Zhang Hu

LISTENING TO A WOMAN PLUCKING THE ZHENG



A woman is plucking the zheng
with her red finger nails
as smooth as bamboo shoots

The instrument sounds
as if a wild goose is flying
among the green strings

This song is about the men
who suffered painfully
while laboring
on the Great Wall

They are tolerating misery
like a river crying
under bitter clouds
in the whistling wind

Translated by Rukui Chen and John Digby



Note: Zhang Hu was a poet from Tang Dynasty (690-705), which was mainly an Imperial Dynasty of China.