米ハリウッドの名画。俺たちに、今日すら、ない。Even the better tomorrow!ちゅう。そして、もちろん、教官には、巻き添えの、恐れなしと、誰が断言できまんねん?ちゅう。もし、やろね。はて、欠席しました。そして、マージャン学生、かけるな!絶対!違法だ!だが、模倣しない、とは?マージャン、実は、していました?ちゅう。だが、模倣的に、欠席扱い、してくれへんか?ちゅう。俺も、バンカーバスター、怖いねん?ちゅう。
These are mostly chinese tang shi and song ci poetry quotes, with a great biased amount from Su Shi because OP doesn't know better. Crude, 5-minute english translations below. There are lines I semi-made up or adapted from fandom/cpop songs (that is, most of Xiao Jingyan's lines), ngl OP is rather embarrassed of them because they aren't good at all looking back now but we'll just leave them here or else XJY would end up with zero quotes.
梅长苏 Mei Changsu
想那日束髪从军,想那日霜角辕门,想那日挟剑惊风,想那日横槊凌云。 ——夏完淳
Think to the day I tied back my hair and enlisted. Think to the day the horn rang at the frostbitten tents, think to the day I danced my sword making the sound that deafens the wind. Think to the day I took to the lance, and it pierced through the skies, rising higher than the clouds. — Xia Wanchun
The warrior fights a hundred battles, yet what remains is his severed reputation. He looks to the bridge over the river, thousands of miles back, past acquaintances forever gone. In another life, over the howling of the west wind and the cold Yi rivers, the banquet sits, clothes adorned in snowlike white. The courageous man strides through the blizzard, the song of lament never ceasing. — Xin Qiji
零落成泥碾作尘,只有香如故。 ——陆游
The plum blossoms wither and drift to the ground, crushed into earthly soil and dust. The prevailing fragrance is what remains. — Lu You
亦余心之所善兮,虽九死其犹未悔。 ——屈原
So long as this is what my heart longs for and treasures, though I die nine deaths, my heart does not regret. — Qu Yuan
君臣一梦,今古空名。 ——苏轼
Lords and lieges ebb into nothing but a dream; in the river of time transcending present and past vain titles remain, cast into the void. — Su Shi
无波真古井,有节是秋筠。 ——苏轼
The heart is at peace like the ancient well that does not ripple; the integrity is as the autumn bamboos, steadfast and unfaltering. — Su Shi
舳舻千里,旌旗蔽空,酾酒临江,横槊赋诗。 ——苏轼
The warship moves a thousand miles, ensigns enshrouding the sky. He pours out wine by the riverside, holds out his lance, and writes verses as he speaks. — Su Shi
对一张琴,一壶酒,一溪云。 ——苏轼
Facing but a guqin, a jug of wine, a stream of cloud. — Su Shi
江山如画,是我心言。 ——风起时
The rivers and mountains of the kingdom outstretches before me, as moving as in art: this is my heart’s will. — from the song “Feng Qi Shi”, when the wind blows
战骨碎尽志不休,冰心未改血犹殷。 ——改自《赤血长殷》、王昌龄
Bones completely crushed from the battle, yet aspirations unwavering. The heart has not changed; the blood flows red still. — adapted from the song “Chi Xue Chang Yan”, the noble blood flows red, and poet Wang Changling
袖手妙计权倾变,敛眸笑谈意了然。 ——改自《赤血长殷》
With folded arms, he devises labyrinthine strategies. The sceptre of power sways and shifts. He shrouds his gaze modestly, and in conversations of small smiles, he discerns the intention of men. — adapted from the song “Chi Xue Chang Yan”, the noble blood flows red
萧㬌琰 Xiao Jingyan
潜龙一朝御风翔,长歌挽弓射天狼。 ——《长喑》
The submerged dragon rises one day to ride the winds. Singing high and long; the bow is drawn pointed at the invading Sirius. — from the song “Chang Yin”, the Long Darkness found here
挑灯殿阙思悄然,闻钤行宫寝无眠。 ——改自白居易
Awashed in the raised lamps of the imperial palace, thoughts whisper in grievance. The bell rings at the Jiu’an grounds, and he lies abed sleepless. — adapted from The Song of Everlasting Sorrow by Bai Juyi
驰骋沙场繁华梦,谈笑鸿儒君臣纲。 ——改自《致陛下书》、刘禹锡
Dreams soar in the flurrying gallops of the battlefield, flourishing dreams of splendour and joy. In pleasant dialogue with scholars, civility obliges polite smiles into the etiquette of lords and lieges. — adapted from the song “Zhi Bi Xia Shu”, a letter to Your Majesty, and Liu Yuxi
铁马并辔封疆,几回魂梦游;更鼓落夜未央,笔下兴亡断。 ——取自《长喑》、《赤血长殷》
Armoured horses riding in parallel at the borderlands — how many times has the soul wandered to such dreams of the past. The hourly drums sound ceaseless across the long night; under the emperor's brush, the fate of prosperity and declination writes. — adapted from the song “Chang Yin”, the Long Darkness found here, and “Chi Xue Chang Yan”, the noble blood flows red
揽尽山河只手倾,昂冕袖手瞰苍生。 ——改自《长喑》
The future of his kingdom sweeps into a tilt of his hand. With crown upheld, he folds his arms in his sleeves awatching humanity. — adapted from the song “Chang Yin”, the Long Darkness found here
咫尺抚眉峰,万丈叠远峰;梦底枕笑纹,惊风掀水纹。 ——《致陛下书》
Up close, the furrowed brows are smoothed. Ten thousands of feet stretch before him, converging into mountains at a distance. In the deepest dreams, the markings of a smile lie; he stirs up the wind which marks and rips tides in the tumultuous waters. — adapted from the song “Zhi Bi Xia Shu”, a letter to Your Majesty
Two (three) things to note:
My dying obsession with Su Shi, sorry I can’t help it that perhaps over half of the all the poetry I know is from him;
To be really fair, my favourite description of Mei Changsu is 运筹帷幄之中,决胜千里之外, used in describing Zhang Liang in Si Maqian's Records of the Grand Historian. He orchestrates masterplans in the tent of the army; he determines the victory of the battle from afar, thousands of miles from the front.
As for my favourite depiction of Lin Shu, it is definitely Su Shi’s description of Cao Cao: 舳舻千里,旌旗蔽空,酾酒临江,横槊赋诗。 The warship moves a thousand miles, ensigns enshrouding the sky. He pours out wine by the riverside, holds out his lance, and writes verses as he speaks. Xin Qiji’s verse above just fits the entire story of Mei Changsu so much, it deserves a mention.
I was assembling/making these lines up for something back then and so just listed whatever came to mind (for reasons I know not I kept on listing stuff for MCS, but maybe XJY was the typical good emperor kind of person so wasn't as inspiring coming up with quotes for him).
If there are lines of poetry you find really befitting the two characters, we're more than interested starting a thread here just for that purpose.
Take the same style video of GEM
拍邓紫棋mv同款
拍邓紫棋《喜欢你》同款
中文歌词:喜歡妳,那雙眼動人,
笑聲更迷人。願再可,輕撫妳,那可愛面容,挽手說夢話。
Lyrics Translation: Liking you that the eyes are charming. I am willing to touch your lovely face, and to hold your hand to dream and talk.
Hong Kong Pronunciation: hay fung nay, nar shung ung dung reng, shiu sheng gung my rung. yuang joy hor ,hing fool nay. Nar hor oil ming rung, when show shuee mung war.
第28話「祝砲の挽歌」/ By Dawn's Early Lightシーズン 1, エピソード 28
私立の陸軍幼年学校の校長ラムフォード大佐は、経営不振の学校を共学の短大に変えようとしていた。しかし、創立者の孫で、現理事長のヘインズはラムフォードの意見に批判的で二人は対立していた。学校開校記念日の式典が開かれる早朝、ラムフォードは式典で使われる空砲に強力な爆薬を仕掛ける。
When you bless your enemies, you never lose and God will make it up to you.
A good man will find favor with the LORD, but the LORD will condemn anyone who devises deceit (Proverbs 12:2).
04/28 Bible verses
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempered. (Galatians 6: 1)
Brothers, if someone happens to be overtaken by a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him with gentleness; and be careful, lest you also be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
04/28 Good words
1. The beauty of life lies in loving rather than being loved, giving rather than taking, and serving rather than enjoying.
2. No matter what happens, face the crowd with empathy. Treat others as you would like them to treat you.
Hymn: He Makes a Way for Me
https://youtu.be/sodEGcXi7V0?si=d8qKu7U-s_JcVQ5n
🌺04/28活出美好🌺
當你祝褔仇敵時,你絕不會輸,上帝必定會補償你。
善人必蒙耶和華的恩惠;設詭計的人,耶和華必定他的罪 (箴言12: 2)。
04/28圣经金句
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. (Galatians 6: 1)
a fan-made song on Xiao Jingyan. I have always been a Mei Changsu over XJY person, but this song from his pov really worked for me and let me see the weightedness of XJY's crown, so I wanted to share it with more.
song link in comment below. (bilibili . com / video / av10441457/)
长剑出鞘冷锋芒 十三载意难忘
缓歌曼舞九重宫 朔风黄沙麾旗扬
手足血脉埋青冢 挚友良弓唯锈藏
岂能折腰屈膝没忠良
the long sword unsheathes from the scabbard, its cool blade revealed. thirteen years, and hard it is to forget.
leisured, soothing melodies with graceful dances at the ninefold palace; north wind and yellow sand with the billowing ensign in the desert. *[1]
brothers-in-arms and brothers in blood in tombs buried, graves long covered in grass; dear friends and cherished bow stored away, now left only to rust —
how is one to bend and kneel, and bury the names of the honourable and the good?
挑灯不眠千军帐 逐千里护家邦
玉壶冰心铁骨铮 扬眉冷看覆风浪
当时少年且横枪 凝尽碧血守四方
守国土河山定国安邦
light a lamp through the unrested nights at the commander’s tent; repel foes a thousand miles, and shield the kingdom.
nobility and aspirations stayed true to, bones of steel resounding. head high, brows lifted, he coolly looks to the tempestuous, overturning storms. *[2]
the youth of the past still danced their spears: blood of the honourable, thoroughly consecrated, defends the four corners of their homeland,
guarding rivers and hills to secure peace of the kingdom’s earth.
V/O — I do not expect you to understand a soldier’s honour or the smoke signals on the battlefield. But there are some people you cannot hurt, some things you cannot manipulate. If you cannot even respect the soldiers dying at the battlefront, I, Xiao Jingyan, will never work with you. Do you understand?
铁马金戈谈笑并辔封疆 几回魂梦
凤阙深深夜雨潇潇数闻铃
鸿儒谈笑对面不知相逢 唯知君臣纲
音容早已远谁知苍凉
armoured horses and metal spears, riding in parallel in friendly chatters at the borderlands — how many times has the soul dreamt thus?
depths of the palace, whistling of the nightly rain, a few stray rings of the bells. *[3]
an erudite scholar, now sat opposite in small smiles converse, yet know not to reunite. what leaves is the etiquette of lords and lieges. *[4]
voice and countenance long since distanced — who is to know the desolation and vicissitudes concealed?
谈笑自若朝堂对气轩昂 霁月风光
风云激荡历艰辛终执牙璋
漫漫更鼓朱笔落夜未央 提笔写兴亡
四顾怅惘余音且绕梁
composed in dialogue and pleasantries, assured and imposing at court. he is noble and virtuous as the bright moon and warm breeze.
wading through the unpredictable winds and turmoils, zhang sceptre of jade at last in hand.
drums signifying the night hours sound, red comments from the emperor’s brush move through the boundless night yet to end. a lift of the brush, and prosperities and declines are writ. *[5]
pensive and lost he looks to four sides. remnants of past sounds remain, resonating through the beams of the palace.
(verse 2)
潜龙在渊敛锋芒 风雷动引龙翔
风云际会参参商 瞰天下世道无常
掌中龙渊凛如霜 立丹陛守盛世长
祭酒未凉叹谁人共觞
like a submerged dragon in the abyss, he enshrouds his splendour. wind and thunder call his wings to flight. *[6]
in the winds and clouds, he engages in the tumult of the Shen and Shang constellations. from above he looks down at the fickleness of the world.
in his hands, the abyss of the dragon is cold as frost; he stands at the red stairway before the imperial palace, and overlooks an everlasting prosperity.
the wine offering to the dead is yet to cool — I sigh, who is to drink with me?
袖手天下为帝王 垂衣且驭八荒
气宇舒金殿垂拱 揽尽山河只手倾
长歌挽弓射天狼 潜龙一朝御风翔
乾坤日月昭天下清朗
hands folded in sleeves, he gazes at the kingdom before him. as emperor he rules from his attire and directs even the most distant lands. *[7]
with poised air he commands the court, hands held together; the entirety of the kingdom shifts with a tilt of his hand. *[7]
sing high and long; draw your bow to the invading Sirius. the submerged dragon one morn rises to ride the winds. *[8]
heaven and earth, and sun and moon clears, and the world before brightens.
铁马金戈谈笑并辔封疆 几回魂梦
凤阙深深夜雨潇潇数闻铃
鸿儒谈笑对面不知相逢 唯知君臣纲
音容已故徒一身沧桑
armoured horses and metal spears, riding in parallel in friendly chatters at the borderlands — how many times has the soul dreamt thus?
depths of the palace, whistling of the nightly rain, a few stray rings of the bells. *[3]
an erudite scholar, now sat opposite in small smiles converse, yet know not to reunite. what leaves is the etiquette of lords and lieges. *[4]
voice and countenance already bygone, all but a body of desolation remains.
谈笑自若朝堂对气轩昂 霁月风光
风云激荡历艰辛终执牙璋
漫漫更鼓朱笔落夜未央 提笔写兴亡
从此立龙城孤守八方
composed in dialogue and pleasantries, assured and imposing at court. he is noble and virtuous as the bright moon and warm breeze.
having waded through the unpredictable winds and turmoils, zhang sceptre of jade at last in hand.
drums signifying the night hours sound, red comments from the emperor’s brush move through the boundless night yet to end. a lift of the brush, and prosperities and declines are writ. *[5]
from forth he establishes himself in the imperial city of dragons. alone, he awatches the eight corners of his realm. *[9]
Extra notes
for those keen on classical chinese and literature allusions
I’ve cited some allusions and references I was reminded of as I listened to the song. These are subjective, my knowledge of classical texts is very limited, take everything with a grain of salt and please do comment if you’d like to supplement any information.
[1] 缓歌曼舞九重宫 朔风黄沙麾旗扬 — 《长恨歌》 白居易 The Song of Everlasting Regret, by Bai Juyi
缓歌曼舞: from “缓歌慢舞凝丝竹”. This is at the start of the romance tale, where the palace is in carefree bliss and prosperity.
slow and graceful songs / slow dances / slowly the music of the strings and the bamboo reverberate in step with the dances.
朔风黄沙麾旗扬: might be a stretch; I was reminded of “黄埃散漫风萧索”. This is from the same poem as above, we are one fourth in here, and it talks of a war.
yellow dust, scattered, drifts through the air. the bleak wind howls.
[2] 玉壶冰心铁骨铮 — 《芙蓉楼送辛渐》 王昌龄 Bidding Xin Jian farewell at Furong Tower by Wang Changling
玉壶冰心: from “洛阳亲友如相问,一片冰心在玉壶”
if the relatives and friends from Luoyang ask, tell them that my noble intentions are unchanged; a heart of ice in the vase of jade.
[3] 凤阙深深夜雨潇潇数闻铃 — 《长恨歌》 白居易 The Song of Everlasting Regret, by Bai Juyi
夜雨潇潇数闻铃: again could be a stretch; I was reminded of “夜雨闻铃肠断声” from the same poem as [1]. (don’t ask me why, this entire song is infused with this piece it feels). This talks of the same romance tale, in which the emperor mourns the death of his beloved.
in the nightly rain, the sound of the bells could be heard. it sounds as sorrowful and agonising as the breaking of intestines.
[4] 鸿儒谈笑对面不知相逢 唯知君臣纲 — 《陋室铭》 刘禹锡 An Inscription of the Humble Abode by Liu Yuxi; 《江城子》 苏轼 Jiang Cheng Zi, by Su Shi
鸿儒谈笑: from "谈笑有鸿儒,往来无白丁" credits to @fwoopersongs because my brain happily omitted it!
well-learnt scholars congregate in joyous talk, traversing there is no uncouth and unread.
不知相逢: there are many poems on this topic, one of the most notable ones would be “纵使相逢应不识,尘满面,鬓如霜。”
even if we met (Su Shi and his deceased wife), you should not be able to recognise me. dust covers my face, and the hair of my temples is white as frost.
[5] 漫漫更鼓朱笔落夜未央 — 《长恨歌》 白居易 The Song of Everlasting Regret, by Bai Juyi (added in edit)
漫漫更鼓: Okay, "迟迟钟鼓初长夜" immediately came to mind when I saw this phrase, but I went like here's too many footnotes already and thought it was too much of a stretch to put in (there's only one word in common!). Then I looked into the original poem, in which the timely bi-hour rings of the drum felt lengthened because of the emperor's agony over losing his loved one -- and so I went like, okay, this is relevant, I actually need to add this in.
the drums reporting the hour of the night come late, and it is early in the long night.
漫漫 meaning endless, without an end in sight. This echoes the sentiments of the emperor in Bai Juyi's poem in feeling that the night is everlasting and without end.
[6] 潜龙在渊敛锋芒 — 《易经》 Yi Jing, the Book of Changes
潜龙: There’s an awful lot of “submerged dragon” metaphors in this stanza. Technically it's a figurative "talents hidden dragon" rather than literally, under the waters. This is from Yi Jing essentially, a super old book on divination that does have some wisdom of old sayings in it. The submerged dragon talks of how the dragon, currently veiled, is a powerful being simply not revealed to worldly eyes yet, and is waiting for opportunity to strike (more like, soar, in this context). These lyrics parallel Xiao Jingyan with the allusion to talk about how he stayed silent for thirteen years before his time of brilliance.
Okie this is super complicated and involves a Taoism context, some history from the beginning emperors of the Han dynasty, and a very enthusiastic Emperor Taizong of Tang; I don’t really know how to go about this.
袖手, 垂衣驭八荒, 垂拱, these all lead to the same concept, and the middle chunk in particular is from a poem written by Emperor Taizong of Tang. Theory suggested by Laozi and Zhuangzi of Taoism, overall it talks of inaction, which is action the emperors at the start of the Han dynasty employed. They demanded less of their citizens and let the economy recover naturally (agriculture and such), and since these policies worked, the starting few Han emperors were regarded highly with this kind of purposeful and benevolent “inaction”.
In short, this song here uses these descriptions to talk of Jingyan as a competent and masterful leader.
[8] 长歌挽弓射天狼 — 《江城子·密州出猎》 苏轼 Hunting outside Mizhou (yet another Jiang Cheng Zi), by Su Shi
挽弓射天狼: from “会挽雕弓如满月,西北望,射天狼。”
I shall draw my carved bow like the full-moon, point towards the northwest, and shoot in the direction of the intruders.
天狼 means Sirius star. In chinese astronomy/astrology it was somewhat related to evilness, hence the use of Sirius to denote intruders.
[9] 从此立龙城孤守八方
I just added this this is not a reference it just really reminds me of this fanfiction oneshot 此生一诺 (this life, a pledge)! It talks about XJY at the end of everything, he draws a circle about the ground and entraps himself with the promise he made to see the world a better place under his reign (from the chinese idiom 画地为牢). I recced the oneshot here if you wish to check it out.
arghhh the entire course of me writing the tl was me going oh goodness why is there yet another footnote but I’m glad to be done for now.
Like, goodness. There is not one “he” or “him” reference in the lyrics. I would love to do the same, but you can see me getting more and more resigned towards the end of the translation.
I am sooo inclined to passive voice and invert subjects for every sentence when it comes to translations, I realise, and I apologise for the almost-signature abundance of semicolons and em dashes in the translation (I blame it on the difference in punctuation nuances. — I subconsciously use semicolons for semi-parallel sentence structures, so you can spot out imperfect couplets that way.) Massive respect to all those who translate, because easy is it to hatch out a crude translation in five minutes, it is not treading about the delicate balance between literal and metaphorical, and in all honesty I feel that it is just way easier for me to write literal once, then go off the rails and do super-figurative for the other.
There are far more annotations and word definitions I’d like to add (I could literally do a classical text/poetry meta for every word lmao), but evidently, time constraints, and truthfully it would take forever to complete, so on a “ask me and I’ll try to elaborate” basis again.
The V/O — I’d love to make it more archaic, but the dialogue from the drama in this part was so modern apologies I’m sort of disappointed with the translation over here.
Re: song title. Yes, it sounds a little weird, excuse that.
I considered other translations for the song title, but none of them really gave the impression I really wanted. Words like “eternal” and “everlasting” were too permanent, I wanted to express the idea of the darkness being lengthened, yet with Jingyan’s reign it would come to an end, hence my hesitance. “Continual” is one I fiddled with: it did not give the same curt, direct feeling as “long” however, so in the end I just ended up with the simplest title.
Update: click here for notes on the amendment of the title.