If We Only Understood poem + Chinese translations

This poem has been attributed to Kipling (吉卜林Jíbǔlín) but the Kipling Society isn't sure. It has been reprinted at various times, sometimes with the two halves in opposite order but the ordering below was used in the 1915 anthology "Poems of Dawn" which is the earliest source I could get my hands on (not to be confused with an 1890 book of similar title that doesn't have this poem). 100 years later (in 2015) I was unable to find a Chinese translation so I made my own in an attempt to help Chinese friends understand the meter, rhyme and sense of the poem.

In 2016 I received a free-verse retranslation from 董爱淑Dǒng Àishū (a Chinese cardiac nurse whom I happened to meet at a bus stop when she visited Cambridge in 2014), and with her permission I'm including that here with minor edits (details below).

If We Only Understood

要是Yàoshi 明白míngbai 多duō 好hǎo 啊a

假如Jiǎrú 我们wǒmen 懂得dǒngde (董爱淑Dǒng Àishū)

Could we draw aside the curtains

That surround each other's lives,

See the naked heart and spirit,

Know what spur the action gives---

Often we would find it better,

Purer than we judge we would;

We would love each other better

If we only understood.

遮掩Zhēyǎn 我们wǒmen 互相hùxiāng 生活shēnghuó

那些nàxiē 屏幕píngmù 如rú 可kě 开kāi;

看见kànjian 赤身chìshēn 内心nèixīn 精神jīngshén

知zhī 某mǒu 刺激cìjī 令lìng 行xíng 来lái;

时常shícháng 发觉fājué 超过chāoguò 我们wǒmen

指望zhǐwang 意图yìtú 多duō 纯chún 了le;

能否néngfǒu 多点duōdiǎn 彼此bǐcǐ 相爱xiāng'ài,

要是yàoshi 明白míngbai 多duō 好hǎo 啊a。

如果Rúguǒ 我们wǒmen 曾céng 懂得dǒngde,

拉开lākāi 那些nàxiē 遮掩zhēyǎn 我们wǒmen 彼此bǐcǐ 生活shēnghuó 的de 幕布mùbù,

直视zhíshì 我们wǒmen 内在nèizài 的de 心声xīnshēng,

会huì 发现fāxiàn 那些nàxiē 鞭策biāncè 我们wǒmen 行为xíngwéi 的de

通常tōngcháng 比bǐ 我们wǒmen 认为rènwéi 的de 要好yàohǎo,

比bǐ 我们wǒmen 评判píngpàn 的de 要yào 纯粹chúncuì。

我们wǒmen 彼此间bǐcǐjiān 相爱xiāng'ài

假如jiǎrú 我们wǒmen 懂得dǒngde 这些zhèixiē 道理dàoli。

Could we judge all deeds by motives,

See the good and bad within,

Often we would love the sinner

All the while we loathe the sin.

Could we know the powers working

To o'erthrow integrity,

We would judge each other's errors

With more patient charity.

如Rú 以yǐ 动机dòngjī 审判shěnpàn 行动xíngdòng,

看出kànchū 人rén 的de 内nèi 好坏hǎo-huài,

时常shícháng 甚至shènzhì 会huì 爱ài 罪人zuìrén

同时tóngshí 憎恶zēngwù 罪zuì 起来qǐlai。

如果Rúguǒ 认识rènshi 正在zhèngzài 运行yùnxíng

推翻tuīfān 正直zhèngzhí 的de 动力dònglì,

要yào 以yǐ 更多gèngduō 忍耐rěnnài 心慈xīncí

评判píngpàn 对方duìfāng 错误cuòwù 起qǐ。

如果rúguǒ 我们wǒmen 用yòng 目的mùdì 评判píngpàn 所有suǒyǒu 行为xíngwéi,

去qù 评判píngpàn 人rén 的de 善良shànliáng 与yǔ 邪恶xié'è,

我们wǒmen 憎恨zēnghèn 所有suǒyǒu 的de 罪恶zuì'è,

但dàn 我们wǒmen 常cháng 关怀guānhuái 罪人zuìrén。

如果Rúguǒ 我们wǒmen 能néng 知道zhīdao 这zhè 力量lìliang 在zài 起作用qǐ zuòyòng 去qù 推翻tuīfān 正直zhèngzhí,

我们wǒmen 能néng 应yīng 要yào 以yǐ 更多gèngduō 的de 忍耐rěnnài 与yǔ 宽容kuānróng,

去qù 评判píngpàn 他人tārén 的de 错误cuòwù。

If we knew the cares and trials,

Knew the efforts all in vain,

And the bitter disappointments---

Understood the loss and gain---

Would the grim external roughness

Seem, I wonder, just the same?

Would we help where now we hinder?

Would we pity where we blame?

如Rú 知zhī 对方duìfāng 收shōu 某mǒu 考验kǎoyàn,

费力fèilì 关怀guānhuái 都dōu 徒劳túláo,

吃苦chīkǔ 失望shīwàng 都dōu 能néng 了解liǎojiě

赢得yíngdé 损失sǔnshī 是shì 多少duōshao;

人rén 的de 严厉yánlì 粗糙cūcāo 外面wàimian

仍然réngrán 被bèi 看做kànzuò 一样yíyàng?

我们Wǒmen 阻碍zǔ'ài 变成biànchéng 帮助bāngzhù?

责备Zébèi 变成biànchéng 同情tóngqíng 感gǎn?

如果Rúguǒ 我们wǒmen 知道zhīdao 关怀guānhuái 与yǔ 审判shěnpàn,

知道zhīdao 所有suǒyǒu 的de 努力nǔlì 将是jiāngshì 徒劳túláo 的de,

结果jiéguǒ 是shì 那么nàme 的de 令人lìng rén 失望shīwàng 痛苦tòngkǔ,

懂得dǒngde 失shī 与yǔ 得de,

我wǒ 想xiǎng，外表wàibiǎo 野蛮yěmán 者zhě 内心nèixīn 是否shìfǒu 也是yě shì 粗鲁cūlǔ 的de?

我们Wǒmen 是否shìfǒu 要yào 将jiāng 如今rújīn 所suǒ 阻挠zǔnáo 的de 变成biànchéng 帮助bāngzhù 的de?

我们Wǒmen 是否shìfǒu 要yào 将jiāng 现xiàn 所suǒ 责备zébèi 的de 变为biànwéi 怜悯liánmǐn?

Ah, we judge each other harshly,

Knowing not life's hidden force;

Knowing not the fount of action

Is less turbid at its source.

Seeing not amid the evil

All the golden grains of good,

Oh, we'd love each other better

If we only understood.

哎哟Āiyō! 互相Hùxiāng 恶劣èliè 裁判cáipàn,

跟gēn 不bú 认rèn 活huó 藏cáng 影响yǐngxiǎng;

无知wúzhī 发出fāchū 行动xíngdòng 喷泉pēnquán

之zhī 源头yuántóu 较小jiàoxiǎo 混乱hùnluàn。

看不见Kànbujiàn 那nà 黑hēi 恶è 中间zhōngjiān

有yǒu 多duō 善shàn 颗粒kēlì 金色jīnsè;

我们wǒmen 多点duōdiǎn 彼此bǐcǐ 相爱xiāng'ài,

要是yàoshi 明白míngbai 多duō 好hǎo 啊a。

啊A！我们Wǒmen 严厉yánlì 地de 审判shěnpàn 彼此bǐcǐ。

知道Zhīdao 这zhè 并非bìngfēi 是shì 生活shēnghuó 潜在qiánzài 的de 力量lìliang,

得知dézhī 并非bìngfēi 是shì 行为xíngwéi 的de 源泉yuánquán

少shǎo 一些yìxiē 浑浊húnzhuó 的de 源头yuántóu!

看不见Kànbujiàn 所有suǒyǒu 金色jīnsè 果实guǒshí 中的zhōng de 罪恶zuì'è,

哦ó！我们Wǒmen 应yīng 彼此间bǐcǐjiān 更加gèngjiā 相爱xiāng'ài,

如果rúguǒ 我们wǒmen 曾céng 懂得dǒngde 这些zhèixiē 道理dàoli。

The English poem is now in the public domain.

The rhyming translation is mine (I tried to make it rhyme in Mandarin only, as I wasn't up to making rhymes in Cantonese and all the other topolects too). I'm told it doesn't really "work" as a Chinese poem, but I hoped it would prompt Chinese poets to do better.
The retranslation is © 董爱淑Dǒng Àishū. With permission I changed her wording of "cares and trials" (from 关怀guānhuái 与yǔ 审判shěnpàn to 忧虑yōulǜ 与yǔ 患难huànnàn) and added the punctuation and pinyin. Aishu's 这些zhèixiē 道理dàoli "these principles" at the end of the first and last stanzas is a nice rendition: the English leaves it up to the reader to fill in the missing object of "understood", and the simplest interpretation would be "understood the motives etc mentioned above", but it's just as valid to read it as "understood the resulting principles of judgement" (which expands on the other reading), and I wonder how many of us would have noticed this if Aishu hadn't pointed it out by translating it like that.

I believe this poem could be taken as a longer version of a modern aphorism (popular in the computer field) called Hanlon's Razor: ``never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by [human error]''. (Hanlon put it more bluntly as "stupidity" but that doesn't have to be taken at its worst meaning.) As a plausible Hanlon predecessor, "If We Only Understood" doesn't go as far back as Goethe's "Werthers" but it's a nice poem.

Twentieth-century psychologists experimented on people's various inabilities to "judge all deeds by motives" and gave them names like "fundamental attribution error" and "correspondence bias", but a lot depends on the experimental setup and personally I'd rather have Kipling than psychoanalysis any day.