飄零的落花 | Falling Flowers

作詞 (Lyricist)：劉雪庵 (Liu, Xue’an)

作曲 (Composer)：劉雪庵 (Liu, Xue’an)


〈第一段〉VERSE 1 想當日梢頭獨佔一枝春 嫩綠嫣紅何等媚人 想当日梢头独占一枝春 嫩绿嫣红何等媚人 xiǎng dāng rì shāo tóu dú zhàn yī zhī chūn nèn lǜ yān hóng hé děng mèi rén ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄉㄤ ㄖˋ ㄕㄠ ㄊㄡˊ ㄉㄨˊ ㄓㄢ ㄧ ㄓ ㄔㄨㄣ ㄋㄣˋ ㄌㄩ ㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄏㄜˊ ㄉㄥˇ ㄇㄟˋ ㄖㄣˊ Reminiscing on that day when a sole flower sprung forth from the tip of a branch, how charming was the tender green and bright red！ 不幸攀折慘遭無情手 未隨流水轉墮風塵 不幸攀折惨遭无情手 未随流水转堕风尘 bú xìng pān zhé cǎn zāo wú qíng shǒu wèi suí liú shuǐ zhuǎi duò fēng chén ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄆㄢ ㄓㄜ ㄘㄢˇ ㄗㄠ ㄨˊ ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄕㄡˇ ㄨㄟˋ ㄙㄨㄟˊ ㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄓㄨㄢˇ ㄉㄨㄛˋ ㄈㄥ ㄔㄣˊ How unfortunate that it was mercilessly snapped off by a ruthless hand, (falling) not onto flowing water but the dusty ground 〈第二段〉VERSE 2 莫懷薄倖惹傷心 落花無主任飄零 莫怀薄幸惹伤心 落花无主任飘零 mò huái bó xìng rě shāng xīn luò huā wú zhǔ rèn piāo líng ㄇㄛˋ ㄏㄨㄞˊ ㄅㄠˊ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄖㄜˇ ㄕㄤ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄨˊ ㄓㄨˇ ㄖㄣˋ ㄆㄧㄠ ㄌㄧㄥˊ Don't get hung up on (his) heartlessness, it would only result in grief. Without direction, falling flowers drift aimlessly 可憐鴻魚望斷無蹤影 向誰去嗚咽訴不平 可怜鸿鱼望断无踪影 向谁去呜咽诉不平 kě lián hóng yú wàng duàn wú zōng yǐng xiàng shéi qù wū yè sù bù píng ㄎㄜˇ ㄌㄧㄢˊ ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄩˊ ㄨㄤˋ ㄉㄨㄢˋ ㄨˊ ㄗㄨㄥ ㄧㄥˇ ㄒㄧㄤˋ ㄕㄨㄟˊ ㄑㄩˋ ㄨ ㄧㄢ ㄙㄨˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄆㄧㄥˊ Pity that the anticipated letters have stopped and vanished without a trace, to whom shall I sob to and tell of my despair?

〈第三段〉VERSE 3 乍辭枝頭別恨新 和風和淚舞盈盈 乍辞枝头别恨新 和风和泪舞盈盈 zhà cí zhī tóu bié hèn xīn hé fēng hé lèi wǔ yíng yíng ㄓㄚˋ ㄘˊ ㄓ ㄊㄡˊ ㄅㄧㄝˊ ㄏㄣˋ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄏㄜˊ ㄈㄥ ㄏㄜˊ ㄌㄟˋ ㄨˇ ㄧㄥˊ ㄧㄥˊ Suddenly and newly deprived from the branch, flower petals dance gracefully in the wind and tears 堪嘆世人未解儂辛苦 反笑紅雨落紛紛 堪叹世人未解侬辛苦 反笑红雨落纷纷 kān tàn shì rén wèi jiě nóng xīn kǔ fǎn xiào hóng yǔ luò fēn fēn ㄎㄢ ㄊㄢˋ ㄕˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄨㄟˋ ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄋㄨㄥˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄎㄨˇ ㄈㄢˇ ㄒㄧㄠˋ ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄩˇ ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄈㄣ ㄈㄣ Regrettably, the common person cannot comprehend my pain, but would only rather delight at the shower of red petals 〈第四段〉VERSE 4 願逐洪流葬此身 天涯何處是歸程 愿逐洪流葬此身 天涯何处是归程 yuàn zhú hóng liú zàng cǐ shēn tiān yá hé chù shì guī chéng ㄩㄢˋ ㄓㄨˊ ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄗㄤˋ ㄘˇ ㄕㄣ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄧㄚˊ ㄏㄜˊ ㄔㄨˇ ㄕˋ ㄍㄨㄟ ㄔㄥˊ I wish a flood would wash over me. At the end of the world, how could one ever find their way back? 讓玉消香逝無蹤影 也不求世間予同情 让玉消香逝无踪影 也不求世间予同情 ràng yù xiāo xiāng shì wú zōng yǐng yě bù qiú shì jiān yú tóng qíng ㄖㄤˋ ㄩˋ ㄒㄧㄠ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄕˋ ㄨˊ ㄗㄨㄥ ㄧㄥˇ ㄧㄝˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄧㄡˊ ㄕˋ ㄐㄧㄢ ㄩˊ ㄊㄨㄥˊ ㄑㄧㄥˊ Let the snow melt and the fragrance fade without a trace- I do not seek pity from anyone in the world

Translation Notes

While not the most well-known piece, this is nevertheless the work of the famous 劉雪庵 (Liu, Xue’an). Given that it was written in the 30’s, it’s quite dense in classical, literary prose, making it difficult to translate in brief. So, further elaboration is required for a few choice phrases:

  • 何等 in Verse 1: an adverb in this context meaning what or how as an exclamation with a close synonym of 多麼 e.g. 他們何等幸福啊! (How lucky they are!)

  • 鴻魚 in Verse 2: means “large fish” if translated literally, but refers to written letters. 鴻 has another meaning of swan/geese. It is said that geese and carp had the ability to deliver letters as couriers.

    Historical use of this metaphor also shows up in a Northern Song dynasty poem. Poet 晏殊 (991 - 1055) writes in 清平樂·紅箋小字 (Tranquil Song: Small Letters on Red Paper) with the first verse:

    紅箋小字，說盡平生意。鴻雁在雲魚在水，惆悵此情難寄。

    Small letters on red paper, they tell everything of our business together (love/relationship). Geese fly in the clouds and fish swim in the water. Sadly, these feelings are difficult to send

    The poem strongly ties geese and fish to “written letters”, showing the historical provenance of this concept.

  • 和風和淚 in Verse 3 Exhibits an interesting choice of words. Rather than go with a more normal sounding 和風和雨 (with the wind and rain), the author substituted the word “rain” with “tears”. This helps further reinforce the metaphor of the flower being the singer/aggrieved lover.

  • 玉消 in Verse 4: 玉消 “jade disappearing” means “ice and snow” melting. The original use of this metaphor comes from the Tang dynasty poem 寒溪 (Winter Creek) by 孟郊 Meng Jiao (751 ─ 814).

    Specifically, the line 玉消花滴滴，虯解光鱗鱗 As the jade (ice and snow) disappears, the flowers drip (water), sparkling in the light like the scales of a dragon



愛江山更愛美人 | The Bold and The Beautiful »
comments powered by Disqus