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"of those who meant"?

 
 
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 03:49 am
Would you like to rewrite "None thought the girl would spurn her status royal, Of those who meant Liu's kingly mind to guile" in plain English for me. I could not get it well.


Context:


Upon these shores the South and West were wed:

Pearl-screened paths and golden rooms were shared.

None thought the girl would spurn her status royal,

Of those who meant Liu's kingly mind to guile.
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Type: Question • Score: 1 • Views: 840 • Replies: 9
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sullyfish6
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 04:53 am
Here's what I think it means:

No one thought the girl would turn her back on her royal lifestyle and standing,

especailly those people who knew how Kings Liu (her father??) felt about trickery or deceit.

(It would help if you could include the next two lines or give some story background. )
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 06:37 am
@sullyfish6,
Thank you.
Put "Liu's kingly mind to guile"into Google search box and find the context (cannot be copied here)
0 Replies
 
engineer
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 06:48 am
@sullyfish6,
I read it as:

No one thought the girl would turn her back on her royal lifestyle and standing, especially those who thought they could curry favor from the king through his daughter.
0 Replies
 
InfraBlue
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 09:19 am
@oristarA,
Apparently, the passage is from a translation of an historical novel about the last days of the Han dynasty written by the Ming dynasty-era writer, Luo Guanzhong.

Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel By Guanzhong Luo, Moss Roberts, Google Books

The translation into English seems a bit tortured, as all translated poetry tends to be, especially when the original language is archaic.

Oristar, is it possible for you to translate the original passage into your own words?
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 04:17 pm
@InfraBlue,

I'm good at translations from English into Chinese, and I believe Mr. Moss Roberts is good at translations from C into E. The reverse may not be true, at least for me.

In the process of translating Chinese version Three Kingdoms into E, Mr.Moss Roberts received great help from scholars around the world. He was also inspired immensely by Brewitt-Taylor's English version Three Kingdoms. So, I don't think that I can translate the poem into E in my own words. At least for the present.

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oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 04:23 pm

What does "Liu's kingly mind to guile" mean? Does it mean "Liu's kingly mind will compromise"?
engineer
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 07:24 pm
@oristarA,
I believe it means "to try and trick the king". Guile means achieving goals through deception or trickery.
0 Replies
 
DrewDad
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 07:49 pm
@oristarA,
"Of those who meant Liu's kingly mind to guile" could be re-written as "of those who meant to guile Liu's kingly mind."
0 Replies
 
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Thu 20 May, 2010 08:04 pm
Got it
Thank you both.
0 Replies
 
 

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