This summer I spent some time with an interesting writer. His name is Leiman (“Layman” in English), a highly successful entrepreneur, business executive, engineer, inventor–the list of occupational identity labels could go on. Most recently, though, which is to say since he turned the age of 60 five years ago, he focused in making a name as a poet.
In early September Leiren was in town for the Boao Forum, an annual event usually held in Hainan but this year taking place in Seattle. Leiren was one of the attendees, and the list of speakers is certainly an impressive bunch (Governor to Bill Gates himself). Leiren’s contribution, meanwhile, is the following poem. We read the poem the poem, along with some others later in the week at the Art Rhythm art exhibition held at the Ryan James Gallery where the photograph above was taken.
Blood Sacrifice for Humanity
——To The Boao Forum for Asia Seattle, 2014
人类文明血祭——诗致2014博鳌亚洲论坛
Yiou-Yiou-
悠悠
Humanity!
人类
Yiou-Yiou-
悠悠
Vicissitudes
万年
Woohoo — humanity
呜呼,人类
Woohoo — Alas!
呜呼,哀哉
All war
所有的战争
Is
都是
The war of rulers
统治者的战争
All defeat
所有的亡国
Is
都是
the defeat of rulers
统治者的亡国
All independence
所有的独立
Is
都是
A ruler’s independence
统治者的独立
Whether
无论是
For conquest
为了拓疆
Or
还是
Defense
为了守土
Whether for
无论是
New doctrine
新教
Or
还是
Old doctrine
老教
People
平民
Everywhere
在哪儿
Are all
都是
Heads lowered
低着头
and bent at the waist
弯着腰
*****
Still water makes no current
水平不流
War after punitive war
征战不止
The strong win; the weak die
优胜劣汰
Dynasties come and go
改朝换代
Humanity
人
Lacking leadership
无头
Goes nowhere.
不走!
Birds
鸟
Lacking a leader
无头
Don’t fly!
不飞!
Civilizations
文明
Start naked
从赤裸
Sprout leaves, then
到树叶,再
Come the robes
到长袍
And then, after robes
再,从长袍
Comes BIKINI; and then
到三点式,再
Naked again
到赤裸
From
从
Knives and spears
大刀长矛
To
到
Guns and A-bombs
枪炮核弹
From
从
Cold weapons to
冷兵器到热兵器
Hot weapons
再从
And from
热战
Hot wars to
到
Cold wars
冷战
And now
而现在
Still hot and
依然热
Still cold
依然冷
Civilization
文明
Blood-stained through
一路血迹斑斑
Civilization
文明
All swaggering braggart
一路狰狞招摇
Wherefore civilization?
何以文明?
Civilization wherefore?
文明何以?
Boundless, the sea of bitterness
苦海无边
But the shore is there, if you look back
回头是岸
Human beings
人类
Are no more than
不过是
The ink
书写人类文明史的
Of human history
墨汁
Civilizations
文明
Are no more than
不过是
The last breath
人类和人类史的
Of the humans
延喘
And their history
Between
在
The cracks of thunder and lightning
雷电交加的缝隙里
Light all-encompassing
普世的阳光
Manages
得以
To emerge
泄下
Bronze is cast into cauldrons
青铜铸鼎
Iron, crafted into cannon
铁器造炮
Steam
蒸汽蒸开一个活塞的时代
Steams up an age of pistons
电火花
Sparks electric
点燃了
Have ignited
国界
The borders of nations
The PC
PC
Makes the Earth
让地球
Flat
扁平
*****
Human civilization
人类文明
Is a strongbox
是一个保险柜
Opened
被
For the first Time
华盛顿
By
第一个
Washington
打开
Ever since
从此
The Sun
太阳
Is Apollo no more
不再是太阳神
The Sun
太阳
Is becoming
成了
Sunlight’s tool
阳光的工具
Two centuries since
200年之后
One and all
一股脑儿
Out comes
走出来
Mahatma Gandhi
圣雄甘地
Out comes
走出来
Chiang Ching-kuo
蒋经国
Out comes
走出来
Mandela
曼德拉
Out comes
走出来
Gorbachev
戈尔巴乔夫
There’s also
还有
The King of Bhutan
不丹的国王
Who will be the next?
下一个是谁?
Community
根申国
Is
是一个
A chorus
大合唱
Who will be
下一个
The
大合唱
Next
是
Chorus?
谁?
*****
Science is a treasure-trove
科学的宝藏里
Of inexhaustible treasures
有取之不尽的宝藏
Air
空气
Can become grain
可以变成粮食
Sea water
海水
Can become oil
可以变成油
You, Sir
只要
Need only
您
Agree
肯
To bend a bit
弯一弯腰
Need only
只要
Sir
您
Agree
肯
To think a bit
用一用脑
Why is it
为什么
Some people
有的人
Always
总是
Whet their knives
磨刀霍霍
Gazing
盯着
At other people’s cake?
别人盘子里的蛋糕?!
Stop the blood stench of five millennia
不要再用5000年的血腥
From expanding our desires.
鼓胀我们的欲望
We have to use the bloody spots
我们要用斑斑的血斑
To shine
擦亮
Our
我们
Truly-civilized eyes
真正文明的眼睛
To be a World Citizen
做世界人民
雷人 作/译written and translated by Layman Lei
revised by Paul Manfredi