© by Zhao Zhenkai (b. 1949), as Bei Dao
Translation © by Bonnie S. McDougall (b. 1941) and by Chen Maiping (b. 1952)
When I whet the knife with dawn’s faint...
Language: English after the Chinese (中文)
When I whet the knife with dawn’s faint light [ ... ]
About the headline (FAQ)
This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.Text Authorship:
- by Bonnie S. McDougall (b. 1941), "Whetting", copyright © [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Chen Maiping (b. 1952), "Whetting", copyright © [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Zhao Zhenkai (b. 1949), as Bei Dao, copyright © [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 Liza Lim (b. 1966), "Crowds of the living", 2018 [ soprano, percussion and chorus ], from opera Atlas of the Sky, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-14
Line count: 10
Word count: 51