaimed: ‘Goodness has arrived with Cheng Tang!’ and he, alongside forty other states, yielded to Cheng Tang.
The people became tired of King Jie’s misdeeds, and together they rose in arms with Cheng Tang against him, defeating him and exiling him to the south. Cheng Tang declined the throne, offering it to the Barons who had helped him, but instead the Barons chose Cheng Tang as the Son of Heaven. Thus Cheng Tang became King. He established a Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty, and a capital.
All King Cheng Tang did pleased his people, and from near and far they came to pay him homage. When King Cheng Tang prayed in the mulberry woods, it rained after seven years. His distribution of alms also saved many. All swore to protect him, saying that he was a man of goodness, that he would save and protect them all.
King Cheng Tang was on the throne for thirteen years before he passed away at the grand age of 100. His descendents continued to rule as the Shang Dynasty for the next 640 years, in this order: Cheng Tang, Da Jia, Wo Ding, Tai Geng, Xiao Jia, Yong Ji, Tai Wu, Zhong Ding, Wai Ren, He Jia, Zu Yi, Zu Xing, Wo Jia, Zu Ding, Nan Geng, Yang Jia, Pan Geng, Xiao Xing, Xiao Yi, Wu Ding, Zu Geng, Zu Jia, Lin Xing, Geng Ding, Wu Yi, Tai Ding, Di Yi, Shou Xing.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Chapter 1 - Part 1
As promised here is Chapter 1. It is long. And complex.
Every Chapter begins with a prologue which is in the form of a poem with a rigid structure of 1. 14 words per line 2. the lines form rhyming couplets.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1 King Zhou lights incense in the Temple of the Goddess Nuwa
In the beginning Pan Gu split the darkness, and the two poles and four directions appeared,
Heaven and Earth and Time came into being, vermin and pestilence were removed, homes were built.
Zhuren took hold of fire and food was not eaten raw any longer; Fuyi designed the Yin-Yang Bagua Symbol,
The Farmer of Farmers invented horticulture, and the Yellow Emperor instituted marriage.
The people prospered under the Five Lords on High; later on, King Yu drove away the floodwaters.
Those of Yu’s lineage held the land for four hundred years, but King Jie lost it through his misdeeds
For Jie spent his days wining and whoring, until Shang Cheng Tang took his chances and purified the land again.
King Yin Zhou was Shang Tang’s thirty-first direct descendant; under Yin Zhou the line of the Shang family became as a piece of broken string
Under him endless chaos returned; he butchered his wife, murdered his sons and listened to lies.
He soiled the palace walls with his love of Daji; he created the Wall of Fire and destroyed they who were both innocent and loyal to him.
The people suffered when they built the Deer Palace for him, and their prayers, cries and pleas went straight to the heavens.
Every Chapter begins with a prologue which is in the form of a poem with a rigid structure of 1. 14 words per line 2. the lines form rhyming couplets.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1 King Zhou lights incense in the Temple of the Goddess Nuwa
In the beginning Pan Gu split the darkness, and the two poles and four directions appeared,
Heaven and Earth and Time came into being, vermin and pestilence were removed, homes were built.
Zhuren took hold of fire and food was not eaten raw any longer; Fuyi designed the Yin-Yang Bagua Symbol,
The Farmer of Farmers invented horticulture, and the Yellow Emperor instituted marriage.
The people prospered under the Five Lords on High; later on, King Yu drove away the floodwaters.
Those of Yu’s lineage held the land for four hundred years, but King Jie lost it through his misdeeds
For Jie spent his days wining and whoring, until Shang Cheng Tang took his chances and purified the land again.
King Yin Zhou was Shang Tang’s thirty-first direct descendant; under Yin Zhou the line of the Shang family became as a piece of broken string
Under him endless chaos returned; he butchered his wife, murdered his sons and listened to lies.
He soiled the palace walls with his love of Daji; he created the Wall of Fire and destroyed they who were both innocent and loyal to him.
The people suffered when they built the Deer Palace for him, and their prayers, cries and pleas went straight to the heavens.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
The Nerdy Fengshen/Houshin Translation Blog
Fengshen Yanyi (Jap: 'Houshin Engi'; Eng: 'Appointment of the Gods') was written during the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368 - 1644)(you have been warned - didn't I say that this was to be a nerdy blog???).
About the language: Fengshen was written in a form of ancient Chinese known as 'Gu3Bai2Hua4Wen2' by an unknown author, whom some people have named tentatively as Chen2 Zhong1Lin2. Let's say that Gu3Bai2Hua4Wen2 is intermediate between classical-classical Chinese ('Wen2Yan2Wen2')and modern Chinese ('Bai2Hua4Wen2'). For examples of the former, look up texts like the stuff by Confucius and his disciples. For examples of the latter, look up any modern Chinese book.
Why this book? Well, my dad bought some VCDs. The VCDs were from Hong Kong. They sucked. Big time. One of the reasons they sucked was that the movies on them had appalling special effects. I mean, they looked so 70s...
But more importantly, I felt that the movies overzealously re-told the Fengshen Yanyi story so that it was not the story I remebered but something totally different. There've been other versions of this story such as a Japanese manga/anime and a few movies, as well as a few adaptations in print. I note there is the original version online, but I've also noted that I can't seem to find an English translation of the original on the web.
So here I am. I shall translate this book from its original language into English. For FREE. Gratis. I don't know who'll be interested, but anyway... Back to my point. This is daunting. To do this, I need your HELP. No, I DON'T want your money. That's for next time. Instead, I want your comments and your visits and your recommendations.
I'll work on the translation now. Will post it tomorrow.
About the language: Fengshen was written in a form of ancient Chinese known as 'Gu3Bai2Hua4Wen2' by an unknown author, whom some people have named tentatively as Chen2 Zhong1Lin2. Let's say that Gu3Bai2Hua4Wen2 is intermediate between classical-classical Chinese ('Wen2Yan2Wen2')and modern Chinese ('Bai2Hua4Wen2'). For examples of the former, look up texts like the stuff by Confucius and his disciples. For examples of the latter, look up any modern Chinese book.
Why this book? Well, my dad bought some VCDs. The VCDs were from Hong Kong. They sucked. Big time. One of the reasons they sucked was that the movies on them had appalling special effects. I mean, they looked so 70s...
But more importantly, I felt that the movies overzealously re-told the Fengshen Yanyi story so that it was not the story I remebered but something totally different. There've been other versions of this story such as a Japanese manga/anime and a few movies, as well as a few adaptations in print. I note there is the original version online, but I've also noted that I can't seem to find an English translation of the original on the web.
So here I am. I shall translate this book from its original language into English. For FREE. Gratis. I don't know who'll be interested, but anyway... Back to my point. This is daunting. To do this, I need your HELP. No, I DON'T want your money. That's for next time. Instead, I want your comments and your visits and your recommendations.
I'll work on the translation now. Will post it tomorrow.
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