by Li Shangyin (c813 - c858)
Translation by Harold Witter Bynner (1881 - 1968)
錦瑟
Language: Chinese (中文)
錦瑟無端五十絃， 一絃一柱思華年。 莊生曉夢迷蝴蝶， 望帝春心託杜鵑。 滄海月明珠有淚， 藍田日暖玉生煙。 此情可待成追憶， 只是當時已惘然。
Text Authorship:
- by Li Shangyin (c813 - c858), "錦瑟" [author's text checked 1 time 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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Witter Bynner (1881 - 1968) , "The inlaid harp", appears in The Jade Mountain, first published 1929 ; composed by John Beckwith.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-22
Line count: 8
Word count: 8
The inlaid harp
Language: English after the Chinese (中文)
I wonder why my inlaid harp has fifty strings, Each with its flower-like fret an interval of youth. ...The sage Chuangzi is day-dreaming, bewitched by butterflies, The spring-heart of Emperor Wang is crying in a cuckoo, Mermen weep their pearly tears down a moon-green sea, Blue fields are breathing their jade to the sun.... And a moment that ought to have lasted for ever Has come and gone before I knew.
Text Authorship:
- by Harold Witter Bynner (1881 - 1968), "The inlaid harp", appears in The Jade Mountain, first published 1929 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Li Shangyin (c813 - c858), "錦瑟"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by John Beckwith (1927 - 2022), "The inlaid harp", 1947 [ high voice and piano ], from Five Lyrics of the T'ang Dynasty, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-22
Line count: 8
Word count: 71