[English translation] 不老梦 - Unaging dream

作詞/文案 (Lyrics/Story)：慕清明 (Mu Qing Ming)

作曲/演唱 (Music/Vocal)：銀臨 (Yin Lin)

編曲/混音 (Arrange/Mix)：灰原窮 (Hui Yuan Qiong)

二胡 (Erhu)：EZ-Ven

文案：

終南有墳，名不老。客奇之，問何故，言乃淮南翁主媗塚。

元光二年上巳，媗於渭水之濱遇振翊將軍韓衿，悅之。明年，河水決濮陽，上發卒十萬救決河，使衿督。媗送別，訴心意。衿以其年尚幼，婉拒之。

後三年，衿戍定襄，媗托尺素，書：妾已及笄。

復三年，媗隨姊陵探長安，約結上左右。每逢衿，且喜且怯。

又三年，媗疾，久不愈。衿隨大將軍青擊匈奴，媗恐不復見，追大軍十余里，終力竭。嗆血白衣，形銷骨立。

元狩元年，淮南衡山事發，陵媗皆下獄。衿欲面之，叩未央宮，額血流地，上弗允。媗殞，衿親葬於終南。後長安有歌曰：塋塋蔓草，歲歲不老；風雨如晦，死生為誰。

終南有墳，名不老。

Story:

There’s this grave on Mount Zhong Nan. People call it “The Unaging”.

A curiosity for travelers, they often asked the story behind it. They’d be told the tale of a young noble lady, who was the daughter to the lord of Huai Nan, and whose grave it belongs to.

The story began during the Double Third festival, in the second year of Yuan Guang. Noble lady Liu Xuan came across young General Han Jin by the river of Wei. She took a liking to him.

Another year passed. Raging floods ravaged the city of Pu Yang. The emperor ordered an emergency relief troop, and named Han Jin their commander. As Xuan sent the general on his way, she confessed her feelings for him. He declined her politely on the grounds of her tender age.

Three years passed. The general was then stationed at the city of Ding Xiang. Liu Xuan wrote to him: I’ve reached the age for marriage.

Another three years passed. Liu Xuan and her sister Liu Ling visited the capital Chang An by the orders of their father. They were to bring back news from the capital and befriend noblemen close to the emperor. She got to meet Han Jin in person once again, unable to stifle the overwhelming joy and nerves whenever she faced him.

Yet another three years passed. Liu Xuan fell ill, and recovery seemed far in sight. Han Jin joined the Great General in their military campaign against the Huns. Terrified that she’ll never see him again, she ran after the army for a full three miles, exhausting every last bit of her strength. Coughed blood stained her white robe, and her skeletal frame stood weak in the wind.

First year of Yuan Shou, the rebellion of Huai Nan broke out. Both sisters were thrown into prison. Han Jin pleaded mercy for Liu Xuan. So fervent was his appeal, his forehead bled after countless knocks against the palace floor. Mercy never came.

And so Liu Xuan died in prison. Han Jin oversaw the funeral himself and buried her on Mount Zhong Nan.

Later, such a song was circulated in Chang An:

Grass flourishes over her grave,

Year after year they never age;

Dark rains and winds cannot persuade,

For whose sake, her life she gave.

So there’s this grave on Mount Zhong Nan. People call it “The Unaging”.

***

等不到鬓雪相拥
重饮渭水畔那一盏虔诚
终究是绸缪青冢
替我将灞桥柳供奉

I am no longer here to wait, the embrace we’re due when our heads grow white
And once again down our cups by the waterfront, brimmed with our sincere exchange

In the end it’s only a prelude to the green burial mound
I plead you to offer a willow branch for my sake

来世再漱月鸣筝
也许还能道声久别珍重
天意总将人捉弄
怎奈何身不由己情衷

In our next life, let’s pluck our zithers under the rinsed moon
Perhaps then we can wish each other “so long, take care”
The will of heaven always toys with humans
It can’t be helped, when we have little say in our fate

于万人中万幸得以相逢
刹那间澈净明通
成为我所向披靡的勇气和惶恐
裂山海 堕苍穹

Fortune granted our union amidst a crowd of ten thousand
And at that very moment, everything was made clear
You’ve became my unbeatable courage and fear
Splitting mountains and sea, falling heaven and sky

爱若执炬迎风
炽烈而哀恸
诸般滋味皆在其中

Love is a torch raised on a march against the wind
A blazing spectacle, yet immensely sad
Mixed within emotions of every sort


韶华宛转吟诵
苍凉的光荣
急景凋年深情难共

My youth sang melodious tunes of
A desolate glory
So hurriedly the years wilt, there’s hardly enough left to share our deep passions

倏忽天地琉璃灯

光阴过处徒留皎月几盅

温柔了十方春冬

眷你眉目在我眼瞳

A sudden recollection struck, of flickering crystal lamps that filled our sight
Of many nights past with bowls of moonlight
Of the gentle warmth you gave through spring till winter
And of your features reflected in my eyes.

彼时击节讴新声

唱彻白首之约抱柱之盟

摩肩人步履匆匆

多少相遇能有始有终

By the festive beats of music that time

We sang our hearts out, of our vows of reunion
So hurriedly people shuffle by, shoulders brushing as they pass

How many meetings receive their worthy ends?

若要忘却年少轻狂的痛
从此后分赴西东
不如作蜉蝣麻衣霜染淋漓死生
恣朝暮 彀长空

Should we yearn to forget the pain of our unruly youth
and of our partings thereafter
We shall be mayflies, revelling in death and life

So to set ourselves free from the constraints of time, rising above the sky

卸去人间妆红
我终于读懂
痴心熬尽才可倾城

With adornments lifted from the realm of man

I finally understood
Only through dogged persistence can one hope to move the world

唯有亘古寒峰
能安葬浮生
至死不渝的一场梦

And only the mountain peaks, ancient and cold
Can rest mortal souls
It is a dream I remained loyal till death

　　

天光落笔波折
岁月都干涸
只剩别离来不及说

The sky cast its wavering fingers of light
Bringing about a draught of time
The only thing left unsaid is a goodbye

宁愿折心沐火
舍不得勘破
是你唇边夜雨清荷

I’d rather break my heart and bathe in flames
Than to break the thought
Of night’s drizzle and water lilies by your side

***

Footnotes:

This is a fictitious story set in the Western Han dynasty. The rebellion of Huai Nan was a historical event recorded in “Shi Ji” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Records_of_the_Grand_Historian), but Liu Xuan and Han Jin are characters created for this story.  

Double third festival (Shang Si) is an ancient festival on the third day of the third month on the Chinese calendar to celebrate the birth of Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor). It’s also a festival where single men and women were free to mingle, so it was sort of an equivalent to the ancient Chinese version of Valentine’s day. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Third_Festival

The willow branch mentioned in the translation is plucked from the Bridge of Ba in Chang An, allegedly the place where many people held their farewells whenever someone left the cities. Interestingly, “willow” (柳 - liu) is a homophone to “stay” (留). As a custom people offered the departing person a branch of willow to express their wish for them to stay. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%81%9E%E6%A1%A5/1945367

Since I wasn’t able to fully understand the ancient-styled text in which the story was written, I looked it up. The story translated to modern Chinese is in this link. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%B8%8D%E8%80%81%E6%A2%A6

Again, this translation is rather heavily tweaked for the sake of coherence and flow. Some of it will come across weird, I think, if I translated it word for word. E.g. The last line “of night’s drizzle and water lilies by your side” is actually “by your lips”. But the imagery of water lilies by a person’s lips is… well.

Anyway, hope that was fun for you guys. Cheers and have a good day!

[Also, Blogger's formatting is driving me insane. I'm sorry if the text comes out messy, I tried to even out the spacing a few times but every time I publish, it goes all wonky. This isn't the only problem I've encountered so far and it takes me way too much time just to fix them. In fact, this I had to manually adjust to fit their arbitrary spacing for the published version that refuse to match the draft, and it's simply maddening (this thing eats algebra for breakfast, I suspect). If this goes on (i.e. I get sufficiently pissed) I may consider moving to other sites.]

*I own nothing but the translations.

牽絲戲 (Qiān Sī Xì) – Puppet show

Original uploading site: http://5sing.kugou.com/yc/2732572.html 

作曲/Music：銀臨 (Yin Lin)
編/混//Arrange/Mix：灰原窮 (Hui Yuan Qiong)
作詞/Lyrics：Vagary
演唱/Vocal：銀臨 (Yin Lin)、Aki阿杰 (A Jie)

【背景故事】

余少能視鬼，嘗於雪夜野寺逢一提傀儡翁，鶴髮襤褸，唯持一木偶制作極精，宛如嬌女，繪珠淚盈睫，惹人見憐。

時雲彤雪狂，二人比肩向火，翁自述曰：少時好觀牽絲戲，耽於盤鈴傀儡之技，既年長，其志愈堅，遂以此為業，以物像人自得其樂。奈何漂泊終生，居無所行無侶，所伴唯一傀儡木偶。

翁且言且泣，余溫言釋之，懇其奏盤鈴樂，作牽絲傀儡戲，演劇於三尺紅綿之上，度曲咿嚶­，木偶顧盼神飛，雖妝繪悲容而婉媚絕倫。

曲終，翁抱持木偶，稍作歡容，俄頃恨怒，曰：平生落魄，皆傀儡誤之，天寒，冬衣難置，一貧至此，不如焚，遂忿然投偶入火。吾止而未及，跌足嘆惋。忽見火中木偶婉轉而起，肅拜揖別，姿若生人，繪面淚痕宛然，一笑迸散，沒於篝焰。

火至天明方熄。

翁頓悟，掩面嚎啕，曰：暖矣，孤矣。

【Background】

I have been able to see ghosts since I was young. There was once I met an old puppeteer in a secluded temple on a snowing night. He had hair white as crane, dressed in tattered clothes, and was holding a delicate wooden puppet that looked like a charming girl with beads of teardrops painted as if brimming from its eyes, garnering the people’s sympathy.

That time the thick clouds were in abundance and the blizzard wild, we sat side by side facing the fire. The puppeteer told me his story: “Since a tender age I have enjoyed watching puppet shows, and obsessed over puppetry. I grew more determined as I aged, and therefore made puppeteering my career, entertaining myself with human-like puppets. However, I ended up wandering around all my life, with neither a place to settle nor a partner to travel with. My only company is this lone puppet.”

He cried as he talked, so I pacified him with warm words, asking him to play his musical instrument (pan ling) and perform a puppet show for me. He made a show out of red cotton strings, one meter tall, attached to the puppet. The song played had hints of sadness within, and the puppet appeared bright and life-like. Even though it is painted a melancholic face, it still displayed unsurpassed grace and charm. 

The performance ended, and the puppeteer held the puppet in his embrace, and he seemed to have lightened up slightly. Out of the blue, he turned hateful and angry, exclaiming: “All my life I have been this pathetic and rundown because of this puppet. On such a cold day I am so poor I can hardly afford winter clothes. I might as well have it burnt!” Furious, he tossed the puppet into the fire. Unable to stop him in time, I fell to the ground and sighed with regret. Unexpectedly, I saw the puppet rose gracefully in the fire, gesturing^[1] a farewell, as though a living person, with the traces of tears on her painted face clearly visible. With a smile her form dispersed and disappeared in the caged flame^[2].

The fire burnt till dawn broke, and then died off.

The old man suddenly came to his senses, covering his face and bawled, uttering: “It’s so warm, it’s so lonely.”

【歌詞】Lyrics:

[銀臨]

嘲笑誰恃美揚威                          

cháo xiào shéi shì měi yáng wēi

沒了心如何相配

méi le xīn rú hé xiāng pèi

盤鈴聲清脆    帷幕間燈火幽微

pán líng shēng qīng cuì / wéi mù jiān dēng huǒ yōu wēi

我和你 最天生一對

wǒ hé nǐ zuì tiān shēng yí duì

Who are you teasing, for brazen displays fueled by beauty

How can I pair with you, for I lack a heart

The sound of the pan ling^[3] clear and melodious; the lights between the curtains shone dimly

We were meant for each other

沒了你才算原罪

méi le nǐ cái suàn yuán zuì

沒了心才好相配

méi le xīn cái hǎo xiāng pèi

你襤褸我彩繪   並肩行過山與水

nǐ làn lǚ wó cǎi huì / bìng jiān xíng guò shān yú shuǐ

你憔悴 我替你明媚

nǐ qiáo cuì wǒ tì nǐ míng mèi

It would be a sin if I lose you

It’s exactly because I lack a heart that I am a good match for you

You in tatters, while I in painted brilliance; side by side we walked through mountains and waters

Though you appear haggard, I will shine for you

是你吻開筆墨   染我眼角珠淚

shì nǐ wěn kāi bǐ mò / rán wǒ yán jiǎo zhū lèi

演離合相遇悲喜為誰

yǎn lí hé xiāng yù bēi xǐ wèi shéi

他們迂回誤會   我卻只由你支配

tā mén yū huí wù huì / wǒ què zhí yóu nǐ zhī pèi

問世間哪有更完美

wèn shì jiān ná yǒu gèng wán měi

You were the one who kissed your brush and pen, and dyed the teardrop at the tail of my eye

For whom do we put on dramas of partings and unions, sadness and happiness?

They will misunderstand, but I will only be in your hands

Is there anything more perfect in this world?

[Aki]

蘭花指捻紅塵似水

lán huā zhǐ niǎn hóng chén sì shuǐ

三尺紅台   萬事入歌吹

sān chǐ hóng tái / wàn shì rù gē chuī

唱別久悲不成悲   

chàng bié jiǔ bēi bù chéng bēi

十分紅處竟成灰

shí fēn hóng chù jìng chéng huī

願誰記得誰   最好的年歲

yuàn shéi jì dé shéi / zuì hǎo de nián suì

With the opera hand pose^[4], the water-like mortal world is pinched and twisted between fingers

On the red platform one meter tall^[5], having all stories told in songs

Singing farewell, it’s no longer called sadness when sadness prolongs^[6]; magnificent red reduced to ash grey

I wish we would all remember, the best years we had together.

[銀臨]

你一牽我舞如飛

nǐ yì qiān wó wǔ rú fēi

你一引我懂進退

nǐ yì yǐn wó dǒng jìn tuì

苦樂都跟隨   舉手投足不違背

kǔ lè dōu gēn suí / jú shǒu tóu zú bù wéi bèi

將謙卑   溫柔成絕對

jiāng qiān bēi / wēn róu chéng jué duì

As you tug the strings you send me dancing in the air

As you lead I know how to go forth and back

In thick and thin I shall follow; be it my arms or legs you move, I will not disobey

Perfecting humility and gentleness

你錯我不肯對   你懵懂我蒙昧

nǐ cuò wǒ bù kěn duì / nǐ méng dǒng wǒ méng mèi

心火怎甘心揚湯止沸

xīn huó zěn gān xīn yáng tāng zhǐ fèi

你枯我不曾萎   你倦我也不敢累

nǐ kū wǒ bù céng wěi / nǐ juàn wó yě bù gǎn lèi

用什麼暖你一千歲

yòng shén mè nuán nǐ yì qiān suì

If you are wrong I refuse to be right; if you are muddled, I am ignorant

How can the fire in my heart be happy to cease to boil

If you wilt I’ll never wither; if you are tired I dare not be fatigued

What can I use to warm you for a thousand years

[Aki]

風雪依稀秋白髮尾

fēng xuě yī xī qiū bái fà wěi

燈火葳蕤   揉皺你眼眉

dēng huǒ wēi ruí / róu zhòu ní yǎn méi

假如你舍一滴淚   

jiǎ rú ní shě yì dī lèi

假如老去我能陪

jiǎ rú lǎo qù wǒ néng péi

煙波裡成灰   也去得完美

yān bō lǐ chéng huī / yě qù dé wán měi

The blizzard vaguely resembles the whitened ends of your hair

The lights shone with lush brilliance, rubbing creases between your brows

If you are willing to give up one single teardrop

If I can be your company when you are old

Even if I am reduced to ash in a stream of smoke^[7], I’d be perfectly happy to go.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Footnotes:

1.       肃拜 is a gesture of respect performed by women, and is based on traditional rites. Image:

wapbaike.baidu.com/view/958846.htm?uid=4638384E449FF8FBF5F34DFD4D906853&bd_page_type=1&st=1&step=1&net=3&ldr=-1

2.      篝 is a bamboo basket/cage, in the story it is used to contain the fuel for fire to burn.

3.     盤鈴（盘玲）Pan ling is an instrument used for the music accompanying puppet show performances. Pictures: http://baike.baidu.com/view/221141.htmv

4.    蘭（兰）花指 or “orchid flower fingers” is a hand pose that is used to be a masculine gesture. The pose evolved overtime to become feminine, or displayed in opera show performances.

Pictures here: http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E5%85%B0%E8%8A%B1%E6%8C%87

5.       三尺 or 3 feet (Chinese unit) is modernly defined as 1/3 meter, so 3 feet = 1 meter.

6.   “萬事入歌吹”,“ 唱別久悲不成悲” I’m not sure if I grasped the meaning of these 2 phrases here correctly, just to note. The translations for these may be incorrect.

7.       I’m not too sure what 葳蕤 means in this context. In ancient writings this adjective is used to illustrate how plants hanging their branches down in clusters.

8.    煙（烟）波, according to Baidu, is used to describe the mist above the surface of the lake, but I’m guessing in this case it means the smoke from the fire. 

Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than the pinyin annotations and translations.


EDIT (4/11/2018):- Changes made to translation based on audience input