~Masterlist~ (Shows all my previous posts, organized)

Friday, December 15, 2023

江湖 - Martial world / Jianghu

 



作曲 / Composer:胡寒 / Hu Han

編曲 / Arrangement :胡寒 / Hu Han

作詞  / Lyricist:侯波 / Hou Bo

演唱 / Vocals :江南誠,阡陌 / Jiangnan Cheng, Qianmo

哼唱 / Harmony:阿南sara / Anan sara

繪者 / Background art:伊吹五月 / Ibuki Satsuki


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江湖過 煙雨落 

愛恨誰定奪 

對與錯或你和我 

無從皆訴說 


Through the martial world, the misty rain pours

Who presides over love and hate

Right and wrong, or you and I

There’s no way to tell it all 


誰是正道 

卻又變了魔 

猜錯這骨骼 宿命情仇 

往生亦遼闊 

一切若看破 

亦不過迷惑 


Who’s the righteous one

Then turned the villain

Having misjudged this frame, fated in its passions and ills

The realm beyond life may yet liberate

If one can look past it all

They’re none but illusions of the mind


心塵如字 

故夢如昨 

剎那蓮華 

隨命綻落 

簫聲巷陌 

蕭蕭雪落 

幾番紅顏隕落 

白骨命薄 


The mortal heart’s like words 

An old dream like it was yesterday

The lotus flower in its flash of brilliance 

Blooms and withers at fate’s behest

Flute songs sound through the alleys and fields 

Rushes of snowfall

Countless times the fair were doomed

As white bones bearing ill fortune


縱馬長歌 

枕荒漠 

書盡青史 

畫幾冊 

飲盡濁酒 

宿命歌 

枉成心魔 


Driving one’s steed in a long ballad

Pillowed by barren deserts

Exhausting the annals of history

And countless painted scrolls 

To drain one’s coarse wine

Singing the song of fate

Only to form demons of the heart


相逢早鑄 

錯了因果 

半生狂 

半生落寞 

筆難落 

風還過 

淡看葉落 

只羨燈火 


Our chance meeting had long cast

The woeful links of karma 

Half a lifetime of hubris

Another half in desolation

My brush hesitates

Winds breeze past still

Placidly watch the leaves fall

Envious only of lantern lights


看世間 

風雲豪奪 

英雄起 

落黃羅 

誰靜臥 

湯接過 

唯你諾


Watch the mortal world

With its stormy turbulences

Where heroes rise up

Royalty falls

Who lies in silence

Accepting the bowl of oblivion

For you alone, I give my promise




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Translator's note:


It's been a while. Lately I've been quite taken by a few pieces of work, and so I've decided to scratch that itch and translate them as best as I can. This song for example has been in my playlist for almost ten years now, and it gets better the more I listen to it. The lyrics especially capture that romanticism in the wuxia stories that many of us grew up on.


For the uninitiated, the word Jianghu does not have a very direct translation in English as it is so culturally specific: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jianghu. It is essentially a world of martial artists where the drama in wuxia stories takes place. Therefore, I crudely translated it to "martial world". Though I hope I managed to reflect some of the poetic language and emotions through this translation.


As mentioned in my post before, because some of the terms are full of allusions and loaded with cultural context, it is necessary for me to alter them in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and accessible for those who are unfamiliar. At least, that's the hope.


Some examples:


"黃羅" refers to the golden parasol or canopy used by royalty. So the "fall" of the parasol likely equates to the fall of royalty, as a symbol for the vicissitudes of life.


"湯接過 " literally means "accepting the soup". I translated it to a "bowl of oblivion" as it alludes to the mythical bowl of "Mengpo's/Grandma Meng's soup", which will make souls forget what happened in their past life before they get reincarnated.



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