go-wun

[go-wun]

New sideblog for poetry by Korean poet Ch'oe Ch'iwŏn, written in Literary Chinese: @go-wun

[go-wun]

孤雲 ~ 泛海

掛席浮滄海

長風萬里通

乘槎思漢使

採藥憶秦童

日月無何外

乾坤太極中

蓬萊看咫尺

吾且訪仙翁

고운 ~ 범해

괘석부창해

장풍만리통

승사사한사

채약억진동

일월무하외

건곤태극중

봉래간지척

오차방산옹

Koun ~ Floating on the sea

With woven mats rolled up, we float on the deep blue sea

And the rising wind is carrying us far away

Sitting in this raft, I think of the Han envoy

Who remembers Qin’s Tong gathering herbs

The sun and moon do not care that I’m a foreigner

I am but a being in this cosmos, in Tàijí

From here, the immortals’ abode of Penglai looks so close

I will soon visit my father, whose immortal spirit resides there.

[go-wun]

春曉偶書・孤雲（崔致遠）

叵耐東流水不回

只催詩景惱人來

含情朝雨細復細

弄艶好花開未開

亂世風光無主者

浮生名利轉悠哉

思量可恨劉伶婦

强勸夫郎疎酒盃

Transcription into Hangul:

춘효우서・고운

파내동류수부회

지최시경뇌인래

함정조우세부세

농염호화개미개

난세풍광무주자

부생명리전유재

사량가한류령부

강권부랑소주배

Translation into English:

Written by Chance on a Spring Dawn ・ Koun

But once it has flowed east, the water will not return,

And hastily written poetry alone can torment people.

I cherish the morning rain falling delicately, so delicately

Those fine flowers, replete with charms, bloom and bud.

In these troubled times, there is not a person to behold the fine scenery

What use are fame and profit in this fleeting world?

I keep thinking about Liu Ling's wife, how wretched she!,

She forced him to abandon his wine cup.

[go-wun]

This blog is dedicated to poems by Ch'oe Ch'iwŏn (최치원/崔致遠), a Korean philosopher and poet from the Unified Silla period. His art names (호/號) were Haeun (해운/海雲) and Koun (고운/孤雲).

I have a bachelor's degree in Korean Studies and, while on the hunt for a potential topic for my undergrad thesis, I stumbled upon a poem of his in a book on Korean poetry. I was so very enamoured with this poem and at the same time intrigued by Literary Chinese.

I have no knowledge of any modern Chinese and am still only just beginning to learn Literary Chinese, but I find that attempting to make sense of poems is very rewarding.

Join me on this journey of trying to make sense of Koun's poetry!