A Contrastive Study on Translations of Li Qingzhao ’ s Ru Meng Ling : From the Perspective of Subjectivity and Subjectification

Poetry is quite personal in the sense that it is mainly written for the expression of the poets’ personal emotions, feelings, attitudes, point of views, etc. Therefore, it is endowed with strong subjectivity. Poets resort to different linguistic devices to realize their subjectivity in their poetry, which is termed as subjectification. Consequently, poets’ subjectivity constitutes an essential part of the meaning of their poetry. Thus, in the translation of poetry, it is vital for the translator to reconstruct the poets’ subjectivity. This paper attempts to conduct a contrast of thirteen English versions of Ru Meng Ling by Li Qingzhao from the perspective of subjectivity and subjectification. It will first make an analysis of Li Qingzhao’s subjectivity and subjectification in her Ru Meng Ling from the three dimensions, perspective, affect and epistemic modality. Then, a contrast is provided among the thirteen English versions. It is found that it is difficult to achieve a complete equivalence of subjectification due to the translators’ subjectivity in their translation. However, a good translator attempts to eschew his/her own subjectivity and reconstruct the poet’s subjectivity as much as possible.


Introduction
As a literary genre in ancient Chinese literature, poetry enjoys a long history and has always been favored by numerous literati.But it was not until Song Dynasty that Tz'u poetry flourished unprecedentedly.Such a heyday of Tz'u poetry is ushered in by many outstanding Tz'u poets including Su Shi, Ou'yang Xiu, Lu You, Xin Qiji, Liu Yong, Yan Shu, Li Qingzhao, etc.Among them, Li Qingzhao is undoubtedly in the spotlight not only because of her brilliant literary talent but also her status as of one the few remarkable female literati in Song Dynasty and even throughout the history of ancient China.Her Tz'u poetry, which is marked by graceful and restrained style, in the first period mainly expresses the life of maiden who is longing for sweet love, or married woman who is waiting the return of her husband, and in the second period mainly laments the miserable life of herself and the chaotic country.
Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream), one of the representative masterpieces by Li Qingzhao, was written in her early age.This piece of Tz'u has received extensive attention from litterateurs, researchers on Li Qingzhao's Tz'u, and translators, etc.This paper is mainly concerned with its various versions of translation.Thirteen English translations of it have been collected, and will be contrasted.It should be noted that the contrast among the thirteen English versions of Ru Meng Ling is primarily conducted from the dimension of meaning, without the consideration of the formal and prosodic aspects of the Tz'u.
It is beyond any doubt that meaning has long been the essential concern of philosophers, linguists, etc.One of the primary tasks of translation is to convey meaning, that is, to express in the target language, in an exact manner, what has been encoded in the source language.According to Cognitive Linguistics, meaning cannot be simply reduced to the objective characterization of a situation described as has been claimed by the objectivist formal logic view.Instead, meaning construction is conceptualization (Evans & Green, 2006), in the sense that it conveys how a conceptualizer chooses to construe a given situation and portray it for expressive purposes.That is to say, subjectivity constitutes an indispensable aspect of meaning.
The importance of subjectivity in language was recognized as early as in Bréal's ([1900] 1964) writings.But it is only the last two or three decades that have seen a resurgence of interest, mainly in the cognitive-functional tradition.Of particular importance in this respect is Benveniste who pointed out that "language is so strongly marked by subjectivity that one might wonder whether it could still function as, or be called, language if it was organized differently" (qtd.from Davidse, Vandelanotte, & Cuyckens, 2010).The importance of subjectivity was further underscored by Lyons (1977Lyons ( , 1982)), and was subsequently given increasing attention in the cognitive-functional literature, with hallmark publications such as Traugott (1989), Stein and Wright (1995) and Langacker (1990).Recent publications testifying to the importance of subjectivity in linguistics include Nuyts (2001), Shen (2001), Traugott and Dasher (2002), Langacker (1999Langacker ( , 2002Langacker ( , 2006)), Verhagen (2005), Athanasiadou, Canakis andCornillie (2006), De Smet andVerstraete (2006), Wen and Wu (2007), Wang (2008), etc.This paper examines what subjectivity of the Tz'u poet Li Qingzhao has be manifested and how it is realized or subjectified in her Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream).It will be divided into five chapters.The first chapter is a brief introduction of the Tz'u poet Li Qingzhao and her Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream), and related research on subjectivity and subjectification.The second chapter tries to lay a theoretical framework.Chapters three and four, which is the main part of this paper, are respective devoted to the analysis of subjectivity and subjectification in Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream) and the contrast of thirteen English translated versions.Chapter five provides a conclusion for the paper.

Theoretical Framework: Subjectivity and Subjectification
Subjectivity, according to Lyons (1977, p. 739), is a device whereby the speaker, in making an utterance, simultaneously comments upon that utterance and expresses his attitude to what he is saying.Similarly, Finegan (1995) maintains that subjectivity concerns expression of self and the representation of a speaker's (or, more generally, a locutionary agent's) perspective or point of view in discourse-what has been called a speaker's imprint.On the other hand, the structures and strategies that languages evolve in the linguistic realization of subjectivity or to the relevant processes of linguistic evolution themselves, based on Finegan's view (1995), are referred to as subjectification, or subjectivisation in Finegan's terminology.
As is noted by Benveniste (1971, p. 226), "A language without the expression of person cannot be imaged."Thus, it is safe to say that subjectivity is a universal phenomenon for all languages.However, according to Lyons (1995, p. 3), "In many languages, including English, subjectivity is marked in ways sufficiently subtle to be easily overlooked, and sufficiently complex to prove challenging to explicate."In other words, though it pertains to all languages, subjectivity is realized by different linguistic structures and strategies in different languages.Finegan (1995) identified three main arenas of research on subjectivity and subjectification: (1) A locutionary agent's perspective as shaping linguistic expression; (2) A locutionary agent's expression of affect towards the propositions contained in utterances; (3) A locutionary agent's expression of the modality or epistemic status of the propositions contained in utterances.
The three dimensions of focus, i.e. perspective, affect, epistemic modality, are introduced in detail in the following parts in this section.

Perspective
Perspective is originally related to space and refers to the way in which space is perceived and represented.It is dependent on the relative position and viewpoint of the conceptualizer, or "orientation" and "vantage" in Langacker's (1990) term.According to Langacker (2008, p. 73), "perspective is the viewing arrangement, the most obvious aspect of which is the vantage point assumed."This viewing arrangement constitutes an inherent part of the expression's meaning.For example, (1) a.The hill falls gently to the bank of the river.
b.The hill rises gently from the bank of the river.
The same scene is described by two different speakers quite differently.(1a) adopts a "top-down" perspective while (1b) adopts a "bottom-up" perspective.
However, "perspective is also found in non-spatial domains: we have a perspective based on our knowledge, belief and attitudes as well as our spatiotemporal location" (Croft & Cruse, 2004, p. 58).Take "tense" and "aspect" in language as an example.
(2) a. John left on Friday.
b. John would leave on Friday.
b. John has gone.
In (2) depicts a fact that something happens to John, that is, he leaves.But, in a, the perspective or reference point is one day after Friday while that in b is some day before Friday.In the same vein, (3a) is different from b in the preference of perspective.(3a) is only an objective report of a passed action, i.e. left, taken by John and the result that he is not here at the moment of speaking, while in addition to the passed action and the ensuing result, b also involves the speaker's perspective, that is, the passed action and the ensuing result are related to the moment of speaking.
As is argued that language users adopt certain perspectives in conveying meaning and consequently perspective constitute an inherent part of meaning, translators are supposed to reconstruct or keep themselves allied with the perspective adopted by the author of the source text if they are committed to faithfulness to meaning.

Affect
Affect can be interpreted as feelings, moods, dispositions, attitudes, etc. Emotive function, according to many linguists (e.g., Halliday, 1975;Lyons, 1977), is one of the three vital functions of language.Obviously, language users are not only making statement on a particular scene, but also presenting or conveying their own affect towards the scene and/or the statement.
The affect of the language users can be expressed by various linguistic devices.Expressions in lexicon and various levels of grammar are usually resorted to in its encoding.In English, such words as idiot, stupid, devil, poor expresses speakers' negative feelings and attitudes.Other linguistic devices expressing affect includes rhythm change, affixes, adverbs, word order, models, repetition, and so forth, according to Ochs and Schieffelin (1989).In addition, Traugott and Dasher (2002) also argue that hedges, politeness markers and honorific tittles are related to (inter)subjectivity.
Since language users' affects including their feelings, moods, dispositions, attitudes and so forth are often essentially encoded in their expressing of meaning when uttering something, translators are obliged to convey to their readers not only what language speakers have said about a scene or event but also their affects on it.

Epistemic Modality
Finegan (1995) notes that epistemic modality has received most thorough exploration among the three arenas.Nevertheless, no consensus on its definition has been achieved.Lyons (1977, p. 793) maintains that "epistemic modality is concerned with matters of knowledge, belief, or opinion rather than fact" while it is "concerned with speaker's assumptions ore assessment of possibilities and in most cases, it indicates the speakers's confidence (or lack of confidence) in the truth the proposition contained expressed" (Coates, 1983, p. 18).But from the perspective of Bybee and Pagliuca (1985, pp. 63-64), epistemic modality "expresses the speaker's evaluation of truth or potential truth of the proposition contained in the utterance.Recsky attempts to provide a broad definition for it, claiming that it is "understood as an umbrella term for notions for reliability, deduction, inference, etc., referring to the mode of knowledge and the source of evidence" (2006, p. 168).We adopt this broad sense of epistemic modality.
Epistemic modality can be realized in a series of distinct linguistic devices, such as model auxiliary verbs, model adverbs, model adjectives, model verbs, etc.For example, (4) a.He must be married.(Deontic interpretation) b.He must be married.(Epistemic interpretation) Must as a model auxiliary verb in English has two interpretations, i.e. deontic and epistemic interpretations.(4a) is a deontic interpretation, that is, it is necessary for him to get married.In contrast, (4b) is the epistemic interpretation which express that the speaker's judgement, especially from some persuasive evidence that he is married.In addition to model auxiliary verbs, model adverbs, model adjectives, model verbs, Shen (2001) also proposes that some conjunctions, those cause-effect conjunction in particular, can also distinguish objective and subjective descriptions.
When constructing meaning, language users simultaneously convey particular kinds of epistemic modality in their utterances, which constitutes an integral part of the speaker's meaning.Consequently, translators are expected to translate the same epistemic modality in their translation to achieve the same effect or function.
In summary, perspective, affect, epistemic modality have been the major focus of present investigation on subjectivity and subjectification, and it is argued that they are indispensable elements in meaning.Therefore, translation, as a cognitive process, involves the reconstruction of subjectivity conveyed by the source text in the target text.

Subjectivity and Subjectification in Ru Meng Ling
As has been stated above, meaning is subjectively constructed and translation is supposed to reconstruct keep themselves in line with the subjectivity by source text author.Poetry is extremely personal in the sense that they are carriers of poets' personal stance, feelings, opinions, attitudes, etc. towards certain scene or event.In consequence, the translation of poetry requires more attention on poets' subjectivity and subjectification in the poetry.This section is mainly concerned with subjectivity and subjectification in Li Qingzhao's Ru Meng Ling.

General Introduction of Ru Meng Ling
Two pieces of Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream) have been written by Li Qingzhao and in this paper we only focus on one of them, i.e.: This Tz'u is written in the first period of Li Qingzhao's life, when she lived a happy, abundant and stable life before Jin Dynasty gained control of the Central Plains.More specifically speaking, it is arguable written in her thirties when she parted with her husband Zhao Mingcheng.According to several most famous masters of Chinese culture, Xia et al. (2003), this Tz'u mainly expresses the Tz'u poet's bemoaning for the withered flowers and grieving over spring.This simple piece of Tz'u can be divided into several scenes.The first scene depicts what has happened last night, that is, it rained sparsely but the wind blew gustily.The second scene is set in the morning when the poet woke up after one night's deep sleep but still with leftover taste of wine.In the third scene, the poet asked the one who drew the screen for her how is the begonias and was given the answer that they are the same.In the last scene, the poet revised the answer she was given, thinking that the green is thriving while red is declining.However, in this Tz'u, it is more than just a plain description of these scenes.The Tz'u poet's subjectivity is also encoded or subjectified in lines.In the next part, we will probe into the subjectivity and subjectification in this Tz'u.

Analysis of Subjectivity and Subjectification in Ru Meng Ling
It has been noted that three major focuses subjectivity and subjectification have been perspective which is often realized by linguistic devices such as deixis, linear order, tense, aspect, etc., affect which is usually realized by rhythm change, affixes, adverbs, word order, models, repetition, hedges, politeness markers and honorific tittles, and so on, and epistemic modality which is typically realized by modal verbs, modal adverbs, as well as some conjunctions, cause-effect conjunctions in particular.Our analysis of the subjectivity and subjectification in Ru Meng Ling by Li Qingzhao will accordingly conducted along the three dimensions.

Perspective
The perspectives taken by the Tz'u poet in viewing different scenes are realized by the following lines, i.e. "试问 卷帘人", "却道海棠依旧", "知否，知否?".A detailed explanation is provided as follows.
In "试问卷帘人", "卷帘人" has been the focus of argument.Some scholars maintain that it refers the Tz'u poet's husband.However, according to the careful research from many famous scholars (e.g., Wang Zhongwen, Xia Chengtao, etc.), this Tz'u is written when the Tz'u poet parted with her husband.In this sense, it has to be the one who serves her.In addition, based on Xia et al.'s (2003) explanation, "卷帘" is a general action what is performed by the chambermaid daily instead of specific action carried out in that specific morning.In a nutshell, from the perspective of the Tz'u poet, "卷帘人" is the one who serves her and usually draws the screen for her.In "却道海棠依旧", and "知否，知否?", the focus is the chambermaid from the perspective of the Tz'u poet.Specifically, in the former one, the viewing arrangement is realized from the chambermaid to the Tz'u poet.In the latter one, the utterance is directly addressed to the chambermaid who is the deictic center for receiving this utterance.

Affect
The Tz'u poet's affect can be revealed by the following adverbs and verbs, "疏", "骤", "浓", "却", "肥", "瘦" in "昨夜雨疏风骤", "浓睡不消残酒", "却道海棠依旧" and "应是绿肥红瘦" respectively.In detail, "疏" and "骤" is a contrast which reflects the Tz'u poet worry about the flowers in such bad weather.By "浓", the Tz'u poet does not stress that her sleep last night is sound but rather indicate that she slept deeply throughout the night."却" reveals not only the chambermaid's unawareness of the Tz'u poet's concerns for the flowers but also the poet's doubt about her answers."肥" and "瘦" are primary used to describe human beings but are employed in the Tz'u by the poet to depict the leaves and flowers of "海棠".Such a metaphorical use conveys the Tz'u poet's laments for the withering of flowers and the elapse of spring.

Epistemic modality
Epistemic modality by the Tz'u poet is subjectified by the following lines, "试问卷帘人", "知否，知否?", "应是 绿肥红瘦"."试问" implies that the Tz'u poet's real intention is not to get the answer because she has already know it but to express her bemoaning for the flowers."知否" expresses the Tz'u poet's surprise for the chambermaid's unawareness of the withering of flowers on the one hand and her complaint for the answer on the other hand."应是" reveals the Tz'u poet's judgement on the flowers, which is quite certain that the leaves are thriving but the flowers withering from her own observations.
In conclusion, the Tz'u poet Li Qingzhao's subjectivity is subjectified in this Tz'u and constitute an integral part of the meaning of it.Therefore, in the translation of this Tz'u, the translator are required to reconstruct such subjectivity and then subjectify it in the target language English if he or she want to be faithful and achieve a similar semantic effect.

Contrastive Study on Translations of Ru Meng Ling
In this chapter, we will attempt to make a contrast among the thirteen translated English versions of Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream) from both Chinese translators and foreign translators and this contrast will be carried out along the three line of focus of subjectivity and subjectification.Through the contrast, a general judgement will be provided.

Thirteen English Versions of Ru Meng Ling
Before embarking on the contrast, we will, first of all, present different translated English versions.There are at least thirteen English versions and most of them are translated by Chinese translators.Some of them are translated by foreigners and some by the collaboration of Chinese and foreign translators (e.g., Wang Shouyi & John Knoepfle).It is also noteworthy that some translators provide different versions which will be classified as one versions (e.g., Ye Weilian).

Translation by Mao Yumei (茅于美):
Last night, the raindrops fell sparsely, The gusts of wind blew, Deep sleep did not dispel the leftover taste of wine, I asked my chambermaid as she rolled up my screen, She replied: The same begonias are seen in the courtyard!Don't you know, don't you know?
The green is getting thicker?But the red is getting sparser.

Translation by Xu Jieyu (许芥煜)：
Last night in light rain and gusty wind My sound sleep dispelled not the lingering effect of wine, I tried to ask her who rolls up the screens?"The apple tree," she says, "is still the same."But, ah, do you know it,

Do you know it?
The green may be thriving, the red must be thin now.

Translation by Hu Pinqing (胡品清)：
Last night, the rain was light, the wind sudden.
A heavy slumber did not dissipate my tipsiness, I ask the one who rolls up the screen how the begonia are.She says they are as of yore.I try to make enquiry of the maid who is rolling up the pearl-sreen; But she assures me the appleblossoms are the same as before.
Are you aware or not, 'Tis time for the green to be thick and the red to be thin.' As can be seen, each English version of translation is endowed with the translator's own subjectivity.But which one (or ones) has attempted successfully to reconstruct the subjectivity of the Tz'u poet?We will examine them through perspective, affect and epistemic modality which has been investigated in chapter 3.

Contrastive among Different Versions of Ru Meng Ling
Wang (2009, 2010a, 2010b) tries to propose what he calls equivalence of subjectification in translation, which argues that translation is a process whereby translators are supposed to make their subjectivity in translation equal to that of the source text author.However, we think such a proposal is questionable for the following reasons.First of all, the target that arouses the subjectivity of the source text author and that of the translator is different.For the former, it is the scene present before him or her while for the latter, it is the source text.Secondly, subjectivity is based on personal embodied experience which is most probably distinct.Thirdly, different languages may resort to different linguistic devices to realize or subjectify subjectivity thought it is universal.For the above reasons, it is not possible to achieve an equivalence of subjectification in translation.Our proposal is not equivalence of subjectification but reconstruction of source text author's subjectivity.Therefore, we view translation as a process in which translators try to reconstruct or align themselves with the source text author's subjectivity if they want to get a best translation.
In the following parts we will examine along perspective, affect and epistemic modality whether the English versions have been successful or not in reconstructing the subjectivity of the Tz'u poet.

Reconstruction of Perspective
Perspectives the Tz'u poet, Li Qingzhao adopted in Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream) are subjectified by "试 问卷帘人", "却道海棠依旧", "知否，知否?", as has be illustrated in previous chapter.A detailed contrast of the translation of the three lines is presented in Table 1.According to our previous analysis, "卷帘人" has a general reading instead of specific reading.But as is illustrated in the table above, in the translations by Wang & Knoepfle, Huang, Wang, Lau, and Chu, they have adopted the specific reading, that is, they translated it as the chambermaid who is rolling up the screen in that particular morning.In addition, in Ye's translation (2), it was translated as "he who rolls up the bind", i.e. he thought it was the poet's husband.Such an translation is deviant from the poet's perspective as has been researched "卷帘人" was her chambermaid.In terms of "却道海棠依旧", this is what is answered by the chambermaid.Thus, she is the focus.However, in Translations by Ye, Gong and Lau, they focus on the Tz'u poet, which is different from the poet's perspective.As for "知否，知否?", it is what the poet have asked the chambermaid.However, in Ouyang's translation, it is translated as a reporting sentence.
In summary, in the reconstruction of the poet's perspectives in the translation of this Tz'u, Mao, Xu Jieyu, Hu, Xu,Zhongjie and Yang are more successful than other translators.

Reconstruction of Affect
The Tz'u poet, Li Qingzhao's affect in Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream) are subjectified by adverbs and verbs, "疏", "骤", "浓", "却", "肥", "瘦" in "昨夜雨疏风骤", "浓睡不消残酒", "却道海棠依旧" and "应是绿 肥红瘦" respectively.A detailed contrast of the translation of these words or phrases are presented in Table 2. Based on previous analysis, the use of "疏" and "骤" to describe rain and wind indicates the poet's negative attitude towards them because they may cause harm to the flowers.On the other hand, "雨疏风骤" is a comparison, which conveys the poet's worry about the flowers.As is shown in the above table, "雨疏" is translated as sparse rain, light rain, a bit of rain, scattering rain, fitful rain, pelting rain, etc. while "风骤" as gusty wind, windy, strong wind, fierce wind, howling wind, etc., by different translators.The grammatical relationship between "雨疏" and "风骤" is translated as coordination by most of the translators.By light rain, a bit of rain, scattering rain, fitful rain and pelting rain do not express the poet's negative attitude, as is the same with being windy or wind blowing.Meanwhile, it will be better if "雨疏" and "风骤" is connected by the adversative but in the translation.In this sense, all of the thirteen versions have failed in reconstructing the exact subjectivity by the poet though some of them have attempted, such as Wang & Knoepfle, Huang and Yang.As has been explained, "浓睡" does not actually denotes that the poet has a sound sleep but it should be understood as a deep or heavy one.Therefore, the translation of "浓睡" by Xu Jieyu, Wang & Knoepfle, Huang, Xu Zhongjie and Lau are not in line with the affect by the poet.Similarly, "却道" expresses the poet's disappointment on the chambermaid's unawareness of the Tz'u poet's concerns for the flowers and her doubt about her answers.Therefore, translations by Ye, Ouyang and Chu in which the adversative but are used, are more conducive to the reconstruction of the poet's affect.In terms of "绿肥红瘦", the poet convey by it her bemoaning for the withering of flowers.To this end, Mao and Yang are more successful than the other.
In summary, of the thirteen English versions, no one has actually achieve an equivalence of affect.But generally speaking, Mao, Ouyang, Wang & Knoepfle, Yang are comparatively better than others in attempting to reconstruct the poet's affect in their translation.

Reconstruction of Epistemic Modality
Epistemic modality of the poet Li Qingzhao realized in this Tz'u by "试问", "知否", "应是" in "试问卷帘人", "知否，知否?" and "应是绿肥红瘦".A detailed contrast of the translation of these words or phrases are presented in Table 3.In 3.2, we have explained that the purpose of "试问" is actually not to get the answer since the poet have already know it.Instead, she just cannot believe the flowers have withered and thus expresses her bemoaning for the flowers.In this sense, translations by Xu jieyu, Ye, Yang and Chu are much better.As for "知否", the poet on one hand is telling the chambermaid and on the other is saying to herself.Therefore, translations be Hu, Ye, Ouyang, Wang & Knoepfle are less appropriate.In terms of "应是", it is a affirmative judgement made by the poet with strong evidence.Therefore, must, should are more appropriate translations.
In a nutshell, as for the reconstruction of the poet's epistemic modality, translations by Huang, Xu Zhongjie, Gong, Lau and Chu are more successful.

Summary
Through the contrast of perspective, affect and epistemic modality in the Tz'u Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream) by Li Qingzhao, we can draw a conclusion for the contrast between the subjectivity and subjectification in the original Tz'u and its English version, as can be shown in Table 4.As is shown in the table, no translation has actually achieve a total equivalence of the three focuses of subjectivity and subjectification.But generally speaking, some of them, especially translations by Mao, Xu Zhongjie and Yang have been successful in trying to reconstruct some of the poet's subjectivity in their translation.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper has analyzed the subjectivity in the Tz'u Ru Meng Ling (Tune: Like A Dream) by Li Qingzhao and investigated how it is realized or subjectified through various linguistic devices, such as lexicon and grammar, etc.We maintain that the Tz'u poet, Li Qingzhao's subjectivity conveyed in this piece of Tz'u constitutes an essential part of the meaning of the Tz'u.Therefore, in translation, the poet subjectivity are also expected to be translated.In fact, a faithful translation is required to reconstruct the poet's subjectivity.

"
Know you not?Know you not?" "T'is time when the green should be fat and the red thin."Translation by Ye Weilian (叶维廉)： (1) Last night rain sparse wind sudden deep slumber not dispel remaining wine try ask roll-blind-person but say begonia…remain-the-same know?Know?Should-be…green fat red thin (2) Last night, scattering rains, sudden winds.Deep sleep abates not the remaining wine.Try ask he who rolls up the blind: Thinking the begonia blooming as before, Know it?Know it?Fattening leaves' green.Thinning petals red.Translation by Ouyang Zhen (欧阳桢)： Last night, a bit of rain, gusty wind, A deep sleep did not dispel the last of wine, I ask the maid rolling up the blinds… But she replies: "The crab apple is just as it was."Doesn't she know?Doesn't she know?The leaves should be lush, and the petals frail.are the same as yesterday I say well is that a fact you ought to know they should look much greener now and a lot less red Translation by Huang Hongquan (黄宏荃)： Last night fierce winds blew away sparse rains.A sound sleep dispelled not my tenacious drunkenness."How about the haitang flowers," I ask The maid who is rolling the curtains."Just the same," she lies to me."Don't you know," I retort, Don't you know After winds and rains Red flowers must be thinning away, While green foliage more exuberant now.Translation by Xu Zhongjie (徐忠杰)： Last night was windy with intermittent rain.I've slept sound; but the effects of drink remain.I ask how the flowers are of the curtain-drawers.She say, "Begonias are e'er as before.""Don't you recognize it for a fact at all:" Now leaves should be large and flowers should be small?Translation by Gong Jinghao (龚景浩)： Last night the rain was scattered, The gusts strong.Deep slumber did not ease my hangover long.I queried the one rolling up the blinds And was told the flowering crabapples have kept their prime.Do you not know?Do you not know?Now is the time when green should be corpulent And red should be gaunt.Translation by Yang Xianyi (杨宪益)： Last night the rain was light, the wind fierce, And deep sleep did not dispel the effects of wine.When I ask the maid rolling up the curtains, She answers, "The crab-apple blossoms look the same."I cry, "Can't you see? Can't you see?The green leaves are fresh but the red flowers are fading."Translation by Wang Honggong (王红公)： Last night fine rain, gusts of wind, Deep sleep could not dissolve the leftover wine.I asked my maid as she rolled up the curtains, "Are the begonias still the same?" "Don't you know it is time For green to grow fat and the red to grow thin?"Translation by Lau, D. C.：Last night the rain was fitful and the wind abrupt.A good sleep has not cleared my drunken head.Asking her who is rolling up the blinds, I am told the begonias are undisturbed.'Don't you see? Don't you see?The green must have grown fat and the red gone thin.'Translation by Chu Dagao (初大告)： Last night there was a howling wind and a pelting rain; My deep sleep has not rid of the lingering wine.

Table 1 .
Contrast of perspective

Table 2 .
Contrast of affect

Table 3 .
Contrast of epistemic modality