[English translation] 畫地為牢 - Trapped in a Circle

專輯//Album：問心 (Wen Xin)
歌手//Vocals：雲の泣 / 葉里 (Yunno Qi / Ye Li)
作曲//Composer : 錦衣小盆友 (Jin Yi Xiao Pen You)
作詞//Lyricist : 錦衣小盆友 (Jin Yi Xiao Pen You)


*****

【文案】
天寶二年，五毒教左長老烏蒙貴叛教失敗，自立天一教，命教眾於洛道研製屍毒，李渡遂殭屍遍布，淪為一座死城。
然有一非人非屍的“背棺者”，孤身遊蕩，步履蹣跚。

During the second year of Tian Bao, an Elder of Wu Du, Wu Meng Gui, led a failed coup against his own organisation. He then established himself separately as the cult of Tian Yi, and ordered his followers to develop a necromantic poison in Luo Dao. The city of Li Du quickly became overrun by the undead, and soon a ghost town it became. 

However, there was still a lone wanderer, neither completely a living man nor an undead, known as “The Coffin Bearer”, plodding in languid footsteps.

*****

One mission accomplished. One danger dealt with. Granted, the stature of this undead was small, but it was no easy task to take him down. He used to be a living, breathing boy, perhaps harbouring dreams of becoming a martial hero when he grows up. I let out a heavy sigh and stopped myself from thinking further. 

I went back to the Coffin Bearer who sought my assistance. With an odd queasiness in my guts, I presented the boy’s head as proof. One zombified eye, white and lifeless; the other a living man’s eye, equally hollow, stared ahead. I felt a lump in my throat, and slowly, noticed the features of the boy reflected on the one I was facing. I couldn’t fight this one. He had told me. Please exterminate this threat for the people’s sake. A tremor grew in my arms, the air became suffocating. My heart fought to still itself, but I was certain that my thoughts were betrayed.

Finally, with a croaking voice, the Coffin Bearer answered, “that was my son.” He then turned to the coffin on his back, his wife. “My love, now you can rest in peace.”

*****

細雨飄泊 天地一身落拓

夕陽佝僂 照著趟不過的河

楓葉走在紅塵 尾聲猶斟酌

餘暉深緘血色承諾

In drifting rains, between heaven and earth’s a world in desolation

The crippled sunset reflects upon an uncrossable river

A maple leaf trails at the end of mortal’s dust

Lingering rays of dusk seal this promise of blood

肩上棺木唏噓 周身煞氣驚行客

林海恍惚 唱一襟嗚咽舊歌

孤云亦步亦趨 幾點烏鴉飛過

挾裹不闔眼執著 淪為心頭沈痾

The coffin upon my shoulder a point of lament, the ghastly aura around me startles passerbys

The sea of forest seems to sing an old song in sobs

A lone cloud follows my pace, a few spots of crows soar by

Bringing with me this grievance I’ll hold unto death, a plague weighing upon my heart

昔時陶然村舍 空剩些鬼魅交駁

李渡朝暮 定格在萬籟靜默

共飲一彎江水 竟是陰陽相隔

螢火將歿的那瞬 可願燃骨跋涉

A merry village in the past, left only with clashes between ghosts

Night or day, the city stilled in perpetual silence

Drinking from the same bend of the river, yet separated by the realms of life and death

When comes the moment of demise, I shall willingly embark on this excruciating journey

撥開混沌人潮 怕聽得

來者踉蹌嘶啞 哭著喊爹爹

天地間麻木軀殼 半生離合

遠方百家燈火 哪盞屬於我

Jostling through the indistinct crowd, I fear most to hear

The one who comes stumbling, in a hoarse voice, with cries of “father”

Between heaven and earth, this numb shell has seen half a lifetime of partings

Hundreds of lantern lights from homes in the distance, which belongs to me?

若能牢牢攥住 你魂魄

鴉發坐肩頭唱 雲和花的歌

安然長出如我般 掌心脈絡

踏遍日月星辰 與多情山河

If only I could tightly hold on to your soul

Have you, the young one with dark hair, sit upon my shoulders, singing of the clouds and flowers

And grow out the lines on your palm, ones like mine

I’ll go as far as the bodies of heaven, and the earth with all its sentimentality

目及路邊墳塚 如千萬魂燈錯落

少年老者 白骨遍地餵禿鷲

必將以身托缽 代你手刃罪惡

喚一聲吾孩無常 予山河輕描摹

To look upon graves by the roadside, like millions of soullights strewn

Young and old, their scattered bones feed the vultures

I will offer up my body in devotion, and exterminate this evil in your place

To call upon my child’s name, giving the world but the lightest regard

是歲晨昏顛倒 乾坤洗劍殺消磨

血親路人 早晚相赴黃泉約

甘囚回憶之牢 天涯本無寄所

誓人間地獄未空 平生不得成佛

Dusk or dawn I give it no mind, my blade washed in murder to pass time

Blood relatives or passerbys, will someday fulfill the promise to meet in the afterlife

I’ll gladly be imprisoned in my memories, since there is no respite for me till the ends of the world

To vow that as long as this hell upon earth have not been emptied, I’ll never transcend to godhood

撥開混沌人潮 怕聽得

來者踉蹌嘶啞 哭著喊爹爹
天地間麻木軀殼 半生離合
遠方百家燈火 再無屬於我

Jostling through the indistinct crowd, I fear most to hear

The one who comes stumbling, in a hoarse voice, with cries of “father”

Between heaven and earth, this numb shell has seen half a lifetime of partings

Hundreds of lantern lights from homes in the distance, will never again belong to me



若能牢牢攥住 你魂魄
鴉發坐肩頭唱 雲和花的歌
安然長出如我般 掌心脈絡
而今墓前蓬草 歷歷如新也

If only I could tightly hold on to your soul
Have you, the young one with dark hair, sit upon my shoulders, singing of the clouds and flowers
And grow out the lines on your palm, ones like mine...
Yet now the grasses before the grave, seem as fresh as new



*****

Translator's note:

Been listening to this song for a while, and I hadn’t realized that it had a backstory to it. Despite all my digging, I could only piece it together what I feel is an incomplete picture, and I don’t know if I got all the details right. (Especially for the short snippet). Apparently it’s a side quest from the Chinese MMORPG Jian Wang 3 (JX3).

The Coffin Bearer’s name is Murong Zhuifeng (慕容追风), an NPC in the game. He, his wife Zhuo Wanqing (卓婉清), and their son, Murong Wuchang (慕容无常) all were victims of the necromantic poison. Zhuifeng retained part of his humanity and his senses, but his family didn’t. He sealed his wife in a coffin and carried her around to prevent her from harming the innocent. His son, unfortunately, turned into a formidable creature and became the leader of a group of undeads. Hence the story above. This also explains the phrase “and grow out the lines on your palm, ones like mine”, as it’s a convention in these stories for the absence of palm lines in the undead.

Credits to the translation and explanation by Rebecca Yiu (helped me a lot with understanding the more ambiguous lyrics), as well as the title suggestion by Gussy Wormy, both from the comment section of the embedded video. The translation for the title, trying to find a balance between its literal meaning and the mood it captures, is kinda tricky. It has a flavor of “self-imposed prison” to it, but that’s not completely right either. “Trapped”, “Imprisoned”, or “Restricted” sound a tad bit too unspecific, generic, and/or sterile. So… yeah, this is by far the best translation for this title I’ve come across.

I’ve debated with myself whether to translate “平生不得成佛” as “I’ll never transcend to godhood”, or the more accurate translation “I’ll never transcend to nirvana”. Again, it’s the accuracy vs aesthetics balance. Since I’m more partial towards aesthetics, to emphasize mood and smooth flow over literal accuracy, I’ve chosen the more native English word over the borrowed one. Just do note that the “godhood” in this context is quite different from the conventional Western notion.

Hope you enjoyed it!