Ko-jin goes west from Ko-kaku-ro, The smoke flowers are blurred over the river. His lone sail blots the far sky. And now I see only the river, The long Kiang, reaching heaven.
The jeweled steps are already quite white with dew, It is so late the dew soaks my gauze stockings, And I let down the crystal curtain And watch the moon through the clear autumn
庞德无疑开了创造性翻译的先河,译者对原文不求甚解,但是译文清新淡雅,灿烂辉煌,日月青天,永垂青史。人们当然知道庞德有借他山之石攻我山之玉的意图。之后的许多年里,不时有人针砭庞德翻译的准确性,喋喋不休。纵观历史,也许只有庞德这样绝世的才华才会让李白,王维,陶渊明以人类伟大诗人的名义走入西方诗歌的宫殿,整个西方才看到了什么是不朽的诗句,什么句子包含了举世无双,却又十分淡定的豪情。这股清淡而又纯净的诗风把腐朽的浪漫主义一扫而空。从此意象主义(Imagisme)占据了中心广场,成就了现代主义(modernism)。英美诗歌从此走向了全新的道路,has never looked back.