by Han Yu (768 - 824)
Translation by Launcelot Alfred Cranmer-Byng (1872 - 1945)
Still moonlight floods the inner gallery
Language: English after the Chinese (中文)
Still moonlight floods the inner gallery, Where the japonica sets fluttering Her silvered petals. Languidly I rise, and let my absent glance Fall where the shadows of the swing Over the door-step dance. I am possessed By spring's rough humid winds that penetrate The silken curtains of my lonely state, And cannot rest, For all my sorrow. During the night I hear the heavy rain Crash on the lotus pool afar. To-morrow! ah to-morrow! The little boat lies swamped that I would fain Have steered in search of the golden nenuphar.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Launcelot Alfred Cranmer-Byng (1872 - 1945), "Disappointment", appears in A Feast of Lanterns, first published 1916 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Han Yu (768 - 824) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "The golden nenuphar", published 1920 [ voice and piano ], from Songs from the Chinese Poets: Set III, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Emerson Whithorne (1884 - 1958), "The golden nenuphar", op. 34 no. 2, published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Two Chinese Nocturnes, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-01-18
Line count: 16
Word count: 91