Sunday, July 6, 2008

Pu Sa Man (Pillow Swear)

Pu Sa Man (Pillow Swear)
By Anonymous of Tang Dynasty
Translated by Laijon Liu

By the pillow I give a thousand swears:
(No break! No break! And No break!)
Until the green mountains were mashed;
And the stone weight of steelyard floats;
And the Yellow river dried up her drops;
The night stars glare with the white sun;
The North Pole Seven stars shift to south;
Still, we are not going to break!
Until the sun shines at this midnight hour.

Chinese:
菩萨蛮
(敦煌曲子词)

枕前发尽千般愿,
要休且待青山烂。
水面上秤锤浮,
直待黄河彻底枯。
白日参辰现,
北斗回南面。
休即未能休,
且待三更见日头。