*献给每一位女士:你如花如月* *To every woman: You are as captivating as flowers and as ethereal as the moon.* Title: 如花如月 (As captivating as flowers and as ethereal as the moon) Lyrics: 流水一彎倒影月兒圓 輕輕灑落你眉眼 The flowing water reflects the full moon, which is shining gently on your countenance. (Note: “眉眼” literally translates to “eyebrows”, but the word generally refers to one’s appearance, countenance. Sometimes, it also means “clue (线索)”.) 星河如海 眼底如檐上雪 The galaxy is like a fathomless ocean, but what is in your eyes is discernable as the three inches of snow on the eaves. (Note: “星河”means the galaxy, universe or things that are infinite, endless or profound.) 梧桐夜雨驚擾了隻雀 荳蔻相逢青袍這瞬間 The nocturnal rain startles the pair of sparrows resting on the Indus tree. When we first met, we were in our early teen years, but now we are both rank-and-file officials. (Note: “荳蔻 (dou kou)”refers to the years when one is 13 - or 14 - year-old. “青袍(qing pao)” has several meanings. It can refer to pupils, ran-and-file government officials who wore cyan robes. It can even refer to underprivileged people,i.e., those in the bottom level of the social hierarchy. In ancient China, children started going to school between ages 4 - 7. Apparently, “青袍”does not mean “pupils”, because when the characters met, they were already in their early teen years. The term most likely refers to rank-and-file officials.) __ 又恐徒增 幾番曲折綿延 I worry that there may be unnecessary additional twists and turns. 你如花月 綿延我的歲月 流遠 You are as captivating as flowers and as ethereal as the moon. You enable me to go far in life. 萬語千言 抵不過相伴路遠 Ten thousand words pale in significance when compared to a long journey traveled together. 你如花月 翩翩勝過天上宮闕 You are as captivating as flowers and as ethereal as the moon. Your elegance surpasses that of the fairies in the heavenly palace. (Note: “翩翩 (pian pian)” refers to a person’s elegant demeanors or agility.) __ 與你相隨 靜待落盡雲煙 By your side, I will quietly wait with you for things to settle down and stabilize. (Note: “雲煙(yun yan)” literally means“cloud and smoke”. This sentence can be literally translated into “quietly wait for the cloud and smoke to disperse”, which is not preferred, because the literal translation fails to convey the real meaning. The term “雲煙(yun yan)”generally refers to things that can disappear easily or things that are unreachable. “靜待 (jing dai) means “quietly wait”. To avoid literal translation and convey meanings, the translation for this sentence was rendered as above.) 晴望高樓能與誰併肩 比兩廂情願更遠 Who can I stand shoulder-to-should with at the tall building and gaze into a distance that may be even more distant and unreachable than consensual affection? 千帆過盡 再看這塵世間 After all the obstacles have been surmounted, we look at this world again. (Note: “千帆過盡(qian fan guo jin)”literally means “thousands of boats have passed by”. It is often used as a metaphor for experiencing difficult situations or many obstacles.) 一起燭火下披星戴月 不在乎山高水深路遠 We travel day and night and rest by the bonfire when necessary. The height of the mountains, the depth of the rivers and the length of the roads do not deter us. __ 幸有你在 不懼往返流連 I am fortunate to have you by my side. I don’t need to worry about indulging in pleasures (and forgetting about important matters). (Note: “往返流連(wang fan liu lian)” means “indulge in pleasures without stopping; enjoy oneself so much that one forgets to go home, ..” In short, it refers to a situation in which one gets distracted by pleasant times and forgets about more important matters.) 你如花月 綿延我的歲月 流遠 You are as captivating as flowers and as ethereal as the moon. You enable me to go far in life. 萬語千言 抵不過相伴路遠 Ten thousand words pale in significance when compared to a long journey traveled together. 你如花月 翩翩勝過天上 宮闕 You are as captivating as flowers and as ethereal as the moon. Your elegance surpasses that of the fairies in the heavenly palace. __ 與你相隨 靜待落盡雲煙 By your side, I will quietly wait with you for things to settle down and stabilize. 花月無邊 用顛沛流離 換夙願 Pleasant times can have no end. Yet, I am willing to endure many hardships to realize the wish the has been in my mind for a long time. (Note: “花月(hua yue)”literally means “flowers and moon”. The term generally refers to pleasant people or times. “顛沛流離(dian pei liu li)”means “being displaced”, “wandering from place to place”, or “enduring many hardships”. Here, taking the context before and after the term, “顛沛流離(dian pei liu li)”here apparently means “enduring many hardships”.“夙願(su yuan)” means the wish that has been on one’s mind for a long time.) 路途漫漫 可否歲月多成全 The roads in life are long. May I become more mature and refined as I age! 花月漫天 抵過人間動人 詩篇 Pleasant times are boundless as the sky, surpassing the most enchanting poem in the world. __ 花期未晚 守護點點心願 We haven’t missed the time flowers bloom. We can still protect our wishes, (Note: “花期 (hua qi)”refers to the time flowers bloom. “未晚(wei wan)” means “not too late”, i.e., you haven’t missed something yet.) 那花晨月夕還有 靜水華年 appreciate the many mornings with flowers, nights with luminous moon, and tranquil days.