La brise vient d'accourir. Cet arbre a des frissons de jeune fille amoureuse. Des poissons luisants sautent à la surface du lac. Des pétales de lotus vont à la dérive, avec des équipages de papillons. Je me demande si ma femme se doute que je ne suis pas à mes affaires. . .
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 96.
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Ki Fong" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Tschang-So-Su (1428 - 1473) [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 Marius-François Gaillard (1900 - 1973), "Ki-Fong", published 1926 [ voice and piano ], from Quatre mélodies chinoises, no. 3, Paris : Choudens [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre, Baron de Maurice (1868 - 1936), "Ki-Fong", op. 36 no. 4 (1925-1926), published [1927] [ voice and piano ], from La flûte de jade: Sept Poésies chinoises traduites par Franz Toussaint, no. 4, London, Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by Armande de Polignac (1876 - 1962), "Ki-Fong", published 1922 [ medium voice and piano ], from La flûte de jade, no. 6, 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.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Ki Fong", 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: 7
Word count: 53
The breeze is fanning my brow. The trees are trembling like a pretty maiden who loves. Little fishes bright dance and leap on the face of the lake. And the lotus petals swiftly float down the river, with sparkling gleaming butterflies tinted bright. What would my wife say if she knew that I did not go to work on this fine summer morning?
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), "Ki Fong"
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Tschang-So-Su (1428 - 1473) [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), "Ki-Fong", published 1922 [ medium voice and piano ], from La flûte de jade, no. 6, 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: 7
Word count: 63