Poem: The Bell Tolls for Thee; 鐘為汝鳴

A beautiful poem.

No one is an island entire of itself.
Each one's death diminishes me.
For I am involved in OneKind.

Send not to know,
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
(derived from John Donne)

有生非孤島
焉能獨自存
觀彼之喪
猶若己失
族也

鐘為汝鳴
誰家莫問
(唐鳳 譯)

彼 猶 汝

This Chinese translation, in classic Chinese, is by 唐鳳 (born 1981) (Audrey Tang). Note: he used “OneKind” instead of “mankind”, a bit political coloring there. (“OneKind” is a org that promotes animal welfare. See: OneKind.)

This poem is originally from English writer John Donne (1572 to 1631)'s 〈Meditation XVII〉, part of his prose work titled Devotions upon Emergent Occasions. This part is made famous by the title of Ernest Hemingway (1899 to 1961)'s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The orginial goes thus:

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

Li Ao's Translation

Here's Chinese historian 李敖 (born 1935) (Li Ao)'s translation of the original.

(For whom the bell tolls, by John Donne)

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.

Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

(李敖翻译)

沒有人能自全，
自己完全做不到，
沒有人是孤島，
每個人都是大陸的一片，
要為本土應卯。

那便是一塊土地，
那便是一方海角，
那便是一座莊園，
不論是你的，還是朋友的，
一旦海水沖走，
歐洲就要變小。

任何人的死亡，
都是我的減少，
做為人類的一員，
我與生靈共老。

喪鐘在為誰敲，
我本茫然不曉，
不為幽明永隔，
它正為你哀悼。

He discussed it in his TV show, here:

For the full show, see: 李敖: 才女与美女如何兼备; Li Ao: Pretty Women vs Brainy Women.