英文翻译

Grinding Ink for My Brother Li Zhiyuan, by Xiao Kuan

At the Spring Festival of the year 2000,

you wrote:

Beyond rules, calligraphy is like poetry and painting

—On Xiao Kuan’s Calligraphy

Then in 2003, your words cut deep:

Xiao Kuan, a maverick genius reinventing the language of sculpture

Now I hear you spread out your scrolls up in heaven.

I raise three cups of wine,

and keep grinding ink for my old friend.

I long to hear you play the accordion

at Changchun Film Studio once more,

to hear your interpretation for leaders

at Beijing International Studies University.

I still half‑expect an invitation

from the Central Artists Association.

How I wish we could sit together

at the Xinhua News Agency Academy of Calligraphy and Painting,

brewing tea beneath moon and stars…

Time slips away,

years speed past.

I splash ink into the night sky,

and countless stars nod approval

to this dark manifesto.

I crave no wealth or glory.

I only hope to sleep soundly till dawn.

Ink left overnight

bears a name: aged ink.

Brush to paper again—

the works shine with greater power!

……

September 8, 2026

Xiao Kuan Cottage, Venice Garden, Beijing

A white blossom plucked in remembrance

注：

1. 宿墨：国画术语 aged ink，指隔夜墨汁，书画里常用，保留专有叫法；

2. “鬼才”译为 maverick genius，突出不落俗套的奇才，不用ghost；

3. 长影＝长春电影制片厂 Changchun Film Studio；二外＝北京第二外国语学院 Beijing International Studies University；

4. 全诗偏抒情悼亡风格，译文尽量保留诗意，没有逐字硬译。

（●）简  评：

这首《萧宽为仁兄李治元研墨》是一首情真意切的怀人之作。诗人由故人昔日的评论文字起笔，追忆友人不凡的人生阅历，想象其于天堂铺纸挥毫，以研墨、敬酒遥寄追思。

长影的手风琴、二外的翻译、书画院星月煮茶，一个个鲜活的旧影，把怀念写得具体可触。后段以泼墨夜空、繁星点赞、宿墨挥毫的奇崛意象收束，将书画人的职业情怀融入生死之思，不以悲号悼亡，而以笔墨为祭，旷达又深情，文气、画意、诗心融为一体。

落款“摘一朵白花”，淡淡一笔，哀而不伤，余味悠长。