Days Wane | Sun wanes, day declines

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Translation © by Kairui (Kerry) Zhou

式微

Language: Chinese (中文)

Our translations: ENG

式微，式微，
胡不归？
微君之故，
胡为乎中露？

式微，式微，
胡不归？
微君之躬，
胡为乎泥中？

Notes from the researcher (Kairui Zhou): The text is from 诗经 (Classic [Collection] of Poems), a collection created between the 11th and 7th centuries BCE (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic_of_Poetry [wikipedia] ). The source website was https://so.gushiwen.cn/gushi/shijing.aspx. This type of ancient Chinese is written in an unbroken series of characters, without modern punctuation, but the editor of the website has added punctuation to provide a more structural feeling. We have changed the formatting to allow the English translation to appear in parallel.

Text Authorship:

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, appears in Shi Jing (or Schi-King) - Classic of Poetry - Book of Songs -- Book of Odes -- Chinesische Liederbuch [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "式微" [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Kairui (Kerry) Zhou) , "Days Wane", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Kairui (Kerry) Zhou

This text was added to the website: 2024-03-06
Line count: 8
Word count: 8

Days Wane

Language: English after the Chinese (中文)

Sun wanes, day declines,
Why can’t we return home?
[If not] for the emperor, 
Why would I still be working, lingering in the dews?!

Sun wanes, day declines,
Why can’t we return home?
[If not] for the lord’s well-being,
Why would I still be working, sinking in the mud?!

Translator's note: This specific poem is extremely popular, as it’s required to be recited by middle schoolers in China.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Chinese (中文) to English copyright © 2024 by Kairui (Kerry) Zhou, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Chinese (中文) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , appears in Shi Jing (or Schi-King) - Classic of Poetry - Book of Songs -- Book of Odes -- Chinesische Liederbuch
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-03-06
Line count: 8
Word count: 49