[English translation] 心上秋 Autumn upon One's Heart (Sorrow)

作曲//Composition：litterzy

編曲//Arrangement：Mzf小慕 (Mzf Xiao Mu)

作詞//Lyrics：冉語優 (Ran Yu You)

原唱//Original vocal：星塵 (Stardust - VOCALOID)

調教//Tuning：花兒不哭 (Hua Er Bu Ku)

混音//Mixing：Mr.曾經 (Mr. Ceng Jing) 

視頻//Video：mist【麻薯映像】(Ma Shu Ying Xiang)

曲繪//Art：白鄔東 (Bai Wu Dong)

*****

No one was willing to marry the barbarian lord as a bride of peace. 

Just when Emperor Yuan of Han was at a loss, a servant brought news from his harem. One of his consorts volunteered for this marriage alliance. Her name was Wang Zhaojun. The emperor ordered for a review of her portrait, as he had never seen her in person, which was no surprise, as he soon found out from her sketch. She had a homely face, and the mole under her eye especially subtracted from her beauty. With so many other women, he wouldn't call upon such a plain one. No loss there if she were to leave, so he thought, and approved her self-nomination. 

Before Zhaojun's departure, the emperor paid her a customary visit. He was shocked by what he saw. A stunningly beautiful, well-spoken lady stood before him. Her presence radiated grace, her humble words could not conceal her wit, yet, there was the slightest air of melancholy about her. Perhaps it was the emptiness that afflicted so many of these women, left languishing alone, ignored and forgotten in the depths of the palace. He regretted to have allowed her departure, but an emperor could not go back on his words. With great reluctance, he let the barbarian lord lead her away into the harsh northern winter.  

After the ceremony, the emperor still could not let go of this ordeal. If he had known her earlier, he would have lavished her with his affection and all the splendor of the empire. Why then, have such a gem in his very own palace, been overlooked? 

The portrait. He examined it once again. The sketch did not look like her at all, and the mole under her eye was most certainly non-existent. It was deliberate. 

At the corner, the inscription was signed by one of the imperial artists, Mao Yanshou. 

In a fit of rage, he ordered all the imperial artists arrested and interrogated. It turned out that the practice of receiving bribes was rampant among them. If the women wished to be drawn well enough for a chance at the emperor's attention, they will have to pay up. Zhaojun had not paid Mao anything. 

This was a terrible crime, a deception towards the son of heaven, and deserved the most severe of punishments. The emperor had all his artists, Mao especially, put to death. 

Zhaojun spent the rest of her life out in the steppes of barbarian lands, and thus, securing peace and stability within the local territory, as well as the tribe's relation with the Han empire. She bore the ruling family a son and two daughters, before passing away from an illness at the age of thirty-five.  

*****

記不起究竟哪一次

當秋光漫上了窗外花枝

你頓筆回眸一顧

熟稔得仿佛似舊日相識

I can’t remember when it was

When autumn’s light crept upon flower branches by the windows

You halted your brush and glanced back at me

with such warm familiarity, just like a friend of old

並肩長談過多少往事

恍然間黃昏已至

以為一雙知己做了一世

從來不過如此

Shoulder by shoulder, how much of our past we’ve told one another

As if in a trance dusk had settled

Believing we made a pair of soulmates for life

Yet it had never truly been so

紙上描眉目　不辯妍或媸

剎那美人成東施

就中的故事　豈止一人痴　

落款誰提了名氏

Sketching those features unto paper, distinguishing not fair or homely

In an instance a beauty turned unseemly

Within this story, who said there’s but one obsessed fool 

Who signed his name upon its inscription

輾轉經由他人唇齒　

多少日夜聽聞你的故事

難道這情之一字　

竟連拋生死亦不可探知

Passing along the lips of others

How many days and nights I’ve heard tales about you

Is it true that this word, “love”

even through forsaking one’s life, still remains unfathomable

聽說北國的那座城池　

被冬雪覆了終日

等到故人長訣漸行漸遠

轉眼已隔兩世

They say that city in the northern kingdom

Is covered in an everlasting winter snow

Till farewell with the old friend stretched farther into the distance

In the blink of an eye, both were two worlds apart

誰向生而死　誰患得患失　

相顧也再無多時

畫中人暗自　竟心蕩神痴　

一滴淚氤氳滿紙

Who perished from one's yearning for life, who hesitated in one's gives and takes

Little time remained for our mutual company

The figure in the portrait, secretly, unexpectedly, plunged into a daze

One drop of tear permeated the entire canvas

揮墨描眉目　提筆勾鬢絲　

寥寥幾筆竟如此

夜半無人處　對月展卷時　

忽然看懂這相思

A splash of ink to outline one’s eyes, lifting the brush to sketch one’s hair

A measly few strokes left us with such

Deep in the night with no one by my side, while unfurling the scroll under the moon

Suddenly, I understood this longing

落款誰提了名字

Who signed his name upon its inscription

******

The setting sun dyed the palace grounds the hue of late autumn leaves.

"So you've decided?"

"I've sent in my nomination." She stood by the window and replied in a pensive tone. Yet, the spark in her eyes was unmistakable.

"It's been long since I've seen you this excited," he said. "It's a tough life out there. Is this what you want, really?" 

She looked up into the sky, past the palace walls, towards the direction of the north star in the evening sky. "I guess I've finally found my purpose. Beats sitting idle all day long here." She turned back towards him. "I'll remember all those stories you shared with me. I just want to know how much I appreciate your company. You've been such a great friend."

Friend. 

He fumbled for the scroll he had been carrying in his pouch and held it out for her.

"Here's a private portrait I made of you. Take this as my parting gift."

She accepted it and unfurled the scroll. 

"It's the loveliest painting I've seen. Mao, your art is stunning, as always. Thank you."

That sincere smile she gave as she held up the scroll, unabashed in her generosity, would be branded by the brilliant rays of fleeting dusk in his consciousness forever.



*********


Translator's note: 

Aights so this has been growing mold in my drafts since ages ago. I've been snowed under a pile of things lately as life catches up. So I'll be keeping the notes brief this time round.

In Chinese, the word for "autumn" (秋) above, combined with the word "heart" (心) below, forms the word "sorrow" (愁). So as with many of the other songs in this album, there are often layers of meaning in the title itself.

Wang Zhaojun is also known as one of the four most beautiful woman of ancient China. The story with Mao Yanshou, the imperial artist, is a well-known one, though not recorded in the official historical documents. The narrative was that Mao was a shrewd and greedy official who short changed Zhaojun because she refused to bribe him, and in the end received his comeuppance. Some later scholars argued that it may not have been fair to the artists. Who is to say that the portrait not matching up to the beauty of the actual person is a deliberate attempt to deceive the emperor? Maybe his only crime was merely the failing in his artistic skills.

The producers of the song went for something else - perhaps it was not hate (or revenge for her refusal of the bribe), but love and admiration. Anyhow, it is yet another one of those stories that leaves us with our imagination. Hope you enjoy the song and the story!