The original intention of buying "The Love Song of Ancient Greece" (first edition of Kaiming Bookstore in May 1928) more than 30 years ago was just for the two keywords of "ancient Greece" and "Li Jinfa".
When I was studying the "History of Foreign Literature" course in the early 1980s, I accepted the idea that Greek culture was the source of Western culture, so I devoured all the Chinese translations of ancient Greek literature I could borrow; because I didn't have the knowledge Systematic cultivation of cultural history and literary theory leaves only a rough impression. For example, its dramas are not as swaying and colorful as Shakespeare; its epics are not as magnificent and colorful as "The Song of Roland"; although the lyric poems of the female poet Sappho cannot be read , but I believe it will never be more ethereal and colorful than "The Divine Comedy"... In short, I have some idea of what is hidden in the treasure house of ancient Greek literature.
The inclusion of "Ancient Greek Love Song" can be regarded as filling the gap in lyric poetry; I am just curious: why is such an amazing work not mentioned in any textbooks, and why has no Chinese translated it directly from Greek?
Copyright page of "Ancient Greek Love Song"
Li Jinfa (1900-1976), whose original name was Li Quanxing, and Li Jinfa was his pseudonym; in the year of the May Fourth Movement, he went to France and Germany to study Western sculpture art, which was rarely paid attention to by the Chinese. In the field of modern sculpture, he is the undisputed predecessor.
"History of Modern Chinese Literature", which was used as a textbook in the early 1980s, had a narrow vision and limitations, but I have to give Li Jinfa a mention. The key is that he is the originator of modern Chinese symbolism poetry - if we want to bypass Li Jinfa in the modern poetry world, I am afraid it will not work.
Back then, it was not easy to find Li Jinfa’s works, so I saw “Ancient Greek Love Song” on a cold stall and read it in front of strangers—the original author, Biriti, and the French translator, Bellruy (now translated as Pierre Louis). ), re-translator Li Jinfa and Strange Things - French translations of ancient Greek works, Chinese translations of French translations, those who are interested will not let it go easily.
Li Jinfa’s translation preface says: “This poem is a re-translation from Les Chansons de Bilitis by French Pierre Louiys.” Also: “Louis is one of the great modern French writers. , it’s a pity that he passed away last year! He pursued the harmony and physical beauty of ancient Greek life, and at the same time praised the gods. His great descriptive nature really gave a blow to the modern pretentious society... I translated the meaning of this book. , just as the original translator wrote at the beginning of the volume: "This little book of ancient love is respectfully dedicated to the girls of the future society." I especially hope that readers will be able to recall the ancient life in the sordid life of this world. The joy of life, the ferment of beautification of life is produced in the heart." Then there is a large paragraph of text introducing the author: "Biliti was born about the sixth century BC..."
For readers who are not familiar with ancient Greek literature, Li What the blond thought and said was impeccable. After the book was published, not everyone doubted its authenticity, but it ended up being ignored. However, Li Jinfa just forgot that there were very few people who knew ancient Greek and ancient Greek literature at that time, and his mentor Zhou Zuoren was one of them. Zhou Zuoren questioned: "But why should we say it is a 're-translation'? This kind of sentiment does not seem to belong to Shila... As far as I know, there is no such love song in the history of ancient Shila literature. According to my opinion, this is clearly a poem by Lu Yi. Wright's "History of French Literature" in the United States said that this was a fake translation of Sheila. Why would Mr. Li say that it was a translation of Lu Yi's original work? "("Kaiming" Issue 5, 1928)
Perhaps Li Jinfa was really influenced by Louis? Lied. In any case, this forgery allows us to see Li Jinfa's literary heart and literary talent.
Content page one of "Ancient Greek Love Songs"
During his stay in France, Li Jinfa was deeply influenced by the French Symbolist poets Baudelaire, Verlaine and Mallarmé, and began to imitate writing. In a few years, he wrote "Light Rain" and "Dinners". "Abandoned Women" (circa 1922) is the first poem in "Light Rain": "The long hair fell all over my eyes, / and was cut off." All the shameful glances,/And the torrent of blood, and the sleep of withered bones./The night and the mosquitoes come slowly together,/crossing the corner of this short wall,/howling wildly behind my innocent ears,/howling in the wild wind:/trembling countless nomads/..."
"Look again at "The Love Song of Ancient Greece" "The Remains of the Past": "I left the bed as it was, messed up and destroyed, and the quilt was messed up, in order to preserve the shape of her body lying next to me. / Until tomorrow I will not bathe, I will not dress, I will not comb my hair, for fear that the traces of tenderness will be gone. / I will not eat this morning or evening, nor put makeup on my lips, so that her kisses may last forever. / I keep the door tightly closed to prevent all impressions from being dissipated by the wind. "
One of the illustrations of "Ancient Greek Love Song"
"These two poems, the former has a significant symbolic meaning, and the latter has a strong romantic color. What is the key to Li Jinfa's reconciliation or opening up of the boundaries between the two? His article "Female Beauty" expresses it It is very clear: “A person who can admire the beauty of women is a person who has the joy of the unity of life. A society that can worship female beauty is a more evolved society. The reason why Chinese society is boring is because of the worship of female beauty. The reason why women have no social status and are oppressed is also because there is no worship of female beauty. "("Aesthetic Education Magazine" Issue 1, 1928) This is on the one hand. On the other hand, the aesthetic ideal of French Symbolist poetry is to find beauty in a world of evil, and to feel the existence of evil in the experience of beauty. The three words "Flower of Evil" can almost be summed up. The "tonality" of most of the chapters in "Ancient Greek Love Song" coincides with it. It can be said that "different paths lead to the same destination". This is why Li Jinfa is so fond of "Ancient Greek Love Song". If the "red-haired" Liu Tang takes a front seat in "Liangshan Bo", then the "blond" Li Quanxing should also be given a seat not too far back in the history of modern Chinese literature and art history. (West Slope)
