Dans les jardins du palais, la brise caresse les jeunes fleurs des lotus. Etendu parmi les coussins de soie qui diaprent la terrasse, l'Empereur se repose. Li-Si, la belle favorite, danse, plus légère que la première écharpe de brume, plus brillante que la première étoile. Elle vient de se coucher près du souverain. Ses paupières battent, ses hanches ondulent. Maintenant, elle baisse les yeux sous le regard impérial.
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, pages 99-100.
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Li-Si", appears in La flûte de jade [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Li-Tai-Po (701 - 762) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Marie Marjori Hajary (1921 - 2017), "Li-'Si", 1950 [ voice, 2 flutes, viola and violoncello ], from Flûte de jade, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Armande de Polignac (1876 - 1962), "Li-Si", published 1922 [ medium voice and piano ], from La flûte de jade, no. 5, Genève, Éd. A. Henn, also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Armande de Polignac.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Judith Gautier (1845 - 1917) , "Ivresse d'amour", appears in Le livre de jade, 1902 edition, first published 1902 ; composed by Gabriel-André Fabre.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hans Bethge (1876 - 1946) , "Liebestrunken", appears in Die chinesische Flöte ; composed by Max Ast, Henriëtte Bosmans, Hans Ebert, Maria Herz, Artur Immisch, Leonard Pieter Joseph Michielsen, Franz Moser, Julius Röntgen.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Li-Si", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-02-19
Line count: 10
Word count: 68
Gently the breezes caress the buds and the leaves of the lotus flowers that are his. On the silken cushions so soft and bright his majesty reposes on the shady terrace. Behold Li-Si, the lovely little dancer! See how lightly she dances like a scarf of white vapour, far more brilliant than the first star of morning. Now she lingers to be wooed by her gracious lord. See her eyelids tremble, her breast softly quivers. Now behold how her beautiful eyes droop under his imperial gaze.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Li-Si", appears in La flûte de jade
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Li-Tai-Po (701 - 762) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Armande de Polignac (1876 - 1962), "Li-Si", published 1922 [ medium voice and piano ], from La flûte de jade, no. 5, Genève, Éd. A. Henn, also set in French (Français) [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-02-19
Line count: 10
Word count: 86