Chinese Poems from The Jade Flute

Translations © by Grant Hicks

by Jacqueline Despas (1893 - 1968)

View original-language texts alone: Poèmes Chinois Extraits de La Flûte de jade

1. Je me promenais  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
En files noirs, 
des oies sauvages traversent le ciel. 
On voit, dans les arbres, 
des nids abandonnés. 
Les montagnes semblent plus lourdes. 

J'ai trouvé près de ma fontaine, 
la flûte de jade 
que tu avais perdue, cet été. 
L'herbe haute l'avait soustraite à nos recherches. 

Mais l'herbe est morte, 
et la flûte brillait au soleil, ce soir. 
J'ai pensé à notre amour, 
qui est resté si longtemps 
enseveli sous nos scrupules.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1. I was walking
Language: English 
In black columns, 
the wild geese cross the sky. 
In the trees, one sees
abandoned nests. 
The mountains seem heavier. 

Next to my fountain I found 
the jade flute 
that you'd lost this summer. 
The high grass had hidden it from our searching. 

But the grass is dead, 
and this morning the flute was gleaming in the sun. 
I thought of our love, 
which has remained so long
buried beneath our misgivings.

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:
"Je me promenais" = "I was walking"
"La flûte de jade" = "The Jade Flute"



This text was added to the website: 2026-04-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 72

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. Notre bateau glisse  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Notre bateau glisse sur le fleuve calme.
Au delà du verger qui borde la rive,
je regarde les montagnes bleues et les nuages blancs.

Mon amie sommeille, la main dans l'eau.
Un papillon s'est posé sur son épaule,
a battu des ailes puis s'est envolé.

Je l'ai suivi des yeux, longtemps.
Il se dirigeait vers les montagnes de Tchang-nân.

Etait-ce un papillon, ou le rêve que venait de faire mon amie ?

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1922, pages 29-30.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
2. Our boat glides ..
Language: English 
Our boat glides on the placid river. 
Beyond the orchard that runs along the bank, 
I gaze at the blue mountains and the white clouds. 

My love dozes, her hand in the water.
A butterfly has landed on her shoulder,
flapped its wings then flown off.

I followed it with my eyes for a long time.
It was headed towards the Tchang-nân mountains.

Was it a butterfly, or the dream my love had just dreamed?

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: 2026-04-15
Line count: 9
Word count: 75

Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. Pourtant ...  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Cette promesse que vous m'aviez faite,
sous l'acacia en fleurs,  hier soir ? 
Mais, où est la rosée qui alourdissait les fleurs de l'acacia ?

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade ; poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1926, p.71.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
3. Even so...
Language: English 
That promise you'd made to me,
under the flowering acacia last night? 
But where is the dew that was weighing down the acacia flowers?

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: 2026-04-15
Line count: 3
Word count: 24

Translation © by Grant Hicks
4. Évocation  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Rapide, ma barque file.
Je contemple le fleuve.
Des nuages errent dans le ciel.
L'eau est aussi de la nuit claire.
Quand un nuage glisse sur la lune,
je le vois [glisser]1 sur le fleuve
et il me semble que je vogue en plein ciel.
Je pense à ma bien-aimée,
qui se mire ainsi dans mon cœur.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, pages 129-130.

1 Badings: "glisser aussi"

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
4. Evocation
Language: English 
Swiftly, my boat sails along.
I contemplate the river.
Clouds are roaming in the sky.
The water like the night glistens.
When a cloud glides across the moon,
I see it [gliding]1 across the river 
and I seem to be sailing in midair.
I think about my beloved,
who is likewise mirrored in my heart.

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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1 Badings: "gliding also"


This text was added to the website: 2026-04-09
Line count: 9
Word count: 56

Translation © by Grant Hicks
5. Vœu  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Nuit tiède, clair de lune, parfum des pruniers, 
donnez à ma bien-aimée un rêve délicieux ! 
Faites qu'elle soit impatiente de me revoir, et, 
qu'à l'aurore, elle vienne frapper à ma porte !

Parfum des pruniers, clair de lune, nuit tiède,
je saurai, par ses baisers, si vous m’avez entendu...

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade ; poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1922, page 129.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
5. Wish
Language: English 
Warm night, light of the moon, scent of the plum trees, 
give my beloved a delightful dream! 
Make her eager to see me again, so that, 
at dawn, she comes to knock at my door! 

Scent of the plum trees, light of the moon, warm night, 
I will know by her kisses whether you have heard 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: 6
Word count: 57

Translation © by Grant Hicks