Le You Plains: Some commentary on the Place and translation of the Poem of the same name by Li Shang Yin for which the Chinese title of Wonderland of Love (2023) is named
Le You Plains《樂遊原》 /《乐游原》: Some commentary on the Place and translation of the Poem of the same name by Li Shang Yin李商隱, for which the Chinese title of Wonderland of Love (2023) is named
Sometimes I find myself baffled by the strange choice of English drama titles for Chinese dramas that have poetically evocative titles - Wonderland of Love (2023) is a case in point.
The English title sounds discount Disney tacky, which is unfortunate, because the Chinese title, Le You Yuan, is both apt and poetic. It is the name of a place, 樂遊原/Le You Plains, as well as the title of a famous poem regarding that place by Tang dynasty poet Li Shang Yin 李商隱 (813AD - 858 AD).
In the drama Wonderland of Love (2023), Le You Yuan is also the name of the idyllic plains where the heroine and hero can ride and romance each other free from their cares.
Below is some background information about the place, some commentary about the poem and its author, as well as my attempt at translation of the poem Le You Yuan《樂遊原》/《乐游原》.
The place
It was the highest point in the city - ascending Le You Yuan would have showcased a panoramic view of Chang'an. Much earlier, Emperor Xuan of the Han dynasty漢宣帝 (reigning 74BC-48BC) built the Le You temple樂遊廟 there along with a gorgeous garden and the place also served as the burial ground for his first empress, Empress Xu.
The place was originally known as the Le You Gardens樂遊苑 (being so named during the early Western Han dynasty西漢 (202BC - 9BC)). But because the word for garden「苑」and the word for plains「原」are homophonic, Le You Yuan eventually became known as the Le You plains樂遊原, which arguably better described the geographic nature of the plains/plateau. By the Tang dynasty, the place was a tourist attraction, favoured by many, including the literati, and was the inspiration for many poems, including the famous poem by Li Shang Yin李商隱.
The Poem - commentary and translation
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| Li Shang Yin李商隱 (813AD-858AD) |
The poem《樂遊原》/Le You Plains aka 《登樂遊原》Ascending the Le You Plains was written by Tang dynasty poet Li Shang Yin李商隱(813AD - 858AD), and it is one of the poems recorded in the famous Three Hundred Tang Poems/《唐詩三百首》.
Li Shang Yin is commonly regarded as one of the best Chinese poets of the late Tang dynasty period, and together with Du Mu杜牧(803AD-852AD), was known as "Little Li-Du"小李杜, recalling the "Great Li-Du" combination of Li Bai 李白 (701AD-762AD) and Du Fu 杜甫 (712AD -770AD).
Le You Plains《樂遊原》was written in the late Tang dynasty, at a time when the once great dynasty was in rapid decline. Despite his talent, Li Shang Yin's political career never took off due to his being caught up in the Niu-Li factional strife/牛李黨爭 of 808AD-846AD, and some speculate that the discontent with which the poem begins reflects his melancholy at this state of affairs.
Le You Plains《樂遊原》is a five character quatrain. It starts with the poet recalling how he was feeling out of sorts in the evening, and so drove up to Le You Yuan. There he sees the beauty of the moment just before sunset, and he reflects on how close dusk is. The poem is especially famous for the last two lines, which poignantly captures the transience of the sublime in 10 short words.
There are many translations of Li Shang Yin's 《樂遊原》Le You Plains out there, but I was tempted to add one of my own. The beauty of the original is inevitably lost in translation and due to my shortcomings in translation, but my attempt at capturing the essence of Li Shang Yin's poem below. All mistakes are, of course, my own!
The English translation below is done from traditional Chinese text, but for those who wish to read the simplified text and/or the ping yin pronunciation, that is also included after the translation.
aka 《登樂遊原》Ascending the Le You Plains by 李商隱 Li Shang Yin (813AD - 858AD) 向晚意不適2， Nearing night, feeling ill at ease, 驅車登古原3。 By carriage, ascending the old plains. 夕陽無限好4， The time prior to sunset is infinitely good, 只是近黃昏5。 Alas, that dusk is close. 1. 樂遊原"Le You Plains". 樂/Le can be translated as "happiness"; 遊/You can be translated as "journey". I have translated from the traditional Chinese script, but for reference, the simplified Chinese script for 乐游原 is set out in the box below beneath the footnotes, along with the pin yin for pronunciation.↩ 2. I have translated 不適 as "ill at ease", but this can also mean "out of sorts", "unwell/ indisposed", and depending on context, "unhappy".↩ 3. 古原 literally means "old plains" or "ancient plateau", but the place being referred to is 樂遊原Le You plains.↩ 4. 夕陽 means sunset, or the period of time just prior to the sun setting, hence my rather literal translation of "the time prior to sunset", which hopefully captures the transience of that moment. I have translated 無限 as "infinitely" - it could also be translated as "without limits", "unbounded". ↩ 5.只是 "it is only that..." or "but..." however, I have opted for "alas" here to try and capture the poet's commentary on the fleeting nature of the sublime.↩ |
《乐游原》lè yóu yuán; aka《登乐游原》dēng lè yóu yuán by 李商隐 Li Shang Yin (813AD - 858AD) 向晚意不适， xiàng wǎn yì bù shì 驱车登古原。 qū chē dēng gǔ yuán 夕阳无限好， xī yáng wú xiàn hǎo 只是近黄昏。 zhī shì jìn huáng hūn |
