作曲/编曲//Composer/Arrangement：悠悠酱 (You You Jiang)
作词//Lyrics：冉语优 (Ran Yu You)
原唱//Original vocalist：星尘 (Stardust - VOCALOID)
翻唱//Cover：三无Marblue (San Wu Marblue)
笛子//Flute：囚牛 (Qiu Niu)
视频//PV：柠檬七喜【麻薯映像】(Ning Meng Qi Xi [Mochi Pictures])
曲绘//Art：白鄔東 (Bai Wu Dong)
*****
There was once a young prince from the kingdom of Western Yan. His name was Murong Chong, nicknamed “Phoenix”. His extraordinarily good looks aside, Murong Chong was destined to become a vicious warrior and claim the title of emperor himself. He succeeded in bringing down the enemy, the one who destroyed his father’s kingdom, his life, and his dignity. Emperor Fu Jian.
That would happen after an unthinkable fate befell him. He had only been twelve years of age.
***
“A shame. A shame.” The emperor shook his head.
“My lord is merciful, as always.”
He paused and turned to his advisor, then replied with a pensive smile, “I really like the boy.”
The emperor looked upon his imperial courtyard. “Only perches of parosal branches and feasts of bamboo fruits befit a phoenix. That, I can give him.”
***
“Mercy.” Against the inferno within the city wall, fueled by a single-minded, rabid hatred, the Phoenix couldn’t keep down his snarling grin. “To hell with your mercy.”
*****
清辉映着深堂
风月入酒一觞
有人已经与我饮畅
却还要我当纵马白衣少年郎
Luminescence bright within halls deep
By the winds and moon a wine flagon come
There’s one who’s drank liberally with me
Yet expect me to remain that dashing youth in white
残棋停在掌上
死局欲盖弥彰
有人故作眉眼疏狂
与我交过手 与我留过伤
却想求个美满收场
Leftover chess pieces stalled in my palms
This stalemate can no longer be disguised
There’s one who acts the cavalier one
Crossed arms with me, wounded me
And dared wish for a perfect end
谯鼓响烽烟茫茫 剑影刀光
阴谋阳谋影影幢幢
这生死场上
有谁真愿谁无恙
Drums beaten, smoke risen, flashes of blades and swords
Schemes, conspiracies, their shadows menacing
Upon this field of life and death
Who truly wishes well of another
兴许青竹早凋 碧梧已僵
人事本难防
只在旧时旧日大梦了一场
Perhaps just as green bamboos wither, and young parasols stiffen
Human affairs had always been capricious
But leave us only a grand dream of the past
从此天各一方 各自怀想
不如两相忘
非黄泉路上此生王不见王
Thereafter in our own corners of the world, harboring our own thoughts
Better it is to forget one another
If it’s not on the journey underworld, kings in life shall never see eye to eye
一夜长安冷雨
几声马蹄彷徨
烽火长燃撞破天光
只拂一拂袖挥别了当年模样
A nightlong cold rain in Chang’an
With a few hesitant hoof beats
Raging war fires broke into the sky
Simply with a wave of my sleeves I’ve parted with my past self
千里江山入眼 谁不志在四方
行到水穷不曾回望
吟鞭断流水也能断情长
前尘往事何必思量
Thousand miles before one’s eyes, who wouldn’t aspire to claim
Never will I look back even when all is lost
Your whips can break the river’s flow, so too can it break your incessant bonds
Why weigh over things of the past纵然是斯人已去 天地纵广
转眼又成几家沙场
夜半听楼角
纵马迎天光凄怆
Even if that person is gone, even if lands stretch far and wide
At the blink of an eye how many battlegrounds are made
I listened by the tower corner in the midst of night
And whirled my horse to meet daylight in sorrow
兴许青竹早凋 碧梧已僵
人事本难防
只在旧时旧日大梦了一场
Perhaps just as green bamboos wither, and young parasols stiffen
Human affairs had always been capricious
But leave us only a grand dream of the past
从此天各一方 各自怀想
不如两相忘
非黄泉路上此生王不见王
Thereafter in our own corners of the world, harboring our own thoughts
Better it is to forget one another
If it’s not on the journey underworld, kings in life shall never see eye to eye
贪痴疏狂暗自滋长
变了当年模样
相视一望 近乎咫尺 远在山岗
Greed, obsessions, unrestrained madness, grew in stealth
I’m changed from who I was those years
Our eyes met, though seeming at arms length, yet far as mountain ranges
语息温凉 吞吐如霜
化在你眉睫上
生死一念算过场 冷不防
The heat of my breath, like frosty drafts of mist
Dissipated upon your brows
Having spared you a passing thought we've had our go, utterly unforeseeable
三千铁衣披霜 万籁绝响
举目是残阳
回首剑拔弩张箭已在弦上
Three thousand hardened armor, an unrivaled symphony to behold
I lift my eyes to the setting sun
Looking behind, swords brandished and bows drawn, the arrow’s notched onto the string
耳畔江海有声山河无量
呼万寿无疆
却无人共看这人间多荒唐
To hear the voices of rivers, seas, and the infinite lands
Hail “long live the king”
But none to witness with me, the absurdities of this world
却无人共看这人间多荒唐
But none to witness with me, the absurdities of this world
*****
Translator's note:
This took me literally months to work with. Of course, it wasn't all continuous, rather what happen is that I often cannot decide on how I want to interpret the lyrics, and I find myself putting it away and promising that I'll come back to it. It'd be a shame if I just dropped this, so I figured I'd just put it out there and hope for the best.
One big factor is the nature of the story behind the song. Our main characters here are Fu Jian and Murong Chong from the Period of the Sixteen States, sung from Murong's POV. The summary is that Emperor Fu Jian invaded and destroyed Western Yan (ruled by the ethnic minority, Xianbei), capturing the young prince, Murong Chong, twelve at the time, and his fourteen-year-old sister Princess Qing He. Fu Jian was known to be a benevolent ruler, so he spared the lives of the Xianbei aristocracy and absorbed the elites into his bureaucracy. However, he took the two fair-faced royal children as consorts and lavished all his attention on them. So yes, child sexual exploitation. There were even songs going around about the emperor's two new favorites, so it was basically public knowledge.
Eventually when Murong Chong grew older, the emperor's advisor urged him to let Murong out of the capital, a decision he'd come to regret. When Emperor Fu Jian left for a campaign (previously boasting "we have such a huge army, the whips of my men is enough to choke their rivers"), Murong's relatives, and the Phoenix himself, sparked a rebellion that eventually forced Emperor Fu Jian to abandon his capital and run for his life. His attempt to beg mercy by sending a coat to Murong Chong during the siege, reminding the youth of his supposed kindness in the past, only infuriated him further. It's said that after conquering the capital, so deep was his vengeance and wrath, Murong Chong massacred its inhabitants for days.
The inherent ambiguity of the lyrics sparked lots of debates in the original Bilibili video. Some argued that the lyrics suggest amorous feelings between the two (the frequent lack of subject pronouns - "you", "I" in these classic-esque lyrics don't help) , but the backstory posted by the producers doesn't seem to suggest that was their intention, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Plus, I think its a good song, and it was because of this I'd come to learn this chapter in history. The Sixteen States period is for me, obscure and confusing, because, you know, sixteen freaking states. A lot of them involve minority tribes (including our two MCs), so it gets even more complicated.
I've wrestled with the title for a long time and decided to settle on just "Phoenix". If you take the words apart it means "rest" or "perch" (栖） and "phoenix" (凰). Put together, it is a homophone to "凄惶", which sorta means panicking and feeling lost. I can't think of a way to make it work (unlike "Farewell by Yi River", if translated more literally means "Yi River chant"). "Restive Phoenix" was a likely candidate, but I didn't think it was all that suitable.
It is all thanks to those who provided the story backgrounds, gave their interpretation and opinions in comment sections and independent essays. It has helped me tremendously.
So here's my conclusion. A song about an unadulterated hatred, and the tragedy of a life forever tainted by the indolent dark natures of mankind.
One big factor is the nature of the story behind the song. Our main characters here are Fu Jian and Murong Chong from the Period of the Sixteen States, sung from Murong's POV. The summary is that Emperor Fu Jian invaded and destroyed Western Yan (ruled by the ethnic minority, Xianbei), capturing the young prince, Murong Chong, twelve at the time, and his fourteen-year-old sister Princess Qing He. Fu Jian was known to be a benevolent ruler, so he spared the lives of the Xianbei aristocracy and absorbed the elites into his bureaucracy. However, he took the two fair-faced royal children as consorts and lavished all his attention on them. So yes, child sexual exploitation. There were even songs going around about the emperor's two new favorites, so it was basically public knowledge.
Eventually when Murong Chong grew older, the emperor's advisor urged him to let Murong out of the capital, a decision he'd come to regret. When Emperor Fu Jian left for a campaign (previously boasting "we have such a huge army, the whips of my men is enough to choke their rivers"), Murong's relatives, and the Phoenix himself, sparked a rebellion that eventually forced Emperor Fu Jian to abandon his capital and run for his life. His attempt to beg mercy by sending a coat to Murong Chong during the siege, reminding the youth of his supposed kindness in the past, only infuriated him further. It's said that after conquering the capital, so deep was his vengeance and wrath, Murong Chong massacred its inhabitants for days.
The inherent ambiguity of the lyrics sparked lots of debates in the original Bilibili video. Some argued that the lyrics suggest amorous feelings between the two (the frequent lack of subject pronouns - "you", "I" in these classic-esque lyrics don't help) , but the backstory posted by the producers doesn't seem to suggest that was their intention, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Plus, I think its a good song, and it was because of this I'd come to learn this chapter in history. The Sixteen States period is for me, obscure and confusing, because, you know, sixteen freaking states. A lot of them involve minority tribes (including our two MCs), so it gets even more complicated.
I've wrestled with the title for a long time and decided to settle on just "Phoenix". If you take the words apart it means "rest" or "perch" (栖） and "phoenix" (凰). Put together, it is a homophone to "凄惶", which sorta means panicking and feeling lost. I can't think of a way to make it work (unlike "Farewell by Yi River", if translated more literally means "Yi River chant"). "Restive Phoenix" was a likely candidate, but I didn't think it was all that suitable.
It is all thanks to those who provided the story backgrounds, gave their interpretation and opinions in comment sections and independent essays. It has helped me tremendously.
So here's my conclusion. A song about an unadulterated hatred, and the tragedy of a life forever tainted by the indolent dark natures of mankind.
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