Tuesday, February 24, 2015

紅塵 (Hóng chén) - Mortal world





——原創遊戲《欲•黑鳶》ED
——Ending song for original game “Desire Black Kite”[2]


演唱/Vocal:小曲兒 (Xiao Qu’er)
/Lyrics:符綰 (Fu Wan)
/MusicWinky (Winky Shi)
戲腔/後期/和聲//Post-production/harmonizationHITA



袖風染雨 花台下酒共飲
xiù fēng rán yǔ / huā tái xià jiǔ gòng yǐn

青絲風淩 三千愁腸誰系
qīng sī fēng líng / sān qiān chóu cháng shéi xì

把酒東籬 誰見形單隻影
bá jiǔ dōng lí / shéi jiàn xíng dān zhī yǐng

曾憶 與誰共約亭台西
cěng yì / yǔ shéi gòng yuē tíng tái xī


With the air at my sleeves tainted by rain, we toasted each other under the flower platform[3]
As my hair rides the wind, for whom does my guts wrench for and my thoughts tied to?
[Now] holding my cup of wine in the chrysanthemum garden[4], who noticed my lonely shadow
Who was the person in my reminiscence I have invited to meet at pavilion’s west?



烽煙鐵騎   金戈鏗鏘風裡
fēng yān tiě qí / jīn gē kēng qiāng fēng lǐ

春秋幾季   何人把離人憶
chūn qiū jǐ jì / hé rén bǎ lí rén yì

醉別煙雨   回首雲淡風輕
zuì bié yān yǔ / huí shǒu yún dàn fēng qīng

願與  與君共月歸故里
yuàn yǔ / yǔ jūn gòng yuè guī gù lǐ


Smokes of beacon-fire[5], armored cavalry; clangorous noise of the golden dagger-axe[6] heard in the wind
How many springs and autumns have passed, who is there to remember the person who left
In drunkenness I bid the misty rain farewell; as I look back the clouds thin and the breeze is light[7]
I wish, wish I could return to our home village under the moon with you.



一夜難訴盡幾番濃情
yí yè nán sù jìn jǐ fān nóng qíng

曉風未起 看雲卷君向何兮
xiǎo fēng wèi qǐ kàn yún juǎn jūn xiàng hé xī

可曾共滄桑幾許
kě céng gòng cāng sāng jí xǔ

誰側畔輕呢  (不如歸去)
shéi cè pàn qīng né   (bù rú guī qù)


The time of a single night is insufficient to confess to you wholesomely such a strong love[8] of mine
The dawn wind hasn't risen yet, but I wonder where you are heading as I see the clouds roll by
Haven’t we gone through much thick and thin[9] together
To whom did I gently whisper to at my side  (why not let it go[10])



良夜卻似曾與君共飲
liáng yè què sì céng yǔ jūn gòng yǐn

殘月未盡 枕畔可曾留君情
cán yuè wèi jìn  zhěn pàn kě céng liú jūn qíng

盈袖處蘭香已盡
yíng xiù chù lán xiāng yǐ jìn

拂身過紅塵意
fú shēn guò hóng chén yì


A fine night as such, is like that time we drank together,
The fading moon has not disappeared yet; I wonder if your affection ever stayed at my pillow’s side
The fragrance of spearmint within my sleeves have already been exhausted
The will of the mortal world sweeps past me



袖風染雨 花台下酒共飲
xiù fēng rán yǔ / huā tái xià jiǔ gòng yǐn

青絲風淩 三千愁腸誰系
qīng sī fēng líng / sān qiān chóu cháng shéi xì

把酒東籬 誰見形單隻影
bá jiǔ dōng lí / shéi jiàn xíng dān zhī yǐng

曾憶 與誰共約亭台西
cěng yì / yǔ shéi gòng yuē tíng tái xī


With the air at my sleeves tainted by rain, we toasted each other under the flower platform[3]
As my hair rides the wind, for whom does my guts wrench for and my thoughts tied to?
[Now] holding my cup of wine in the chrysanthemum garden[4], who noticed my lonely shadow
Who was the person in my reminiscence I have invited to meet at pavilion’s west?



一夜難訴盡幾番濃情
yí yè nán sù jìn jǐ fān nóng qíng

曉風未起 看雲卷君向何兮
xiǎo fēng wèi qǐ kàn yún juǎn jūn xiàng hé xī

可曾共滄桑幾許
kě céng gòng cāng sāng jí xǔ

誰側畔輕呢  (不如歸去)
shéi cè pàn qīng ní   (bù rú guī qù)


The time of a single night is insufficient to confess to you wholesomely such a strong love[8] of mine
The dawn wind hasn't risen yet, but I wonder where you are heading as I see the clouds roll by
Hadn’t we gone through much thick and thin[9] together
To whom did I gently whisper to at my side  (why not let it go[10])



良夜卻似曾與君共飲
liáng yè què sì céng yǔ jūn gòng yǐn

殘月未盡 枕畔可曾留君情
cán yuè wèi jìn  zhěn pàn kě céng liú jūn qíng

盈袖處蘭香已盡
yíng xiù chù lán xiāng yǐ jìn

拂身過紅塵意
fú shēn guò hóng chén yì


A fine night as such, is like that time we drank together
The fading moon has not disappeared yet; I wonder if your affection ever stayed at my pillow’s side
The fragrance of spearmint within my sleeves have already been exhausted
The will of the mortal world sweeps past me



一夜難訴盡幾番濃情
yí yè nán sù jìn jǐ fān nóng qíng

曉風未起 看雲卷君向何兮
xiǎo fēng wèi qǐ kàn yún juǎn jūn xiàng hé xī

可曾共滄桑幾許
kě céng gòng cāng sāng jí xǔ

誰側畔輕呢  (不如歸去)
shéi cè pàn qīng ní   (bù rú guī qù)


The time of a single night is insufficient to confess to you wholesomely such a strong love[8] of mine
The dawn wind hasn't risen yet, but I wonder where you are heading as I see the clouds roll by
Haven’t we gone through much thick and thin[9] together
To whom did I gently whisper to at my side  (why not let it go[10])



誰曾共飲過幾番濃情
shéi cěng gòng yǐn guò jǐ fān nóng qíng

酒消殘意 與君曰三生共與
jiǔ xiāo cán yì yǔ jūn yuē sān shēng gòng yǔ

滄桑盡處君何去
cāng sāng jìn chù jūn hé qù

拂身過紅塵意
fú shēn guò hóng chén yì


With who have I toasted all this intense love
With wine my remaining thoughts disappeared, I told you I want to spend my three lives[11] with you
But at the end of all the vicissitudes where have you gone to
The will of the mortal world sweeps past me



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Footnotes:

1. The title 红塵(尘) literally means “red dust”, it’s a Buddhist terminology meaning the mortal world.

2. According to Youtube comments this is apparently a BL game, so we can assume the love interest in this song is a male. Though the pronoun "君" used in the song can be used to address both males and females. 

3. Honestly I have no idea what the 花台 (flower platform) here refers to specifically, and what the scene is supposed to look like. It can be translated to “parterre”, “flower bed”, “flower terrace”, “table for flower vase” etc.  They don’t seem to fit quite right into the lyrics. (I doubt parterres were a thing in ancient China. Plus, to drink under the parterre or flower bed requires one to go underground, which is ridiculous.)

It probably did not mean sitting directly under the platform, but sitting beside a raised platform, however that’s just my guess.

4. The word 东篱 is used in many classical poems, especially by famous poet Tao Yuan Ming(陶渊明)during the Jin Dynasty. It refers to gardens belonging to scholars/cultured people used to plant chrysanthemum flowers.

5. Beacon-fire smoke is the alarm system used in the militaries, where they burn fuel such as wolf dung to produce lots of smoke for communication. The smoke alerts nearby troops of potential danger/approaching enemies.

6. Pictures and more info here if you’re interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagger-axe 

7. 云淡风轻 or “clouds thin and breeze light” kind of brings out the meaning of a peaceful and accepting state of mind, to view things more lightly.

8. There is no English word to describe directly. It doesn’t exactly translate to “love”, but more of an affection arising from close bonds, be it parents, siblings, friends, lovers etc.

9. 沧桑, a short form for 沧海桑田, describing the passing of time on a large scale, accompanied by lots of changes (as in, wide seas turn into fields of mulberry trees). In this context it emphasizes on the many changes/vicissitudes they experienced together.

10. It’s difficult to articulate 不如歸(归)去 means, word by word it is “why not go back”. In essence it indicates a desire to retreat into passivity. It can also be used when urging people to go back home or come back. The pronunciation of this phrase is said to resemble the calls of the cuckoo. Hence, the cuckoo often symbolizes sadness in Chinese literature.

11. Three lives: Past life, present life, future life. It’s based on the concept of reincarnation in Buddhist teachings.



Extra comments:

*I made lots of assumption while translating these lyrics, as they are very poetic in nature and can be vague. In fact, I added most of the pronouns.

*The Chinese lyrics here, unlike my last entry, are written in traditional Chinese writing (because Copy and Paste). In the footnote I have the simplified version of the words in brackets.

*Also unlike my last entry, I have fixed the pinyin to fit how it would actually sound like if the lyrics are read out in a sentence, instead of reading word by word.

For example: = ; = jiǔ
But if the 3rd sounds are side by side, the way it is read should be 把酒 bá jiǔ


Rant: this is a perhaps a tad bit too ambitious for me, these lyrics are harder to translate than the previous song \(@A@)/ anyway hope you at least get the idea of it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than the pinyin annotations and translations.


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