Year Fri, 2012-01-20 12:00 Translation By Li Qi (690-751) 李頎 A Lute Song 琴歌 Our hosthas gathered the wine—a joyous night tonight 主人有酒歡今夕 Our guest, a “Guangling” virtuoso—we ask he playsome tunes on his lute 請奏鳴琴廣陵客 The moon reflectsabove the citywhile crows fly one-by-one 月照城頭烏半飛 Desolate frostthousands of treesthe wind goes through our clothes 霜淒萬樹風入衣 A copper furnace—the candle splendidlyshines in brilliance 銅鑪華燭燭增輝 At first our guest, he playsthe “Lu River” tuneand then “The Concubine of Chu” 初彈淥水後楚妃 And at first soundeverything stopsand all is calm 一聲已動物皆靜 In all four cornersnot a word is spokentill stars thin out 四座無言星欲稀 Here at the River Huai, pure—sent on ordersover hundreds of miles 清淮奉使千餘里 Do I dare resignamong the mountains and clouds,and begin anew? 敢告雲山從此始 Notes: 1. Last verse: from that moment, the poet started to contemplate about resigning. Cloud and mountain represent nature and a peaceful secluded life.2. Listening to the music, enjoying some wine, reading poems, embraced in the nature, free from pressure, this is a life most ancient scholars crave for. However, with ambitions to serve the emperor/the general public, most ancient poets were in a dilemma. Original Chinese Traditional Simplified Pronunciation 李頎 李颀 Li qí 琴歌 琴歌 Qín gē 主人有酒歡今夕， 主人有酒欢今夕， Zhǔ rén yǒu jiǔ huān jīn xī, 請奏鳴琴廣陵客。 请奏鸣琴广陵客。 Qǐng zòu míng qín guǎng líng kè. 月照城頭烏半飛， 月照城头乌半飞， Yuè zhào chéng tóu wū bàn fēi, 霜淒萬樹風入衣； 霜凄万树风入衣; Shuāng qī wàn shù fēng rù yī; 銅鑪華燭燭增輝， 铜炉华烛烛增辉， Tóng lú huá zhú zhú zēng huī, 初彈淥水後楚妃。 初弹渌水后楚妃。 Chū tán lù shuǐ hòu chǔ fēi. 一聲已動物皆靜， 一声已动物皆静， Yì shēng yǐ dòng wù jiē jìng, 四座無言星欲稀。 四座无言星欲稀。 Sì zuò wú yán xīng yù xī. 清淮奉使千餘里， 清淮奉使千余里， Qīng huái fèng shǐ qiān yú lǐ, 敢告雲山從此始。 敢告云山从此始。 Gǎn gào yún shān cóng cǐ shǐ. Literal Translation 李頎 Plum Tall&Slim = Li Qi(690-751) 琴歌 Lute song 主人有酒歡今夕， Host/lord people have wine happy/joyous today night[Host/lord people=host], [today night= tonight] 請奏鳴琴廣陵客。 Please/ask play chime lute Broad Tomb guest[play chime lute= play the lute], [Broad Tomb guest= Guangling San is a famous lute piece, so here refers to the lute virtuoso] 月照城頭烏半飛， Moon shine/illuminate/reflects city top/end crows half fly[half fly= one after another] 霜淒萬樹風入衣； Frost sadden/desolate/dreary/bitter-cold/sad wan(10-thousand) trees wind enter clothes 銅鑪華燭燭增輝， Copper stove/furnace/fireplace brilliant/magificent/splendid candle/illuminate candle/shine add/increase bright/glory/brilliance 初彈淥水後楚妃。 At-first play Lu River next/after Chu Imperial-concubine[Lu River, Chu Imperial-concubine= two lute songs] 一聲已動物皆靜， One/first sound/tune already/stop/finish act/move things all quiet/still/calm 四座無言星欲稀。 Four seats/base no words stars desire sparse/rare [no words = to remain silent, have nothing to say] 清淮奉使千餘里， Clear/pure Huai receive(from superior) send-on-mission thousand extra/in-excess miles[Huai = Huai River，Li used to be an official in Xinxiang, He’nan Province, where Huai River was.][thousand extra miles= faraway from home] 敢告雲山從此始。 Dare tell cloud mountain from this begin[from this = from now on, henceforth] The notes, character table, and literal translation were prepared with the assistance of Liane Rui of Shanghai, China. Rating Select ratingGive it 1/5Give it 2/5Give it 3/5Give it 4/5Give it 5/5 No votes yet Rate