Zhou Jun – The 60s

Zhou Jun LE P&W Eng-Chin Jan 2023

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Live Encounters Poetry & Writing English-Chinese Edition January 2023

The 60s, poems by Zhou Jun.


The 60s

To my father

The days you once lived are now like a quilt covering my body
The hardships you suffered are now like sunlight shining over my
house
You were uprooted in the flood…I think we’re about to encounter one
another
We will be forced to make choices together

Don’t whine about what happened to you in your early life
We have come to you from another fork in the journey
There is another dimension of love to let us shake hands and make
peace
No, it’s the poignant tears that are flowing

The war, the turmoil, the hunger and the political power that you have
experienced
The language you were used to, the underground bomb shelters and
People’s Communes you have visited
Though I hate, I laugh silently, or curse loudly
But I cannot leave without you, as I did in those days when I had to go
with the flow.

I cannot help loving you, loving you with all your flaws
Now I stand on a prairie far from you, recalling your life
Recalling the world you once loved, everything returns to square one
Now I think of the Sino-Japanese War, Emperor Chongzhen, and the
Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days’ Reform

I won’t give up love; however, I will lose everything
I’m in tears, and I realize we have no one to turn to
Without you, without the past, things will not stop anyway
Even sleeping underground, I will still meet your suffering

Note: Emperor Chongzhen was the last Emperor for Ming Dynasty,
who committed suicide.


60年代

致我的父亲

你们曾经生活过的日子,现在像棉被一样盖在我的身上
你们曾经受过的苦,像阳光一样照耀在我的屋子上空
你们曾经在洪流中颠沛流离,我想我们也快相逢了
我们会一起逼迫着做出选择

你们提前遭遇的,请不要抱怨
我们从另一个岔口,来到你们的跟前
还有爱的另一个维度,让我们握手言和
不,是心酸的眼泪在流淌

你们经历过的战乱、动荡、饥饿还有政治的力量
你们习惯的语言,曾经去过的地下防空洞和人民公社
虽然我痛恨,我无声地嘲笑,或者大声咒骂
但是我依旧离不开你们,犹如那个必须随波逐流的时代

我无法不爱你,不爱浑身都是缺点的你
现在我站在远离你们的平原,我回忆你的一生
回忆你们曾经热爱过的世界,一切回到原点
现在我想起了甲午战争、崇祯皇帝以及戊戌君子

我不会放弃爱,但是我什么都会失去
我泪流满面,此时我才知道我们无依无靠
没有了你们,没有了那些过去,一切并没有停止
就算沉睡在地下,我和你们的苦难依旧会重逢


Gongshu Junjiatang Riverside

The snow has melted all masters’ armor
Under the blue sky, all the trees have become bare
Slimming into dark gray lines
Silently pointing to the profound eternity

I am just passing by
I watch birds standing among you, grasping with sharply alert claws
Remnants of fruits, each round with a tiny gloating green belly
And myriad buds covered in fleece, sprouting from branches

I am not the one you are waiting for
Dark-gray is the silence, next to the winter scenery’s devotion
Expecting so much, all becomes silent
Hey, I’m just passing by and saluting you all


拱墅隽家塘河边

雪消融了所有主人的盔甲
所有的树,在蓝天下都裸
都瘦成黑灰色的线条
都静静地指向这隽永的未来

我只是路过
看到鸟站在你们中间,揪住清警的爪
有残留的果实,一个个滚圆着小小得意的绿肚子
还有无数枚绒毛包裹着的花苞,枝头峭立

你们等待的自不是我
那么多黑灰色的缄默,挨着冬景的忠贞
那么多的期待,都那么安静
嗨,我只是路过,然后向你们一一致敬


English translation © Anna Yin/© Zhou Jun

周珺,笔名周瓦, 作家,线上教育者。出版多部文学作品,其中书籍《傲骨丹青:吴冠中传》和《故宫里的博学家:杨伯达传》被国家新闻出版总署列为“向全国青少年推荐的百种优秀图书”。诗剧《夜访女娲》入选2019年北京南锣鼓巷戏剧节,荣获现代戏剧杂志社和陕西戏剧家协会主办的剧本大赛大戏奖。

Zhou Jun, pen name Zhou Wa, is a writer and an online educator in China. She has authored several literary works; her books: “The Proud Painter: A Biography of Wu Guanzhong” and “The Eruditionist in the Forbidden City: A Biography of Yang Boda” were listed among “100 Excellent Books Recommended to Young People Nationwide” by National Press and Publication Administration. Her poetic drama “Night Visits to Nuwa” was selected for the 2019 Bei Jing Nanluoguxiang Theatre Festival, and won the Great Play Award in the script competition by Modern Theatre Magazine and Shaanxi Playwright Association.

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