Five Chinese Poems

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by Manuel M. Ponce (1883 - 1948)

View original-language texts alone: Cinco poemas chinos

1. Les deux flûtes
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Un soir que je respirais le parfum des fleurs 
au bord de la rivière,
le vent m'apporta la chanson d'une flûte lointaine.
Pour lui répondre, je coupai une branche de saule,
et la chanson de ma flûte berça la nuit charmée.
Depuis ce soir-là, tous les jours, 
à l'heure où la campagne s'endort,
les oiseaux entendent se répondre
deux oiseaux inconnus,
dont ils comprennent cependant le langage.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1. The Two Flutes
Language: English 
One evening when I was breathing the scent of the flowers
on the riverbank,
the wind carried to me the song of a distant flute.
To answer it, I cut a willow branch,
and the song of my flute lulled the enchanted night.
Since that evening, every day,
at the hour when the countryside falls asleep,
the birds hear calling back and forth 
two birds they do not know,
but whose language they still understand.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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.
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Translations of titles:
"Dialogue dans la nuit" = "Dialogue in the Night"
"Les 2 flûtes" = "The 2 Flutes"
"Les deux flûtes" = "The Two Flutes"


This text was added to the website: 2026-04-14
Line count: 10
Word count: 75

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. Petite fête
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Je prends un flacon de vin,
et je vais le boire parmi les fleurs.
Nous sommes toujours trois,
en comptant mon ombre et mon amie la lune brillante.
Heureusement que la lune ne sait pas boire
et que mon ombre n'a jamais soif !
Quand je chante, la lune m'écoute en silence.
Quand je danse, mon ombre danse aussi.
Après tout festin, les convives se séparent.
Je ne connais pas cette tristesse.
Lorsque je regagne ma demeure,
la lune m'accompagne et mon ombre me suit.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, pages 40-41.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
2. A Little Party
Language: English 
I take a flask of wine, 
and I go to drink it among the flowers. 
There are always three of us,
counting my shadow and my friend the bright moon. 
Happily the moon cannot drink
and my shadow is never thirsty. 
When I sing, the moon listens in silence. 
When I dance, my shadow dances too. 
After any banquet, the guests go their separate ways.
I do not know this sadness. 
When I return home, 
the moon comes with me and my shadow follows me.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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.
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This text was added to the website: 2026-04-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 85

Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. L'orage favorable
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Je maudissais la pluie qui faisait résonner mon toit
et m'empêchait de dormir.
 
Je maudissais le vent qui saccageait mon jardin.
 
Mais tu es arrivée !
 
Et j'ai remercié la pluie, puisque tu as dû ôter ta robe mouillé,
et j'ai remercié le vent, qui venait d'éteindre ma lampe.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 31.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
3. The Favorable Storm
Language: English 
I cursed the rain that was pounding on my roof
and keeping me from sleeping. 

I cursed the wind that was destroying my garden.

But you arrived!

And I thanked the rain, since you had to take off your wet robe,
and I thanked the wind, which had just put out my lamp.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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.
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This text was added to the website: 2026-04-12
Line count: 6
Word count: 53

Translation © by Grant Hicks
4. Nocturne
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Nonchalante, son luth à la main,
elle roulait le rideau de perles,
afin que l'odeur du printemps inondât sa chambre,
mais elle a vu la lune,
et c'est le chagrin qui est entré.
 
Le visage dans son bras replié,
elle évoque un jardin bleui de lune,
où elle entendit, jadis, des paroles d'amour.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, pages 82-83.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
4. Nocturne
Language: English 
Casually, with her lute in her hand,
she rolled up the curtain of pearls
to let the odor of springtime fill her room,
but she saw the moon,
and it was sorrow that entered.

With her face in the crook of her arm,
she recalls a garden blue in the moonlight
where once she heard words of love.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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.
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Translations of titles:
"Nocturne" = "Nocturne"
"Nocturne " = "Nocturne"


This text was added to the website: 2026-04-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 58

Translation © by Grant Hicks
5. La calamité
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Les feux du bivouac illuminent le ciel. 
La neige alourdit les étendards glacés.
Les cavaliers galopent dans la campagne.
Siao ! Siao ! Siao !
Le général en chef a reçu la tablette d'ivoire 
et pris congé de l'Empereur.
Voici revenu le temps oú le moindre guerrier 
est plus considéré qu'un illustre lettré !
Voici revenu le temps oú les mères 
et les épouses s'endorment, chaque soir, 
le visage tourné vers l'Est !
Les feux du bivouac illuminent le ciel.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
5. The Calamity
 (Sung text translation) See original
Language: English 
The fires of the encampment light up the sky. 
The snow weighs down the frozen banners. 
The horsemen gallop in the fields.
Siao ! Siao ! Siao !
The commanding general has received the ivory tablet
and been granted leave by the Emperor.
The time has come again when the humblest warrior
is more highly regarded than the most renowned scholar.
The time has come again when mothers
and wives go to sleep, every night,
with their faces turned towards the East.
The fires of the encampment light up the sky.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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: 

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This text was added to the website: 2026-04-27
Line count: 10
Word count: 78

Translation © by Grant Hicks