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Lyrics from 《山河剑心》: Sword Stained with Spring Water (剑染春水)

Lyrics for 剑染春水  (Sword Stained with Spring Water) from the donghua of Thousand Autumns,《山河剑心》

Translator🍓SassyStrawberry | http://www.sassystrawberry.com 

Original Lyrics: 猫科的猫/潮汐-tide

Music: 潮汐-tide


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Verse 1:  
总角宴宴音 依稀在耳畔
zǒng jiǎo yàn yàn yīn yī xī zài ěr pàn                                        

The sound of the children’s [1] banquet echoed dimly in my ears (0:35)

[1] zǒnɡ jiǎo (总角) – The children’s hairstyles with 2 buns.

何曾料 世事乱
hé céng liào shì shì luàn
Did you ever expect the chaotic affairs of the world?
唯余青衣飘摇难
wéi yú qīng yī piāo yáo nán

With only a qingyi [2] and drifting about in distress.

[2] qīng yī (青衣) – referring to clothes worn by humble people like servants.

前尘都忘却 何处可归返
qián chén dōu wàng què hé chù kě guī fǎn
Forgetting the dust from the secular past,  is there a place that I can return to?
明河影 长空湛
míng hé yǐng cháng kōng zhàn
The reflection of the bright river,  the vast sky is clear.
拈花一笑尽安然
niān huā yī xiào jǐn ān rán
Pick up the flower, a smile is full of peaceful feelings.
天阔虹影 风荷轻转
tiān kuò hóng yǐng fēng hé qīng zhuǎn

The sky is vast and the rainbow’s reflection, [3] the lotus flower sways in the wind.

[3] tiān kuò hóng yǐng (天阔虹影) – This is Mount Xuandu’s qinggong method, Tiankuo Hongying.

碧水顾盼 杨柳舒展
bì shuǐ gù pàn yáng liǔ shū zhǎn
Looking into the bluish-green water, the willow trees unfold their branches leisurely.
雕龙一掌 雨覆云翻
diāo lóng yī zhǎng yǔ fù yún fān

A single Carved Dragon Palm, [4] the chaos of the wind and rain.

[4] diāo lóng zhǎng (雕龙掌) literally Carved Dragon Palm. Sang Jingxing’s martial arts. This is referring to the time where YWS betrayed SQ to SJX.

破而后立傲骨寒
pò ér hòu lì ào gǔ hán

Destroying and rebuilding the foundation,[5] the unyielding proud bones [6] are cold and lonely.

[5] pò ér hòu lì (破而后立) – referring to destroying or getting rid of the originals so that the new things can be put in place. This refers to SQ destroying his daoxin and rebuilding his foundations with the Zhuyang Ce.
[6]
ào gǔ (傲骨) – lofty and unyielding, unbending. These refer to Shen Qiao.

Chorus:  
踏燕北 走江南
tà yàn běi zǒu jiāng nán
To travel across Yanbei and visit Jiangnan.
推杯换盏
tuī bēi huàn zhǎn

A lively harmonious scene drinking with a close friend. [7]

[7] tuī bēi huàn zhǎn (推杯换盏) – to push the cup and toast one another. Describes a good relationship.

一朝恩怨都付笑谈
yī zhāo ēn yuàn dōu fù xiào tán
One day the gratitude and resentment will become topics for people to talk and laugh about.
苍生难 红尘乱
cāng shēng nán hóng chén luàn

All living things suffer, the mortal world [8] is chaotic.

[8] hóng chén (红尘) refers to the red dust of the secular world.

但凭胸怀
dàn píng xiōng huái
Just relying on one’s tolerance and breadth of vision.
一剑同悲定河山
yī jiàn tóng bēi dìng hé shān

One sword of shared grief to put the rivers and mountains [9] in order.

[9] shān hé (河山) means rivers and mountains, tóng bēi(同悲)share the common grief.
SQ’s sword is shān hé tóng bēi (山河同悲) – “the mountains and rivers share the same grief, and the world mourns.” 

也曾有 泪洒满
yě céng yǒu lèi sǎ mǎn
There have been times where the tears have spilled all over.
江海山川
jiāng hǎi shān chuān

The rivers and seas, the mountains and rivers. [10]

[10] It may be related to this Tang Dynasty poem by Si Kongshu  《云阳馆与韩绅宿别》. It’s a sad poem of farewell.
故人江海别,几度隔山川. – “I bid farewell to my old friend leaving across the rivers and seas, several degrees separated by the mountains and rivers.” 

一水澄澈此心不换
yī shuǐ chéng chè cǐ xīn bù huàn
This heart which is crystal clear like water, will not change.
剑所向 道所在
jiàn suǒ xiàng dào suǒ zài
Where the sword guides, is where the dao is.
一身风流
yī shēn fēng liú
To be talented and romantic from head to toe.
一指春水晏然
yī zhǐ chūn shuǐ yàn rán

One finger of the spring water [11] brings tranquility and peace. [12]

[11] Yes, this is an allusion to YWS’s chūn shuǐ zhǐ fǎ (春水指法) or Spring Water Fingering method.
[12] The yàn (晏) of YWS’s surname is part of yàn rán (晏然) referring to tranquility, stability, sunny, 

Verse 2:  
逍遥行四海 高名满长安
xiāo yáo xíng sì hǎi gāo míng mǎn cháng ān

Traveling free and unfettered across the four seas, [13] Chang’an is filled with fame and renown. (2:11)

[13] There is a longer saying sì hǎi wéi jiā (四海为家) – literally means to take the four seas as your home, it means that someone wanders about and does not have a fixed address.

曾年少 堂前燕
céng nián shào táng qián yàn

Once I was young, the swallow before the hall. [14]

[14] táng qián yàn (堂前燕) – literally means the Swallow before the Hall. It is a specific reference to a Tang Dynasty’s poem《烏衣巷》 by Liu Yuxi , with a verse speaking of the Wang-Xie family. The aristocratic Wang-Xie family was one of the most prominent families during the Eastern and Western Jin Dynasties. 
“旧时王谢堂前燕,飞入寻常百姓家” In olden days the Wang-Xie family had the swallow before the Hall, but it has since flown into the homes of the common folk. This is imagery for the desolation of former prosperity and the present state of decline. The Xie refers to the Xie Clan of the Chen Commandery – which is where Yan Wushi was said to have been from (hence his former name of Xie Ling). The Wang refers to the Langya Wang Clan, where Wang Zhuo (Wang-erlang) was distantly related (of the side branch) and is so proud of it. The Wang-Xie families were said to have been extremely influential and powerful families in the past, but it was said that they refused to unite in marriage with Hou Jing’s family and were thus persecuted and since fallen into decline. Hou Jing was a general of Northern Wei who usurped the Liang throne, establishing the state of Han (503AD to 552AD). 

不及策马江湖岸
bù jí cè mǎ jiāng hú àn
Too late to spur the horse to the jianghu’s shore.
乱世多情仇 往事空纠缠
luàn shì duō qíng chóu wǎng shì kōng jiū chán
In turbulent times there is love and hatred, the past entangles me in vain.
羌笛韵 雁门关
qiāng dí yùn yàn mén guān

The qiang flute [15] sounds pleasantly across the Yanmen Pass. [16]

[15] qiāng dí (羌笛) – An ancient folk instrument of the nomadic Qiang people. It is played vertically, and two pipes emit the same pitch. The sound is somewhat sad. 
[16] yàn mén guān (雁门关) – The Yanmen Pass is a mountain pass along the Great Wall of China, it was an extremely important fortress in ancient times. It is named after the Yanmen (Goose Gate) Mountain, which was in turn named after the wild geese (雁) that migrated around it. 

蟠龙一梦黄泉畔
pán lóng yī mèng huáng quán pàn

The coiled dragon [17] dreams of the bank of the Yellow Springs. [18]

[17]  pán lóng (蟠龙) – the Coiled Dragon – this references the Coiled Dragon Conference or (蟠龙会)  when Yan Wushi was besieged by the five martial arts experts outside Tuyuhun.
[18] huáng quán (黄泉) – the underworld is usually referred to as the Yellow Springs because when digging a deep hole, there would eventually be groundwater seeping in, which tended to be yellow.  

塞上之月 关城之变
sāi shàng zhī yuè guān chéng zhī biàn
The moon above the pass, the unrest in the border fort.
抬眸一刹 故人眼前
tái móu yī chà gù rén yǎn qián
To lift one’s eyes for a moment, the old friend is before your eyes.
春风拂面 绿水山涧
chūn fēng fú miàn lǜ shuǐ shān jiàn
The spring winds caress the surface of the crystal clear waters of a mountain stream.
半步峰底幸得缘
bàn bù fēng dǐ xìng dé yuán
The fortunate fate acquired below Banbu Peak (Half-Step Peak).
   
Chorus: x 2  

 

 

 

5 thoughts on “Lyrics from 《山河剑心》: Sword Stained with Spring Water (剑染春水)

  1. Thank you for taking the time to translate the song, and for writing footnotes. I really love this kind of format you are using. It helps me understand better.

  2. Brilliant work! Thank you for translating this song and for presenting it in a user-friendly manner. the rich metaphors in the lyrics are better appreciated this way 💟

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