东风夜放花千树，
更吹落，
星如雨。
宝马雕车香满路。
凤箫声动，
玉壶光转，
一夜鱼龙舞。

蛾儿雪柳黄金缕，
笑语盈盈暗香去。
众里寻他千百度，
蓦然回首，
那人却在，
灯火阑珊处。

Evening falls with east-breeze blowing,
Lanterns glow like myriad trees blossoming,
Fireworks sparkle like a million stars falling.
Streets filled with fragrance, with carved carriages passing by.
Wafting flutes fluttering,
Jade lights illuminating,
Fishes and dragons danced all night.

Adorned with butterfly, snow willow, and golden threads,
beauties are giggling, and passing with faint fragrances floating
In the throngs, time and again,
I searched for my sweetheart in vain,
Suddenly I turned back, she was just there,
All alone under the dimming festival light.

Notes provided by Shun Yan:

Title: "The Lantern Festival" is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar Chinese calendar, during the full moon. The lanterns are almost always red to symbolize good fortune.

"Green Jade Table" : Cí (pronounced [tsʰǐ]; Chinese: 詞) is a type of lyric poetry in the tradition of Classical Chinese poetry that also draws upon folk traditions. The rhythmic and tonal pattern of the cí are based upon certain, definitive musical song tunes (cípái), and in many cases the name of the musical tune is given in the title of a cí piece, in a form such as "after the tune of Green Jade Table. " The underlying songs are generally lost or uncertain.

Author: Xin Qiji(1140-1207) was a Chinese calligrapher, military general, and poet during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) in China. Xin Qiji aimed his life at recovering the lost northern territories and contributing to his country. Unfortunately, Xin was ill-fated and repressed, failed to realize his ambitions. However, Xin never shook his patriotic resolve, and put all his enthusiasm and worries about national destiny to the creation of poetry.

Stanza 1, line 6 - a metaphor for the brightening full moon; also could refer to decorated streetlights.

Stanza 1, line 7 - referring to dragon- or fish-shaped lanterns moving around the crowds.

Stanza 2, line 1 - the ancient Chinese adornments for women in the lantern festival.

Text Authorship:

• Translation from Chinese (中文) to English copyright © 2023 by Shun Yan, (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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Based on:

• a text in Chinese (中文) by Xin Qiji (1140 - 1207), "青玉案·元夕"
  • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2023-02-13
Line count: 13
Word count: 84