<p>北岛 （中国当代诗人、香港中文大学教授）</p>

<p>He's relaxing, forgetting life's worries for a while.</p>

<p>过冬<br>
Pass the winter  </p>

<p>醒来：北方的松林——<br>
(I'm) Awake: (to this) Northern Pine Forest<br>
大地紧迫的鼓声<br>
(I hear) Earth's urgent drumbeat,<br>
树干中阳光的烈酒<br>
Tree trunks in the sunshine intoxicate (me),<br>
激荡黑暗之冰<br>
surging dark and cold<br>
而心与狼群对喊<br>
and (my) heart howls back to the wolves  </p>

<p>风偷走的是风  (not too sure about this)<br>
(what) the wind steals is (just) wind<br>
冬天因大雪的债务<br>
the lack of winter snow<br>
大于它的隐喻<br>
is like a metaphor for<br>
乡愁如亡国之君<br>
a homesick forgotten country's ruler<br>
寻找的是永远的迷失<br>
the sought after is eternally lost  </p>

<p>大海为生者悲亡<br>
(the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away<br>
星星轮流照亮爱情——<br>
the stars take turn to light up love<br>
谁是全景证人<br>
who bears witness to the scene<br>
引领号角的河流<br>
lead the way loud river<br>
果园的暴动<br>
(to the) orchard of rebellion</p>

<p>听见了吗？我的爱人<br>
can you hear? My lover<br>
让我们手挽手老去<br>
let us hand in hand forever go<br>
和词语一起冬眠<br>
with words together hibernate<br>
重织的时光留下死结<br>
reweave time, leave behind problems<br>
或未完成的诗<br>
or unfinished verse</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-25T19:22:00.690Z
大海为生者悲亡
(the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away
Rosa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-26T00:02:55.247Z
*大海为生者悲亡 (the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away* is a wrong interpretation.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-24T01:12:29.110Z
2018-06-24T01:12:29.110Z
Pedroski
<p>I put an answer here to spell it out for you. </p>

<p>No. <strong>大海为生者悲亡 (the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away</strong> is a wrong interpretation. </p>

<p>Let's break down 大海为生者悲亡.</p>

<p>大海为生: live upon the ocean, used as an attributive to modify 者; </p>

<p>者: someone, a person, the subject for this sentence; </p>

<p>悲亡: a tragic death, which is used as a verb here as a predicate for the whole sentence. </p>

<p>So, {大海为生}者(subject) 悲亡(verb). I interpreted it as the comment I put above:
<em>The person who lives upon the sea suffered a tragic death</em>. But you can develop your own sentence based upon that. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-26T00:19:47.330Z
2018-06-26T00:19:47.330Z
dan
<p>「亡」does not mean <em>death</em> in this poem (and doesn't even mean primarily mean <em>death</em>; the base meaning is <em>to lose something</em>, and is cognate to「忘」, which means <em>to lose one's memory; forget</em>). With that out of the way, such phrases should be interpreted in the context of the whole poem.</p>
<p>The first three verses of <strong>過冬</strong> (<em>Passing Winter</em>) are (paraphrased with my own translation):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>醒來：北方的松林——</p>
<p><em>Forests of the North have awoken;</em></p>
<p>大地緊迫的鼓聲</p>
<p><em>the land trembles under thunderous drumbeats.</em></p>
<p>樹幹中陽光的烈酒</p>
<p><em>The piercing rays of the sun washes over the trees,</em></p>
<p>激盪黑暗之冰</p>
<p><em>and floods the snow under the dark shadows.</em></p>
<p>而心與狼群對喊</p>
<p><em>My heart responds to the howling of wolves.</em></p>
<hr />
<p>風偷走的是風</p>
<p><em>The Wind is powerless against the cold; for</em></p>
<p>冬天因大雪的債務</p>
<p><em>Winter is far mightier</em></p>
<p>大于它的隱喩</p>
<p><em>than the snow that caused it.</em></p>
<p>鄉愁如亡國之君</p>
<p><em>Its yearning is like that of an Exiled King,</em></p>
<p>尋找的是永遠的迷失</p>
<p><em>searching for that which is forever lost.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><strong>大海爲生者悲亡</strong></p>
<p><em><strong>The Vast Oceans are the Sorrows of a Wanderer,</strong></em></p>
<p>星星輪流照亮愛情——</p>
<p><em>yet the Twinkling Stars can guide those who are lost.</em></p>
<p>誰是全景證人</p>
<p><em>Whence do we find someone with the strength and wisdom</em></p>
<p>引領號角的河流</p>
<p><em>to lead the Rebellion against Winter, Calling for the rivers to flow</em></p>
<p>果園的暴動</p>
<p><em>and the orchards to bloom again?</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The meaning of <strong>大海爲生者悲亡</strong> should be interpreted as <strong>大海爲生者之悲「與」亡</strong>. For a person trying to get through Winter (<em>coldness; exile; melancholy</em>), we can compare such a person to a person lost at sea (<em>great oceans are the cause of such a person's sorrow</em> <strong>生者之悲</strong>, and the <em>cause of their loss/wandering/melancholy</em> <strong>生者之亡</strong>).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-26T10:34:24.750Z
2018-06-26T11:04:51.517Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
dROOOze
<p>It could be (靠)[大海][为生者][悲亡] He who depend on the ocean to live dies a sorrow death</p>

<p>Or more likely:</p>

<p>"大海 (the ocean) 为生者(for the livings) 悲(feel sorrow for) 亡(their death)"</p>

<p>"The ocean feels sorrow for the livings' death" </p>

<p><em>The ocean lives for eons, the livings' lives are so fleeting compare to it</em></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-25T19:22:18.760Z
大海为生者悲亡
(the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away       . Is it possible to understand this verse like: the Ocean's grief for the death of the human beings?
Rosa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-25T19:59:43.487Z
'grief ' means the Ocean feels sad for human's death, 'feel sorrow' is like the Ocean 'pity' the human, which is more likely
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-23T20:13:02.403Z
2018-06-23T20:13:02.403Z
Tang Ho
<p>What does the word '悲亡' mean? I found it in a verse by 北岛 : 大海为生者悲亡，the ocean suffers for the living beings.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-23T16:14:25.470Z
`the ocean suffers for the living beings` is very unlikely to be the meaning, if you look at the previous verse. Hint: it semantically matches `鄉愁如亡國之君`.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-24T01:40:11.373Z
Without more context, I would comprehend 大海为生者悲亡 the person who lives upon the sea suffered a tragic death. My English translation might not be that good. So, 悲亡 means tragic death. Hope you could get what I mean.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-25T19:27:15.957Z
大海为生者悲亡 (the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away . Is it possible to understand this verse like: the Ocean's grief for the death of the human beings? rosa
Rosa
<translation><meaning>
the meaning and translation of 悲亡 in a poem by Bei Dao
# the meaning and translation of 悲亡 in a poem by Bei Dao

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-06-23)

What does the word '悲亡' mean? I found it in a verse by 北岛 : 大海为生者悲亡，the ocean suffers for the living beings.

**Tags:** translation, meaning

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: `the ocean suffers for the living beings` is very unlikely to be the meaning, if you look at the previous verse. Hint: it semantically matches `鄉愁如亡國之君`.  
> **username_2**: Without more context, I would comprehend 大海为生者悲亡 the person who lives upon the sea suffered a tragic death. My English translation might not be that good. So, 悲亡 means tragic death. Hope you could get what I mean.  
> **username_0**: 大海为生者悲亡 (the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away . Is it possible to understand this verse like: the Ocean's grief for the death of the human beings? username_0  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-06-24. Score: 1

北岛 （中国当代诗人、香港中文大学教授）

He's relaxing, forgetting life's worries for a while.

过冬  
Pass the winter

醒来：北方的松林——  
(I'm) Awake: (to this) Northern Pine Forest  
大地紧迫的鼓声  
(I hear) Earth's urgent drumbeat,  
树干中阳光的烈酒  
Tree trunks in the sunshine intoxicate (me),  
激荡黑暗之冰  
surging dark and cold  
而心与狼群对喊  
and (my) heart howls back to the wolves

风偷走的是风 (not too sure about this)  
(what) the wind steals is (just) wind  
冬天因大雪的债务  
the lack of winter snow  
大于它的隐喻  
is like a metaphor for  
乡愁如亡国之君  
a homesick forgotten country's ruler  
寻找的是永远的迷失  
the sought after is eternally lost

大海为生者悲亡  
(the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away  
星星轮流照亮爱情——  
the stars take turn to light up love  
谁是全景证人  
who bears witness to the scene  
引领号角的河流  
lead the way loud river  
果园的暴动  
(to the) orchard of rebellion

听见了吗？我的爱人  
can you hear? My lover  
让我们手挽手老去  
let us hand in hand forever go  
和词语一起冬眠  
with words together hibernate  
重织的时光留下死结  
reweave time, leave behind problems  
或未完成的诗  
or unfinished verse

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 大海为生者悲亡 (the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away  
> **username_2**: *大海为生者悲亡 (the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away* is a wrong interpretation.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-06-26. Score: 0

I put an answer here to spell it out for you.

No. **大海为生者悲亡 (the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away** is a wrong interpretation.

Let's break down 大海为生者悲亡.

大海为生: live upon the ocean, used as an attributive to modify 者;

者: someone, a person, the subject for this sentence;

悲亡: a tragic death, which is used as a verb here as a predicate for the whole sentence.

So, {大海为生}者(subject) 悲亡(verb). I interpreted it as the comment I put above:
*The person who lives upon the sea suffered a tragic death*. But you can develop your own sentence based upon that.


---

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-06-26. Score: 0

「亡」does not mean *death* in this poem (and doesn't even mean primarily mean *death*; the base meaning is *to lose something*, and is cognate to「忘」, which means *to lose one's memory; forget*). With that out of the way, such phrases should be interpreted in the context of the whole poem.

The first three verses of **過冬** (*Passing Winter*) are (paraphrased with my own translation):

> 醒來：北方的松林——
>
> *Forests of the North have awoken;*
>
> 大地緊迫的鼓聲
>
> *the land trembles under thunderous drumbeats.*
>
> 樹幹中陽光的烈酒
>
> *The piercing rays of the sun washes over the trees,*
>
> 激盪黑暗之冰
>
> *and floods the snow under the dark shadows.*
>
> 而心與狼群對喊
>
> *My heart responds to the howling of wolves.*
>
> ---
>
> 風偷走的是風
>
> *The Wind is powerless against the cold; for*
>
> 冬天因大雪的債務
>
> *Winter is far mightier*
>
> 大于它的隱喩
>
> *than the snow that caused it.*
>
> 鄉愁如亡國之君
>
> *Its yearning is like that of an Exiled King,*
>
> 尋找的是永遠的迷失
>
> *searching for that which is forever lost.*
>
> ---
>
> **大海爲生者悲亡**
>
> ***The Vast Oceans are the Sorrows of a Wanderer,***
>
> 星星輪流照亮愛情——
>
> *yet the Twinkling Stars can guide those who are lost.*
>
> 誰是全景證人
>
> *Whence do we find someone with the strength and wisdom*
>
> 引領號角的河流
>
> *to lead the Rebellion against Winter, Calling for the rivers to flow*
>
> 果園的暴動
>
> *and the orchards to bloom again?*

The meaning of **大海爲生者悲亡** should be interpreted as **大海爲生者之悲「與」亡**. For a person trying to get through Winter (*coldness; exile; melancholy*), we can compare such a person to a person lost at sea (*great oceans are the cause of such a person's sorrow* **生者之悲**, and the *cause of their loss/wandering/melancholy* **生者之亡**).


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-06-23. Score: 0

It could be (靠)[大海][为生者][悲亡] He who depend on the ocean to live dies a sorrow death

Or more likely:

"大海 (the ocean) 为生者(for the livings) 悲(feel sorrow for) 亡(their death)"

"The ocean feels sorrow for the livings' death"

*The ocean lives for eons, the livings' lives are so fleeting compare to it*

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 大海为生者悲亡 (the tide of) the ocean of life's sadness is away       . Is it possible to understand this verse like: the Ocean's grief for the death of the human beings?  
> **username_4**: 'grief ' means the Ocean feels sad for human's death, 'feel sorrow' is like the Ocean 'pity' the human, which is more likely  

---

