絲桐合為琴， 中有太古聲。 古聲澹無味， 不稱今人情。 玉徽光彩滅， 朱弦塵土生。 廢棄來已久， 遺音尚泠泠。 不辭為君彈， 縱彈人不聽。 何物使之然， 羌笛與秦箏。
Confirmed with Peng Dingqiu 彭定求 (ed.). Quan Tang shi 全唐詩 (Complete Tang Poems), Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985.
Text Authorship:
- by Bai Juyi (772 - 846), "廢琴" [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 Arthur Waley (1889 - 1969) , "The Old Harp", appears in A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems, first published 1918 ; composed by Benjamin Britten.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Jonathan Leathwood
This text was added to the website: 2025-04-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 12
Of cord and cassia-wood is the [harp]1 compounded; Within it lie ancient melodies. Ancient melodies -- weak and savourless, Not appealing to present men’s taste. Light and colour are faded from the jade stops: Dust has covered the rose-red strings. Decay and ruin came to it long ago, But the sound that is left is still cold and clear. I do not refuse to play it, if you want me to: But even if I play, people will not listen. How did it come to be neglected so? Because of the Ch'iang flute and the [Ch'in flageolet]2.
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View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Arthur Waley, A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems, London: Constable, 1918.
Note: in Arthur Waley's book, the final line has the following footnote: "Barbarous modern instruments".
1 Britten: "lute"2 Britten: "zithern of Ch'in"
Text Authorship:
- by Arthur Waley (1889 - 1969), "The Old Harp", appears in A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems, first published 1918 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Bai Juyi (772 - 846), "廢琴"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The Old Lute", op. 58 no. 2 (1957) [ tenor and guitar ], from Songs from the Chinese, no. 2, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Jonathan Leathwood
This text was added to the website: 2014-11-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 99