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Over on my Facebook page, some of my readers lamented the fact that there is a lack of “modern” Classical Chinese resources, much like the ones available for Latin: unlike Latin, there are no children’s books, such as Harry Potter, and no newspapers or radios in Classical Chinese. While it is true that there are Korean authors, most of whom are old professors, that still publish Classical Chinese poetry today, the lack of analogous materials is a bit lamentable. Indeed, the most recent analogous materials in Classical Chinese (e.g., news novels and children’s books) are from the first half of the 20th Century and can be somewhat difficult to find. Classical Chinese resources that you can find at most Korean bookstores are annotated Confucian Classics and Tang Dynasty and Chosun dynasty poems – not that that is a bad thing. I tried to imagine what such a resource would look like and translated an excerpt from the Little Red Cap (also known as Little Red Riding Hood) below.
小赤頭巾
소적두건
Little Red Cap
然後狼與小赤頭巾暫步, 曰: “小赤頭巾, 觀群花, 察彼美!
연후랑여소적두건잠보, 왈: “소적두건, 관군화, 찰피미!
我誠薦覽之. 君未足覺鳥之和鳴. 林雖明朗, 猶緊若行校.”
아성천람지. 군미족각조지화명. 림수명랑, 유긴약행교.”
Thereafter, he together with Little Red-Cap briefly walked and said, “Little Red-Cap, see the group of flowers, look at their beauty! I sincerely recommend that you look around there. You do not yet fully sense the birds’ harmonious chirping. Although the woods are merry, you still are tense as though you are traveling to school.”
그 후에 늑대가 소적두건(小赤頭巾)이랑 같이 잠시 걷다가 말하기를, “소적두건아, 많은 꽃들을 보아라. 저 아름다움을 살펴보라. 나는 참으로 이를 바라보기를 추천한다. 너는 아직 새들의 화한 지저귐을 족히 감각하지 않았다. 숲은 비록 명랑하지만 오히려 소적두건은 학교로 가는것 처럼 긴장하네.”
Grammar Notes:
- 與(여) is being used here to mean “together with.” When the character appears in the form A+與B+W, it should be interpreted as “A together with B did W (a verb).”
- Note the two different uses of 之(지). In the first instance (覽之), it functions as the object of the sentence; that is, the thing at which the action is directed. In the second instance (鳥之和鳴), it functions as a possessive marker, much similar to the English “‘s” or “of.”
- 雖(수)~猶(유) – This sentence structure is common and is equivalent to the English “Even though….”
Lessons from the Four Character Minor Learning (四字小學, 사자소학):
- 父母使我, 勿逆勿怠 (부모사아, 물역물태) – When father and mother order me, do not counter and do not tarry.
- 父母有命, 俯首敬聽 (부모유명, 부수경청) – When father and mother have a command, bow your head and respectfully listen.
Please let me know whether there are any errors or oddities in the Classical Chinese translation above.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
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