Prostrate before the Buddhist virgin

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Prosternée devant la vierge bouddhiste

Language: French (Français) after the Chinese (中文)

Our translations: ENG

Prosternée devant la vierge bouddhiste,
si pitoyable aux malheureux,
je ne lui demande pas de me faire renaître
ou de me garder dans le Paradis,
mais je la supplie de laisser tomber sur ma tête
une des gouttes de rosée
qui tremblent au bout de sa branche de saule,
afin que je devienne un lotus,
qu’il cueillera peut-être.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade, poésies chinoises, Paris, L'édition d'art H. Piazza, 1920, page 190.

Text Authorship:

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Inscription sur un tombeau", subtitle: "de la montagne Fou-Kiou", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Chinese (中文) by Tsao Chang Ling (1719 - 1763) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Marguerite Canal (1890 - 1978), "Inscription sur un tombeau de la montagne Fou-Kiou", 1922, published 1924 [ high voice and piano ], from La flûte de jade, mélodies chinoises, no. 6, Paris, Éditions Musicales d'Art Maxime Jamin [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2017-02-07
Line count: 9
Word count: 58

Prostrate before the Buddhist virgin

Language: English after the French (Français)

Prostrate before the Buddhist virgin,
so full of pity for the unfortunate,
I do not ask her to grant me rebirth
or to keep me in Paradise,
but I entreat her to let fall on my head
one of the dewdrops
that tremble at the tip of her willow branch,
so that I may turn into a lotus,
which perhaps he will pick.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Inscription sur un tombeau" = "Inscription on a Tomb"
"Inscription sur un tombeau de la montagne Fou-Kiou" = "Inscription on a Tomb on Mount Fou-Kiou"

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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Inscription sur un tombeau", subtitle: "de la montagne Fou-Kiou", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Chinese (中文) by Tsao Chang Ling (1719 - 1763) [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-04-14
Line count: 9
Word count: 63