Father - Wang Qingang / 王钦刚

Wang Qingang / 王钦刚




Father

When I was young
I was the happy star on your shoulders

When I have grown up
I am your eternal keeper by the cold lamp at night

At the railway station
You are the one pretending to wave gracefully outside the window

On Spring Festival’s Eve
You are a pot of warm rice wine by the fireside

At that time
Rarely did I see a smile on your face
Nor understand the worries in your big hands

At that time
Always few were your words
But hardly forgettable the tenderness in your glaring eyes

Till now, alas
I still haven’t accompanied you to travel across all the provinces
How time flows

Now, alas
So sad to see your gait staggering
Your eyes dimmed

(Translated by Zhou Wenbiao)




父 亲

小时候
我是你肩膀上快乐的星斗

长大后
我是你寒灯下长久的守候

车站里
你是窗外故作潇洒的挥手

除夕夜
你是炉前温热的一壶老酒

那时候
你的笑容总是很少
不懂你大手里的忧愁

那时候
你的话语总是不多
难忘你怒目里的温柔

现在呵
仍未曾伴你走遍九州
时光似水流

现在呵
却只见你蹒跚了步履
黯淡了双眸



*



Shadow

Where were you born
Where will you die out

Whose puppet are you
Whose illusion are you

Whose majesty are you assuming
Who is your pride and glory

In someone else’s story
You have forgotten yourself

(Translated by Zhou Wenbiao)




影 子

你从哪里出生
你在哪里消亡

你是谁的傀儡
你是谁的幻象

你借谁的威仪
你是谁的风光

你在别人的故事里
把自己遗忘



***



Wang Qingang, poet and poetry translator. He was born in November 1972 in Jimo County, Shandong province (now Jimo District, Qingdao city). In the College Entrance Examination in 1992, he was admitted to the Department of International Politics of Peking University with the result of the first place in Liberal Arts of Shandong Province, and graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor’s degree in Laws. In 2001, he graduated from the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University and received a degree in Master of Business Administration. He has been engaged in investment banking business in securities companies for a long time, and participated in the IPOs of many large and medium-sized enterprises such as Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China. In 2015, he regained the literary dream of his youth and began poetry writing and translation. From 2017 to now, he has published his personal poetry collection, The Fleeting Time of His Forties, and his travel notes works, Looking for Su Tungpo. Su Tungpo was one of the most brilliant poets in ancient China about one thousand years ago. He has translated and published several Tagore’s English poetry collections, such as Stray Birds, Fireflies, The Crescent Moon, The Gardener and Gitanjali. In 2025, he won the 2nd International Bingxin Literature Award with the translation of The Gardener.


王钦刚，诗人、诗歌译者。1972 年11 月出生于山东省 即墨县（今青岛市即墨区）。1992 年高考以山东省文科第 一名的成绩，考入北京大学国际政治学系，1997 年毕业，获法学学士学位。2001 年毕业于清华大学经济管理学院，获工商管理硕士学位。曾长期在证券公司从事投资银行业 务，曾经参与工商银行, 中国银行等多家大中型企业的上市 工作。2015 年重拾少年时代的文学之梦，业余时间开始诗 歌翻译与写作。2017 年至今，先后出版了个人诗集《不惑 的流年》和游记作品《寻访苏东坡》，翻译出版了泰戈尔 英文诗集《飞鸟集》《流萤集》《新月集》《园丁集》和《吉 檀迦利》。2025 年以译作《园丁集》获第二届国际冰心文学奖。