long darkness — cháng yīn 长喑 translation
cháng yīn 长喑 // long darkness
a fan-made song on Xiao Jingyan. I have always been a Mei Changsu over XJY person, but this song from his pov really worked for me and let me see the weightedness of XJY's crown, so I wanted to share it with more.
song link in comment below. (bilibili . com / video / av10441457/)
长剑出鞘冷锋芒 十三载意难忘
缓歌曼舞九重宫 朔风黄沙麾旗扬
手足血脉埋青冢 挚友良弓唯锈藏
岂能折腰屈膝没忠良
the long sword unsheathes from the scabbard, its cool blade revealed. thirteen years, and hard it is to forget.
leisured, soothing melodies with graceful dances at the ninefold palace; north wind and yellow sand with the billowing ensign in the desert. *[1]
brothers-in-arms and brothers in blood in tombs buried, graves long covered in grass; dear friends and cherished bow stored away, now left only to rust —
how is one to bend and kneel, and bury the names of the honourable and the good?
挑灯不眠千军帐 逐千里护家邦
玉壶冰心铁骨铮 扬眉冷看覆风浪
当时少年且横枪 凝尽碧血守四方
守国土河山定国安邦
light a lamp through the unrested nights at the commander’s tent; repel foes a thousand miles, and shield the kingdom.
nobility and aspirations stayed true to, bones of steel resounding. head high, brows lifted, he coolly looks to the tempestuous, overturning storms. *[2]
the youth of the past still danced their spears: blood of the honourable, thoroughly consecrated, defends the four corners of their homeland,
guarding rivers and hills to secure peace of the kingdom’s earth.
(念白:我不要求你能理解,什么是军人铁血,什么是战场狼烟,但有些人,不能伤害,有些事,不能利用。如果连那些血战沙场的将士都不懂得尊重,我萧景琰绝不与你为伍,清楚了吗?)
V/O — I do not expect you to understand a soldier’s honour or the smoke signals on the battlefield. But there are some people you cannot hurt, some things you cannot manipulate. If you cannot even respect the soldiers dying at the battlefront, I, Xiao Jingyan, will never work with you. Do you understand?
铁马金戈谈笑并辔封疆 几回魂梦
凤阙深深夜雨潇潇数闻铃
鸿儒谈笑对面不知相逢 唯知君臣纲
音容早已远谁知苍凉
armoured horses and metal spears, riding in parallel in friendly chatters at the borderlands — how many times has the soul dreamt thus?
depths of the palace, whistling of the nightly rain, a few stray rings of the bells. *[3]
an erudite scholar, now sat opposite in small smiles converse, yet know not to reunite. what leaves is the etiquette of lords and lieges. *[4]
voice and countenance long since distanced — who is to know the desolation and vicissitudes concealed?
谈笑自若朝堂对气轩昂 霁月风光
风云激荡历艰辛终执牙璋
漫漫更鼓朱笔落夜未央 提笔写兴亡
四顾怅惘余音且绕梁
composed in dialogue and pleasantries, assured and imposing at court. he is noble and virtuous as the bright moon and warm breeze.
wading through the unpredictable winds and turmoils, zhang sceptre of jade at last in hand.
drums signifying the night hours sound, red comments from the emperor’s brush move through the boundless night yet to end. a lift of the brush, and prosperities and declines are writ. *[5]
pensive and lost he looks to four sides. remnants of past sounds remain, resonating through the beams of the palace.
(verse 2)
潜龙在渊敛锋芒 风雷动引龙翔
风云际会参参商 瞰天下世道无常
掌中龙渊凛如霜 立丹陛守盛世长
祭酒未凉叹谁人共觞
like a submerged dragon in the abyss, he enshrouds his splendour. wind and thunder call his wings to flight. *[6]
in the winds and clouds, he engages in the tumult of the Shen and Shang constellations. from above he looks down at the fickleness of the world.
in his hands, the abyss of the dragon is cold as frost; he stands at the red stairway before the imperial palace, and overlooks an everlasting prosperity.
the wine offering to the dead is yet to cool — I sigh, who is to drink with me?
袖手天下为帝王 垂衣且驭八荒
气宇舒金殿垂拱 揽尽山河只手倾
长歌挽弓射天狼 潜龙一朝御风翔
乾坤日月昭天下清朗
hands folded in sleeves, he gazes at the kingdom before him. as emperor he rules from his attire and directs even the most distant lands. *[7]
with poised air he commands the court, hands held together; the entirety of the kingdom shifts with a tilt of his hand. *[7]
sing high and long; draw your bow to the invading Sirius. the submerged dragon one morn rises to ride the winds. *[8]
heaven and earth, and sun and moon clears, and the world before brightens.
铁马金戈谈笑并辔封疆 几回魂梦
凤阙深深夜雨潇潇数闻铃
鸿儒谈笑对面不知相逢 唯知君臣纲
音容已故徒一身沧桑
armoured horses and metal spears, riding in parallel in friendly chatters at the borderlands — how many times has the soul dreamt thus?
depths of the palace, whistling of the nightly rain, a few stray rings of the bells. *[3]
an erudite scholar, now sat opposite in small smiles converse, yet know not to reunite. what leaves is the etiquette of lords and lieges. *[4]
voice and countenance already bygone, all but a body of desolation remains.
谈笑自若朝堂对气轩昂 霁月风光
风云激荡历艰辛终执牙璋
漫漫更鼓朱笔落夜未央 提笔写兴亡
从此立龙城孤守八方
composed in dialogue and pleasantries, assured and imposing at court. he is noble and virtuous as the bright moon and warm breeze.
having waded through the unpredictable winds and turmoils, zhang sceptre of jade at last in hand.
drums signifying the night hours sound, red comments from the emperor’s brush move through the boundless night yet to end. a lift of the brush, and prosperities and declines are writ. *[5]
from forth he establishes himself in the imperial city of dragons. alone, he awatches the eight corners of his realm. *[9]
Extra notes
for those keen on classical chinese and literature allusions
I’ve cited some allusions and references I was reminded of as I listened to the song. These are subjective, my knowledge of classical texts is very limited, take everything with a grain of salt and please do comment if you’d like to supplement any information.
[1] 缓歌曼舞九重宫 朔风黄沙麾旗扬 — 《长恨歌》 白居易 The Song of Everlasting Regret, by Bai Juyi
缓歌曼舞: from “缓歌慢舞凝丝竹”. This is at the start of the romance tale, where the palace is in carefree bliss and prosperity.
slow and graceful songs / slow dances / slowly the music of the strings and the bamboo reverberate in step with the dances.
朔风黄沙麾旗扬: might be a stretch; I was reminded of “黄埃散漫风萧索”. This is from the same poem as above, we are one fourth in here, and it talks of a war.
yellow dust, scattered, drifts through the air. the bleak wind howls.
[2] 玉壶冰心铁骨铮 — 《芙蓉楼送辛渐》 王昌龄 Bidding Xin Jian farewell at Furong Tower by Wang Changling
玉壶冰心: from “洛阳亲友如相问,一片冰心在玉壶”
if the relatives and friends from Luoyang ask, tell them that my noble intentions are unchanged; a heart of ice in the vase of jade.
[3] 凤阙深深夜雨潇潇数闻铃 — 《长恨歌》 白居易 The Song of Everlasting Regret, by Bai Juyi
夜雨潇潇数闻铃: again could be a stretch; I was reminded of “夜雨闻铃肠断声” from the same poem as [1]. (don’t ask me why, this entire song is infused with this piece it feels). This talks of the same romance tale, in which the emperor mourns the death of his beloved.
in the nightly rain, the sound of the bells could be heard. it sounds as sorrowful and agonising as the breaking of intestines.
[4] 鸿儒谈笑对面不知相逢 唯知君臣纲 — 《陋室铭》 刘禹锡 An Inscription of the Humble Abode by Liu Yuxi; 《江城子》 苏轼 Jiang Cheng Zi, by Su Shi
鸿儒谈笑: from "谈笑有鸿儒,往来无白丁" credits to @fwoopersongs because my brain happily omitted it!
well-learnt scholars congregate in joyous talk, traversing there is no uncouth and unread.
不知相逢: there are many poems on this topic, one of the most notable ones would be “纵使相逢应不识,尘满面,鬓如霜。”
even if we met (Su Shi and his deceased wife), you should not be able to recognise me. dust covers my face, and the hair of my temples is white as frost.
[5] 漫漫更鼓朱笔落夜未央 — 《长恨歌》 白居易 The Song of Everlasting Regret, by Bai Juyi (added in edit)
漫漫更鼓: Okay, "迟迟钟鼓初长夜" immediately came to mind when I saw this phrase, but I went like here's too many footnotes already and thought it was too much of a stretch to put in (there's only one word in common!). Then I looked into the original poem, in which the timely bi-hour rings of the drum felt lengthened because of the emperor's agony over losing his loved one -- and so I went like, okay, this is relevant, I actually need to add this in.
the drums reporting the hour of the night come late, and it is early in the long night.
漫漫 meaning endless, without an end in sight. This echoes the sentiments of the emperor in Bai Juyi's poem in feeling that the night is everlasting and without end.
[6] 潜龙在渊敛锋芒 — 《易经》 Yi Jing, the Book of Changes
潜龙: There’s an awful lot of “submerged dragon” metaphors in this stanza. Technically it's a figurative "talents hidden dragon" rather than literally, under the waters. This is from Yi Jing essentially, a super old book on divination that does have some wisdom of old sayings in it. The submerged dragon talks of how the dragon, currently veiled, is a powerful being simply not revealed to worldly eyes yet, and is waiting for opportunity to strike (more like, soar, in this context). These lyrics parallel Xiao Jingyan with the allusion to talk about how he stayed silent for thirteen years before his time of brilliance.
[7] 袖手天下为帝王 垂衣且驭八荒 / 气宇舒金殿垂拱 揽尽山河只手倾 — Taoism concept
Okie this is super complicated and involves a Taoism context, some history from the beginning emperors of the Han dynasty, and a very enthusiastic Emperor Taizong of Tang; I don’t really know how to go about this.
袖手, 垂衣驭八荒, 垂拱, these all lead to the same concept, and the middle chunk in particular is from a poem written by Emperor Taizong of Tang. Theory suggested by Laozi and Zhuangzi of Taoism, overall it talks of inaction, which is action the emperors at the start of the Han dynasty employed. They demanded less of their citizens and let the economy recover naturally (agriculture and such), and since these policies worked, the starting few Han emperors were regarded highly with this kind of purposeful and benevolent “inaction”.
In short, this song here uses these descriptions to talk of Jingyan as a competent and masterful leader.
[8] 长歌挽弓射天狼 — 《江城子·密州出猎》 苏轼 Hunting outside Mizhou (yet another Jiang Cheng Zi), by Su Shi
挽弓射天狼: from “会挽雕弓如满月,西北望,射天狼。”
I shall draw my carved bow like the full-moon, point towards the northwest, and shoot in the direction of the intruders.
天狼 means Sirius star. In chinese astronomy/astrology it was somewhat related to evilness, hence the use of Sirius to denote intruders.
[9] 从此立龙城孤守八方
I just added this this is not a reference it just really reminds me of this fanfiction oneshot 此生一诺 (this life, a pledge)! It talks about XJY at the end of everything, he draws a circle about the ground and entraps himself with the promise he made to see the world a better place under his reign (from the chinese idiom 画地为牢). I recced the oneshot here if you wish to check it out.
arghhh the entire course of me writing the tl was me going oh goodness why is there yet another footnote but I’m glad to be done for now.
Like, goodness. There is not one “he” or “him” reference in the lyrics. I would love to do the same, but you can see me getting more and more resigned towards the end of the translation.
I am sooo inclined to passive voice and invert subjects for every sentence when it comes to translations, I realise, and I apologise for the almost-signature abundance of semicolons and em dashes in the translation (I blame it on the difference in punctuation nuances. — I subconsciously use semicolons for semi-parallel sentence structures, so you can spot out imperfect couplets that way.) Massive respect to all those who translate, because easy is it to hatch out a crude translation in five minutes, it is not treading about the delicate balance between literal and metaphorical, and in all honesty I feel that it is just way easier for me to write literal once, then go off the rails and do super-figurative for the other.
There are far more annotations and word definitions I’d like to add (I could literally do a classical text/poetry meta for every word lmao), but evidently, time constraints, and truthfully it would take forever to complete, so on a “ask me and I’ll try to elaborate” basis again.
The V/O — I’d love to make it more archaic, but the dialogue from the drama in this part was so modern apologies I’m sort of disappointed with the translation over here.
Re: song title. Yes, it sounds a little weird, excuse that.
I considered other translations for the song title, but none of them really gave the impression I really wanted. Words like “eternal” and “everlasting” were too permanent, I wanted to express the idea of the darkness being lengthened, yet with Jingyan’s reign it would come to an end, hence my hesitance. “Continual” is one I fiddled with: it did not give the same curt, direct feeling as “long” however, so in the end I just ended up with the simplest title.
40 notes
·
View notes
彼此相愛,但不要有愛的關係:寧願這份愛在心靈像海般流動。
Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the souls.
╔╗╔╦╗╔╦══╦═╗
║╚╝║║║║╔═║╚╣
║╔╗║╚╝║╚╝╠╗║
╚╝╚╩══╩══╩═╝
就像月亮一樣,我們必須經歷空虛的階段,才能再次感到圓滿。
And like the moon, we must go through phases of emptiness to feel full again.
And then ~
Hello, Master Gibran who is far away in heaven, I must say frankly: this is a great "ideal", it is almost "fraternity", the "love of humanity" beyond common sense, I am in awe and learn its part Spirit, but I don't want to do it, and I don't want to carry that sacred love again! Private love is private, I don't want to share it with others, and I'm not a dog who wears a crown and goes around making love and preaching "love is freedom"! ─ Your rebel student - Chu Lan
(你好,遠在天堂的紀伯倫大師,我必須坦承的說:這是種偉大的"理想",它幾近乎已然是"博愛",超越常理的"人性之愛",我敬畏且學習它的部分精神,但我不要做到,也不想再度承載那份神聖的愛! 私密的愛就是私密的,我不願意與他人分享,我又不是戴著王冠到處做愛卻闡揚"愛是自由"的狗! ─ 你的反叛學生-朱蘭。)
╭∩╮Fucking LOVE ღ˘⌣˘ღ
對於愛情 On Love - KAHLIL GIBRAN 紀伯倫 -
艾蜜特拉說,跟我們說說「愛」吧。他抬起頭,看著眾人,人們悄然無聲。他大聲說道:
當愛情召喚你,跟隨它,即使它的路途艱險又陡峭;當愛的翅膀擁抱你,順從它,即使它藏在翼梢的利劍可能傷了你;當愛情對你說話,相信它,即使它的聲音可能粉碎你的夢,如同北風將花園吹得荒蕪。
因為愛為你加冕時,也能把你釘上十字架;它呵護你的成長時,也會修剪你的枝葉;它爬上你的梢頭、輕撫你在陽光下微微顫動的嫩枝時,也會伏在你的根部,搖晃緊抓泥土的樹根。
愛採集你,好比收割麥穀;愛鞭打你,使你赤身露體;愛將你過篩,使你脫去榖殼。愛將你磨成潔白的麵粉,揉捏你,直至你成為柔軟的麵糰,然後將你放進它神聖的火焰中,使你成為聖餐中的聖餅。
愛會對你做這些事,使你明白自我心靈的祕密,進而成為生命本質的一部分。但是,如果恐懼使你只願追尋愛的平靜與歡愉,那倒不如遮掩你的赤裸,離開愛的打穀場,走入四季不分的世界。在那裡,你將歡笑,但無法盡興,你將流淚,卻無法盡情哭泣。
愛只付出自己,也只犧牲自己。愛不是占有,也無人能據為己有。因為愛就是圓滿自足;當你愛的時候,不要說「神在我心中」,應該說「我在神心中」;不要以為你可以主導愛的路徑,因為如果愛認為你值得,它自然會為你帶路。
愛別無他求,只想圓滿自己。但如果你心中有愛,又必有渴望,那就祈求這些吧:
願心柔軟,像奔流的小溪,對著夜晚吟唱它的旋律。願了解過多溫柔帶來的痛苦。願自己因領悟愛而受傷,並且心甘情願地淌血。願在黎明醒來時心情飛揚,感謝又有一天可以去愛;在中午歇息時,冥想愛的狂喜;在傍晚回家時,滿懷感激之情;然後在心裡為所愛的人禱告,並唱著讚美歌,安然入睡。
然後,艾蜜特拉又問,大師,那麼「婚姻」呢?他回答說:
你們一起出生,也將終生廝守。當死亡的白翼撲散你們的生命時,你們仍必相守。是的,即使在神靜默的記憶裡,你們也將同在。
但是,請在你們相依的世界中保留些許空間,讓天堂的微風在你們之間舞動。彼此相愛,但不要讓愛成為枷鎖,讓愛像是你倆靈魂海岸之間流動的海洋;斟滿彼此的杯子,但不要同飲一杯;彼此餵食麵包,但不要同吃一塊;一起唱歌舞蹈,快樂逍遙,但也要各自獨處保有自我。好比魯特琴的琴弦,雖因同一首樂曲振動,卻是各自獨立。
奉獻你們的心,但不要交由對方保管,因為只有生命之手才能包容你們的心。你們要站在一起,但不要靠得太近,因為柱子必須各自矗立,才足以支撐神殿,如同橡樹和柏樹無法在彼此的陰影下成長。
Then said Almitra, “Speak to us of Love.”
And he raised his head and looked upon the people,
and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And When his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And When he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays
waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest
branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to
the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire,
that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you
that you may know the secrets of your heart,
and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness
and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh,
but not all of your laughter,
and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say,
“God is in my heart,”
but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”
And think not you can direct the course of love,
for love, if it finds you worthy,
directs your course.
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another
day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart
and a song of praise upon your lips.
Then Almitra spoke again and said, “And what of Marriage,
master?” And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness.
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the
same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
82 notes
·
View notes