#pseudotranslation

[yuangler]

无谅 / without forgiveness

One of my niche interests is to render Chinese lyrics into English, but specifically in a way that can be sung to the same tune. So, ah, pseudo-translation driven by a sing-along agenda, I guess? Musical localization? Linguistic filk? If someone knows the real term for this, please tell me so that I can stop staring blankly at people when they ask what my hobbies are

Anyway, 《无谅》 is very pretty—

Maybe I should backtrack. What is 《无谅》 (wú liàng - without forgiveness)? Well, it is the theme song of the 2020 Chinese short film 《无量》 (wú liàng - boundless). I encourage anyone interested in wuxia to give it a try. You can find an excellent translation here, courtesy of @pumpkinpaix

Anyway, 《无谅》 is very pretty, and my brain has been gently flirting with it for months. The result of this slow-burn courtship is shared below, for anyone interested in obscure cross-language karaoke

Notes:

Lyrics are matched syllable-to-syllable, so let that be a guide on how to sing this English version

Yes, English version and not English translation. This is not intended as a rigorous translation and should not be interpreted as such

Please pronounce route as root

For extra credit, look for carets and mind the footnotes

Now archived on AO3!

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无谅 / without forgiveness

Sources: [ link ] [ link ] [ link ]

Vocalist: He Changxi - 何昶希 (Fengren’s actor) Lyricist: Guo Jingming - 郭敬明 Arranger: Zhong Xingmin, Yi Yang - 钟兴民、弋洋 Producer: Yuan Wenrui - 袁文睿

English lyrics: yuangler - 鱼安

Adapted from 《伦望》

Original sources: [ link ] [ link ] [ link ]

Original composer: bye Original vocalist: Lun Sang - 伦桑 Original lyricist: Lun Sang - 伦桑

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LYRICS

夜的苍茫 心上开了一扇窗 雪的冰凉 双眼被刺痛封盲 借一双手 撑起雨中的悲伤 给我勇气闯荡

Night, vast and dark Clears a window on one’s heart Snow, cold and sharp Pierced eyes no longer unmarred Those hands you loaned In the^^ rain, lifting old scars Emboldened my own start

心的空谷 风吹不开的浓雾 一身枯骨 誓言也未曾辜负 漫漫旅途 餐风饮露不说辛苦 铭心刻骨

Heart, hollowed through Fog that wind cannot blow loose Dry bones, to whom Vows will forever hold true Slowly ensue Toiling; I, tasting wind and dew Won’t forget you

如果所有过错都被原谅 让冰冷的心也能照进月光 原谅我曾经谎言的伤 原谅无法开口的背望

If past wrongs could all be forgiven, too An ice-cold heart allowed to glow in the^ moon Forgive the^ lies I honed into wounds Forgive my silence from behind you

就算无言心伤天各一方 青春潦草但誓言安然无恙 明月夜谁在敲打我窗 旧梦中故人泪眼相望

Though we’re to depart, our sorrows unsung Despite the scrawl of youth, our promise is sound The^^ next moon, who comes knocking upon My window, like a late friend, long gone?

夜的苍茫 心上开了一扇窗 雪的冰凉 双眼被刺痛封盲 有一双手 轻轻放在我肩膀 带着我去远方

Night, vast and dark Clears a window on one’s heart Snow, cold and sharp Pierced eyes no longer unmarred Those hands, so close Steer me gently to no harm They’ve taken me so far

心的空谷 风吹不开的浓雾 一身枯骨 誓言也未曾辜负 命运旅途 十年岁月脚下一步 多少甘苦

Heart, hollowed through Fog that wind cannot blow loose Dry bones, to whom Vows will forever hold true A fateful route Decades’ worth of vicissitudes Since I met you

如果所有过错都被原谅 让冰冷的心也能照进月光 原谅我曾经谎言的伤 原谅无法开口的背望

If past wrongs could all be forgiven, too An ice-cold heart allowed to glow in the^ moon Forgive the^ lies I honed into wounds Forgive my silence from behind you

等到春花秋月大雪茫茫 青春不再但你我安然无恙 那双手还在我的前方 把岁月最终酿成珍藏

Springs to autumns sweeping winters along Despite the flight of youth, we’re both safe and sound Those hands are still there, guiding me on A treasure distilled from times bygone

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EXTRA CREDIT FOOTNOTES

^ Pronounce the with a short vowel, like thuh ^^ Pronounce the with a long vowel, like thee

All others are up to your discretion. Use this power wisely

[yuangler]

靜夜思 / quiet night thoughts

牀前明月光 疑是地上霜 舉頭望明月 低頭思故鄉

Bedside moonlit glow Coats the ground like snow. Upcast gaze to moon; Downcast thoughts of home.

李白 Li Bai (701–762 CE)

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note 1 - moon day!!!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Here, have a moony little thing I made back in January 11, 2021 (and revisited in August 2022 to polish a bit).

note 2 - vibes

There is a gentle simplicity in the original poem that often doesn’t carry through in English translations. I did my best to capture the poem’s concision while remaining true to its themes and its basic structure (rhyme, meter, parallelism).

note 3 - adaptations

Note that this is the Ming Dynasty version of the famous Jing Ye Si by Li Bai. Some alternate versions may have:

1. 看月光 (viewing the moonlight) in the first line instead of 明月光 (the bright moonlight). In Chinese, I personally think the latter sounds nicer and more poetic.

2. 望山月 (gazing at the mountain-moon) in the third line instead of 望明月 (gazing at the bright moon). In Chinese, I think the former sounds more poetic; however, it is more costly in terms of English syllables. The former is also more lacking in self-insertion potential. What about all the people who want to project their childhood nostalgia but don’t live by any mountains? Grounding the poem in a specific geography can really break their immersion!

The alternate versions (看月光、望山月) tend to pre-date the Ming Dynasty version (example from the Song Dynasty linked below [1]) and are thus likely to be more faithful to the poem as originally written by Li Bai (who lived in the Tang Dynasty). But the far more popular Ming version is the one that is engraved in the hearts of Chinese schoolchildren everywhere.

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[1] Example of an alternate version, compiled during the Song Dynasty by Guo Maoqian (郭茂倩):

Source 1: 《樂府詩集·卷九十·靜夜思》 Yuefu Poetry Collection: Scroll Ninety: Jing Ye Si

Source 2: Internet Archive