In the silence, he seems to hear 

a roar rising from the depths of the stone…

Ma Peisong is Director of the China Poetry Society

Ma Peisong, a Chinese poet born in the 1960s, currently resides in Mianyang. He is a member of the China Writers Association, a director of the China Poetry Society, as well as a member of the Presidium and the Poetry Committee of the Sichuan Writers Association. He once served as the chairman of the Mianyang Writers Association. His poems have been published in publications such as Poetry Magazine, People’s Literature, Stars, Selected Poems, Chinese Poetry and Poetry Exploration. Moreover, his works have been included in anthologies like Selected Chinese Poems, New Century Poetry Canon, International Chinese Poetry, 300 Transcendent Poems and A Chronicle of New Chinese Poetry in a Century. He has won several awards, including the “Youth China” Poetry Award from People’s Literature, the “Five-One Project” Award of Sichuan Province, and the Bashu Literature and Art Award. He has published poetry collections such as Selected Poems of Ma Peisong and 2011: Poetry Emails Sent to Myself.

马培松，60后中国诗人，现居绵阳。中国作协会员，中国诗歌学会理事，四川省作协主席团委员、诗歌委员会委员。曾任绵阳市作协主席。有诗歌作品发表于《诗刊》《人民文学》《星星》《诗选刊》《汉诗》《诗探索》等，并多次收入《中国诗歌精选》《新世纪诗典》《国际汉语诗歌》《传世诗歌300首》《百年中国新诗编年》等选本。曾获《人民文学》“青春中国”诗歌奖、四川省五个一工程奖、巴蜀文艺奖等奖项；出版诗集《马培松诗选》《2011：发给自己的诗歌邮件》等。

Translated by Ma Yongbo

The Stone Carver

The man who bends over, striking chisel with hammer— 

As if he is building a road on a cliff, leading beyond the heavens. 

He sets out from one dream, and journeys to another, 

guided by his chisel, 

He waits to greet the arrival of the divine,

their final coming 

happens when he bends low, and delivers the last hammer blow. 

In the silence, he seems to hear 

a roar rising from the depths of the stone,

when he lifts his head from this grand ritual, 

the stone he carved, suddenly transforms 

into a sheet of transparent mirror. 

In the mirror, he faintly catches a glimpse of himself. 

***

雕凿石像的人

那个一直埋头敲击锤錾的人

像在悬崖上修筑一条通往天外的路

他从梦中出发，到另外一个梦中去

他在錾子的指引下

去迎接神灵的降临

他们最后的到达

是在他埋头最后一次，敲下锤子的时候

在沉寂中，他仿佛听见了

来自石头深处的奏鸣

当他从一场盛大的仪式中，抬起头来

他雕刻的石头，顿然

变成了一方透明的镜子

在镜中，他隐然发现了自己

***

Mount Sacred Wood 

At this moment, the starry sky is right above 

weaving a laurel crown with its light. 

Of course, I don’t need it,

there is not a single thing in this world I desire to possess.* 

All night long, beneath the brilliant starry sky, 

I stay alone, embracing and reveling with myself. 

I am a quiet person, much like 

the stones on Mount Sacred Wood, or the fireflies wandering alone. 

Tonight, it seems I have so much to say to another “me” 

as if all the darkness between those stars 

has poured out from the depths of my heart. 

Yet it is precisely that terrifying darkness 

that lets me recognize my true self. 

*The sentence is from Milosz’s poem “The Gift”.

***

神木山

此时，星空就在头顶

用它的光芒编织着一顶桂冠

当然，我是不需要的

这世上没有一样东西我想占有*

整个夜晚，我都在灿烂的星空下

独自和自己：相拥，狂欢

我是一个沉默的人，像极了

神木山上的那些石头，或者独自行走的萤火虫

今夜，我好像有许多话，要对另一个我说

好像那些星与星之间的黑暗

全都是从我的肺腑里倾倒出来的

而正是那些可怕的黑暗

让我认出了真实的自己

*句出米沃什诗歌《礼物》。

***

Chaping River 

Upstream along the Chaping River, the clear water flows like a silk ribbon 

birds sing in crisp notes, and the wind passes without a trace 

One tree, then another, then yet another

they stand, hazy in view, and together 

fade into the green mist of Qianfo Mountain 

In the water, a poet washes his beard 

a white cloud gazes at its own reflection

***

茶坪河

在茶坪河上游，澄江如练

鸟鸣清澈，风过无迹

一棵树和另一棵树和另一棵树

它们存在且模糊，并一起

隐入千佛山绿色的烟尘

在水中，一个诗人在洗他的胡子

一朵白云，在照它的影子