Jade Pavilion Songs (1) Quan Deyu The orchid blooms, A phoenix coos, Arcadia east, He perceives The slanting sun On moist powder, Her regalia Plays in the breeze. Emotion comes Unconsciously, He dimly halts His braided steed. 权德舆 玉台体十二首·其一 鸾啼兰已红，见出凤城东。 粉汗宜斜日，衣香逐上风。 情来不自觉，暗驻五花骢。
The Chinese phrase is 凤城, which means city of the phoenixes, and was a conventional name for the capital city. The problem is that in the previous line, the poem has just talked about phoenixes, using a different term, 鸾. Classical Chinese was well-stocked with words for phoenix, but we really only have the one in English! So I didn't want to repeat the word phoenix, but I wanted a term that reflected the author's idea that this is an idealised city. So... my resource is classical references.
There are lots of other ways you might approach this term, of course. You could straightforwardly translate it as Chang'an. You could use a different term for a fabulous bird (in one draft I was using roc) to avoid repetition. You could use a different term like "city of the gods".
I quite like the use of a classical reference here because these days, they're quite obscure, and in this poem, obscurity is a good thing. Quan isn't aiming for clarity. Everything is gauzy and felt rather than seen. And Arcadia, with it misty origins but general positive feel, seems to convey that feeling to modern English readers.
Thank you! That makes sense, I read 凤城 as just the name of a town, and thought “maybe Windy City or something”, didn’t realize it was another instance of the phoenix motif. I like that you use classical references, as well as illustrations from pictorial traditions outside China, it helps broaden the scope of these poems.
How did you come to the phrase “Arcadia East”?
The Chinese phrase is 凤城, which means city of the phoenixes, and was a conventional name for the capital city. The problem is that in the previous line, the poem has just talked about phoenixes, using a different term, 鸾. Classical Chinese was well-stocked with words for phoenix, but we really only have the one in English! So I didn't want to repeat the word phoenix, but I wanted a term that reflected the author's idea that this is an idealised city. So... my resource is classical references.
There are lots of other ways you might approach this term, of course. You could straightforwardly translate it as Chang'an. You could use a different term for a fabulous bird (in one draft I was using roc) to avoid repetition. You could use a different term like "city of the gods".
I quite like the use of a classical reference here because these days, they're quite obscure, and in this poem, obscurity is a good thing. Quan isn't aiming for clarity. Everything is gauzy and felt rather than seen. And Arcadia, with it misty origins but general positive feel, seems to convey that feeling to modern English readers.
Thank you! That makes sense, I read 凤城 as just the name of a town, and thought “maybe Windy City or something”, didn’t realize it was another instance of the phoenix motif. I like that you use classical references, as well as illustrations from pictorial traditions outside China, it helps broaden the scope of these poems.