The speech, which lasted for more than half an hour, was coming to an end. Under the scorching sun, the people sitting at the door of Columbia University's Roche Memorial Library were silent, and the solemn voice jumped into their ears one word at a time from the speakers.
"There are many people walking this road of life. Everyone walks out in a different way. But no matter what the result is, as long as you walk in the direction of your heart and set foot on the land you want to reach, the scenery you pass will be...
Desolation is prosperity, and they are all worth looking back on. Life is like water, flowing silently. May all your wishes be granted."
Zhang Zhong stopped here. The audience below thought Zhang Zhong had finished speaking and applauded unconsciously.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhong continued to speak, "Finally, I will give you a poem."
A poem?
People stopped clapping for a moment and listened carefully.
Many people know that pz himself is a poet, and some of them have also read some of pz's poems. "Collection of Lotus Leaves" has not been published in the United States, but it does not prevent someone from translating modern Chinese poems into English for people to appreciate.
But compared to pz's novels, far fewer people have read his poems.
And now?
He wants to give everyone a poem on the podium at Columbia University.
In what language would he read his poem?
Chinese? English?
If it is in Chinese, not many people present can understand it.
And if it is in English, then this will be pz's first English poem - except for those translated by others.
Ludinger, who was standing on the stage, also raised his eyebrows. He was educated in law, but this did not prevent him from having profound literary connotations.
He has read a lot of pz's books, some he read before, and some he did because pz was in the delegation.
There is no doubt that pz is a very good writer, and people have every reason to be crazy about his works.
What makes Ruddinger raise his eyebrows is that if PZ reads an English poem on the spot, and this poem happens to be widely circulated in the future, then Columbia University today may leave its mark in the history of literature and poetry with this poem.
A bold stroke of color.
"Two roads diverged in ayellow wood."
pz spoke.
It's English!
This is a natural result. After all, few people sitting in the audience can speak Chinese, but when they heard the beautiful English verses spoken by Zhang Zhong, the place was still excited.
They know what this means.
It means that they will be the witnesses of pz's first English poem.
Perhaps many years later, when they are gray-haired and old, leaning against the warm fireplace, they can still tell their grandchildren about today's incident.
[That afternoon many years ago, the sun was shining, the cicadas were chirping louder, and the birds were singing. The great writer pz stood on the stage, with a rare smile on his face, and read out his English poem to the people.
...]
"In the yellow woods, the road split into two."
"It's a pity I can't get involved at the same time."
"I stood at the intersection for a long time."
"Look towards one of the roads."
"Until it disappears into the depths of the jungle."
…
“Although the ground was covered with fallen leaves that morning,
Both roads are untouched by footprints.
Ah, leave a path to see you another day!
But I know the path goes on without end,
I'm afraid I won't be able to go back.
Maybe somewhere many years from now,
I will look back on the past with a sigh,
Two roads diverged in a wood,
And I chose the less traveled route,
So I embarked on this very different journey.” (emmm, for the convenience of your reading, I translated this poem into Chinese...)
Zhang Zhong read the poem "The Road Not Taken" slowly and slowly.
This is a modern English poem that he liked very much, and it is also one of the most famous poems by the poet Robert Frost.
Robert is a new-age poet who follows traditional rhyme forms and likes to use old forms to express new content.
His poems always use simple and easy-to-understand spoken language, which is gentle and quiet.
His poems always follow traditional rhythmic forms, such as rhyming couplets, triplets, quatrains, and fourteenets, and he writes them all very well.
In Chinese poetry, there are oblique rhymes, while in English poetry, rhythm is often reflected in four main meters - iambic, iambic, iambic, iambic, and iambic is by far the most common.
Robert is partial to iambic, because iambic has a clear rhythm, continuous soothing, and quiet beauty.
Precisely because the words used in this poem are not obscure, most people present understood it.
But this poem sounds simple, but it makes people feel like listening to music, with a strong sense of rhythm and rhythm.
At first glance, it sounds like an ordinary narrative poem, but if you think about it carefully, you can figure out many deeper things.
Of course, when most people hear a poem, the first thing that gives them is their first feeling.
The first feeling is good.
This is the first feeling of most people.
However, there were also people with sad faces at the scene.
Not far from the audience, Jose, an associate professor in the Department of Chinese Studies who was responsible for the simultaneous interpretation, felt that his brain cells were almost used at this moment.
pz's previous speech was not bad. Although it is a bit difficult to translate, it is enough to express the meaning.
But when it comes to this poem…
Although no obscure words are used, the translation is very difficult.
The refinement of poetry is different from that of ordinary literary works. It is very difficult to translate the charm of the original work.
After much deliberation, Jose simply gave up. He was unwilling to forcefully translate the poem because he felt that such behavior would tarnish the poem.
Anyway, he only needs to translate it for the Writers Association delegation. If he wants to send this poem, he can ask pz to tell them in person, or they can read the translation themselves later.
Just like that, Jose's voice sounded in the earphones of all the Writers' Association delegation at the same time: "I'm really sorry, I can't translate this poem for you."
The Writers Association were all experts, so they naturally understood Jose's difficulties and didn't say anything when they couldn't translate.
However, the members of the group started to communicate among themselves, because many of the people who came with the group were proficient in English.
"Lin Xiang, can you translate for us?"
The people around Lin Xiang poked his arm and laughed.
Apart from Zhang Zhong, Lin Xiang has the best English in the group, but not many people know him because he is very low-key, and only a few people who are usually close to him know about him.
Lin Xiang did not shirk, and began to explain to the person next to him, "I don't remember much, I can only give you a rough idea..."
Except for Jose, Parker also looked sad.
Because many of the people who came to watch his live broadcast were from China, they were begging him for translation right now.