When You are Old

By William Butler Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look,

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep.

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true.

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled.

And paced upon the mountains overhead,

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

【傅浩】译：当你年老时

当你年老，鬓斑，睡意昏沉，

在炉旁打盹时，取下这本书，

慢慢诵读，梦忆从前你双眸

神色柔和，眼波中倒影深深；

多少人爱你风韵妩媚的时光，

爱你的美丽出自假意或真情，

但唯有一人爱你灵魂的至诚，

爱你渐衰的脸上愁苦的风霜；

弯下身子，在炽红的壁炉边，

忧伤地低诉，爱神如何逃走，

在头顶上的群山巅漫步闲游，

把他的面孔隐没在繁星中间。

【冰心】译：当你老了

当你老了，头发花白，睡意沉沉，

倦坐在炉边，取下这本书来，

慢慢读着，追梦当年的眼神，

那柔美的神采与深幽的晕影。

多少人爱过你青春的片影，

爱过你的美貌，以虚伪或是真情，

惟独一人爱你那朝圣者的心，

爱你哀戚的脸上岁月的留痕。

在炉栅边，你弯下了腰，

低语着，带着浅浅的伤感，

爱情是怎样逝去，又怎样步上群山，

怎样在繁星之间藏住了脸。

译本赏析（仅供参考）

The artistic conception of poetry is the key to translation. Both of the versions reappear the original sentimental feelings. But from the details, perhaps due to women's unique delicacy and tenderness, Bing Xin's translation is more tender. Compared with Fu Hao's translation, Bing Xin's is closer to the fresh and natural style of the original poem. There are many “and” in this poem. Bing Xin uses a similar expression in her translation, such as “取下这本书来”、“你弯下了腰”。Although the structure of Fu Hao’s translation is neat, it is a bit strange to read. By contrast, Bing Xin's translation is more in line with the habits of Chinese readers. Fu Hao is superior in the translation of the last stanza of the poem. He translates the word “lover” into“爱神”, which makes the imagery of the poem more vivid. It is obvious that the two translators have very different styles. Fu Hao chooses gorgeous rhetoric words with beautiful literary atmosphere and strong exotic flavor between the lines, which makes people intoxicated. But Bing Xin chooses the light, bright, slant colloquial words, also has no deviation to the original poem sentiment expression. These differences can be seen from the translation of the title. Fu Hao’s translation is“当你年老时”and Bing Xin’s is“当你老了”. We can see that the former is soothing and peaceful, while the latter is lively, and smart.