Ozymandias#
Original#
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said :"Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the disert ...Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies,whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias,King of Kings:
Look on my works,ye mighty,and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck,boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Translation by Professor Feng Jiang#
I have encountered a traveler from an ancient land,
who said: "There are two enormous stone legs,
standing in the desert...Near them, on the sand,
lies a half-sunken, shattered face, with a frown,
wrinkled lips, and a sneer of cold command,
indicating that the sculptor understood those emotions well,
which still survive, imprinted on these lifeless objects,
the hand that mocked them and the heart that nourished them.
And on the pedestal, these words can be seen:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Behold my works, you mighty, and despair!"
Nothing else remains. Around the ruins
of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
the lonely, level sands stretch far away.
Translation by Professor Zhaoliang Wang#
Returning from overseas, I once saw an ancient country in the desert
There were two enormous stone legs, without a body,
standing among the sand...Nearby, on the sand,
a shattered face lies half-buried, but still awe-inspiring,
with that cold smile, that sneer of command,
it shows that the sculptor understood the owner's emotions,
and carved the stone with a lifelike expression,
while the hand that carved them and the heart of the statue's owner
have long turned to ashes. On the pedestal, there are words:
"I am Ozymandias, the King of Kings,
my achievements are unparalleled, even the mighty will despair!"
Nothing else remains, only the ruins,
lonely and desolate, with endless flat sands stretching in all directions.
Translation by Yang Jiang#
I met a traveler from an ancient land
who said: "There are two enormous stone legs
partially buried in the desert. Nearby, on the sand,
there is a shattered stone face
with pursed lips and furrowed brows, still majestic.
The sculptor must have understood the owner's emotions
as they are still visible on the stone,
while the person has turned to dust.
On the pedestal, there are faintly visible words:
"I am Ozymandias, the King of Kings,
look at my achievements, even the mighty will despair!"
Nothing else remains, only the desolate
surroundings of the ruins,
with lonely, barren sands stretching far away.
Personal Reflections#
I came across this poem while reading game reviews. It was mentioned that there is a scene in Civilization V related to this poem. The review quoted Professor Zhaoliang Wang's translation, which has a classical and touching feel to it.
I have always been interested in translation. I took two advanced English courses in college. One was translation and the other was interpretation.
Why am I interested in translation?
There are several reasons:
- When reading some professional books, I often struggle with the translations. Some Chinese translations are awkward and difficult to understand, while the original English version is easier to comprehend.
- I listen to a lot of English songs. When I look up the lyrics, I often find the translations interesting.
- He can be considered my idol: Wang Xiaobo. (I initially wrote Jin Yong here) In his article "My Mentors," he praised two translators: Liangzheng Cha and Daoqian Wang. When I first read this article, I couldn't appreciate the beauty of translated poetry, and even now, I still struggle to fully understand it. I hope that in the future, I will be able to appreciate it.
Returning to this poem, I must admit that I still struggle to appreciate the beauty of English poetry. However, from the translated versions, I can still sense the desolation.
My first association was with the Chinese poem "Yellow Crane Tower," which begins with the line "The ancient poet has ridden a yellow crane away, and all that remains is the empty Yellow Crane Tower." It's normal for me to think of this line first: I often daydream, and one day when I travel to England, I will deliberately go to Wembley Stadium and find that previous post, with the caption "All that remains is the empty Yellow Crane Tower."
I also read an analysis that said Shelley borrowed from Ozymandias to warn kings. I can't quite grasp that idea, but it's also fine. I don't want to think too much, just feel, feel the "Around the ruins, only vast stretches of yellow sand remain, desolate and lonely, stretching in all directions."