Friday, September 22, 2017

[English translation] 半壶纱 - Half an Urn of Yarn




作詞/Lyrics:劉珂矣 (Liu KeYi),百慕三石 (BaiMu SanShi)
作曲/Music:劉珂矣 百慕三石
編曲/Arrangement:百慕三石


墨已入水 渡一池青花
揽五分红霞 采竹回家
悠悠风来 埋一地桑麻
一身袈裟 把相思放下

Into the water ink had slipped, traversing a pond of blue-white porcelain;
Taking evening’s scarlet hue, I picked my bamboos and set for home;
A lazy breeze whiffed by, burying a floor of mulberry and hemp;
With a kasaya donned, my reminiscence had been laid to rest.


十里桃花 待嫁的年华
凤冠的珍珠 挽进头发
檀香拂过 玉镯弄轻纱
空留一盏 芽色的清茶

Peach blossom bloomed in three miles length, in years of youth, a marriageable age;
Pearls from the bridal headdress gently tucked into my hair;
Sweeping past was sandalwood scent, as jade bangles teased the soft yarn worn;
Alas, only a little cup of tea remained.


倘若我心中的山水 你眼中都看到
我便一步一莲花祈祷
怎知那浮生一片草 岁月催人老
风月花鸟 一笑尘缘了

If your eyes could perceive the landscape of my heart,
With every lotus step I’ll pray for your sake;
It’s regrettable, the plights of mortals, lives akin to a field of grass, aging made haste by the passing years;
Let it be then, superfluities like the wind, the moon, the flowers, the birds; with a careless smile, we draw closure to our mortal ties.


---

Footnotes:

1. Li = 500m
10 Li (十里) = 5000 meters = ~3 miles

2. 芽色 Im not sure what exactly does this mean. means sprout, or a tender shoot, basically young plants. Since its used to describe tea, Im guessing its somewhere between a light green color and the color of straw? Anyway, I omitted that phrase from the translation above.


Translator’s notes:
So yeah, it’s another one of those it’s-pretty-vague-so-just-enjoy-the-imagery type of lyrics. (Either that or I’m not able to comprehend or appreciate them fully.) I’ve rendered quite a lot of my own interpretations and word preferences to make the translated language ring better, so take them with a grain of salt. It may not be completely accurate, but it’s fun when I try to make them sound nice in English.


*I own nothing but the translations.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

[English translation] 御龙吟 - Song of the Imperial Dragon





作曲/Music:茍音 (Gou Yin)
作詞/Lyrics:賀小桐 (He Xiao Tong)
演唱/Vocal:姚貝娜 (Bella Yao)


江上白衣凌云
残花浅酒片时清

The white robe rippled over water, subdued grandeur of clouds overhead
Tattered petals and thin wine accompanied a moment’s clarity


御龙乘风而行
旧梦朱璃碧宇
火连营

The dragon rode winds
Of forgone dreams; crimson glass, jade-green eaves
Burning tents of our men bleeds


八卦阵中迷途香消命殒
三分晋 红颜薄命

Losing oneself in the labyrinth, perished like a fallen star
Three kingdoms alas united in one, yet heavens decreed to have beauty marred


狼烟烽火满旗
赤壁幽窗冷雨 望不尽

Signaling smoke between banners rose
Endless cold rain struck curtains low


御龙顺水而行
横波水没七军 青子衿

The dragon rode waves
Where seven armies gave; in memories your blue-collared robe had stayed


谁将 浮名牵系
一品千金 英雄泪满襟
痴心与谁寄 妾身无缘旧命

Who hung to vain promises of fame
And a valiant shot at glory and gold; tears dampened the hero’s clothes
Who’d I send this longing heart to; destiny wrought parting with my life of old


折戟沉沙秋水溟
繁花落尽君辞去
青灯怨语一枕清霜冷如冰

Broken polearms sunken in sand, muddied waters of autumn’s land
The last flower shed, you bade your farewell then
Wistful words by a forlorn light; frosted pillows cold as ice


长坂坡上草木腥
沧江一梦镜花影
马蹄铃 缃帙瓶 硝烟定 天命

Meadowy slopes reeked blood and flesh
While dreams pass like rivers rush, like flowers of the mirror’s end
Ringing of hooves, bound books and scrolls; of our fate, the smokes of war shall set in stone






***

Footnotes:

1. There are lots of references to the stories/history during the period of the Three Kingdoms:

(a) 火连营 (burning of the Shu tents) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Xiaoting


(c) 八卦阵中迷途 (Lost in the BaGua formation/maze/labyrinth) – events happened after battle of Xiaoting/YiLing, where Lu Xun’s armies were trapped by ZhuGe Liang’s maze according to The Romance of Three Kingdom. This is likely fictitious, involving sorcery and all that jazz. Though, the historical ZheGe Liang was good at army formations.

(d) 水没七军 (Drowning of seven armies) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fancheng

(e) 青子衿 – a phrase quoted from Cao Cao’s poem 短歌行, though it too was coined from an older literary source. Translation of the original poem: https://wenku.baidu.com/view/a0002408763231126edb11cb.html
- on another note, 青 used to mean "blue" in ancient sources, but "green" in modern use. 

(f) 长坂坡 (Hill/slope of ChangBan) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Changban

2. 红颜薄命 – original meaning goes along the lines of “fair ladies often suffer tragic fates”.


Commentary
Whew. This one took me quite a while. I love the music and the Three Kingdom references. Couldn't get tired of it. The lyrics are vague, and their meaning hard to translate in whole, so I injected some of my own interpretations (also for a better flow of the lyric translations).

The clips in the video is from a TV drama series “Nirvana in Fire”. I think the editing work is excellent for bringing out the epic feel of this song.




*I own nothing but the translations.