#at least you'll get verse/chorus divisions

[hunxi-guilai]

不忘 BUWANG / UNFORGETTING

INTRODUCTION:

不忘 Buwang (spotify link here, YouTube link here) is the sixth song on the CQL companion album, and is performed by Wang Yibo as Lan Wangji’s character song. Lyrically, this song appears to be in conversation with 无羁 Wuji.

I toyed with three translations of the title of this song: “not forgetting,” “I won’t forget,” and the one I eventually settled on—“unforgetting.” Literally speaking, the characters 不忘 bu wang are “not/[negation particle]” and “to forget.” The translation of “not forgetting” is probably the most faithful, and I liked that it emphasized that “not forgetting” was ongoing, a process, an ordeal, unending. “I won’t forget” turns the title into a full sentence and definitive statement, which felt appropriate for a character who often speaks in a register closer to poetry than prose. Eventually, however, I settled on “Unforgetting,” to hedge my bets and maintain the word-length/binome-construction parallel with the title of Lan Xichen’s character song.

Within the song itself, the phrase 不忘 buwang appears, rendered as “never forgetting.”

PRODUCTION STAFF:

Lyricist：杨夏 Yang Xia, 宋秉洋 Song Bingyang

Composer：宋秉洋 Song Bingyang

Producer：陈俊廷 Chen Junyan

Music Coordinator：王雅君 Wang Yajun

Arranger, Multi-instrumentalist：冯聪 Feng Cong

Mixing：时俊峰 Shi Junfeng

Music Supervisor : 黄喜Luffy Huang / 王鑫 Wang Xin

Performed by: 王一博 Wang Yibo

LYRICS + TRANSLATION

云深夜微凉 / The night is slightly cold, deep in the clouds

皎月清风[1]拂心绕 / The bright moon and cool winds circle the heart, soothing

一人对雪望 / A single person gazes at the snow

望尽前尘事过往 / watching the events of a bygone world go past

姑苏天子笑 / Gusu’s Emperor’s Smile

埋雪独藏风华貌[2] / buried in the snow—hidden alone—a façade of elegance and grace

静室琴声遥 / The sound of the zither travels far from the Jingshi

弹一曲问灵空回响 / playing a song of inquiry—only echoes return

你还在问吗 / Are you still asking?

问尽古来世人的痴狂 / Have you asked of all the foolish infatuations of people, since time immemorial?

谁又在远方 / Who is that in the distance?

再问世间故人 黑白毁誉几多量[3] / Asking again—how heavy is black and white, praise and blame?

还能忘记吗 / Can you still forget?

云深共许一诺人茫茫 / A shared promise in the depths of the clouds—a silhouette, hazy and indistinct

君[4]又在何方 / Where are you now?

相望不忘 / Gazing at each other, never forgetting

泽世韵含光[5] / Benevolence to the world harmonizes with the bearing of light

逢乱必出声名扬 / Appearing always with the chaos—a reputation, growing

他却不肯忘 / Yet, he refuses to forget

踏尽前尘事过往 / retreading the events of a bygone world

避尘铮鸣响 / Bichen rings, bright and loud

难避恩怨是非狂 / The madness of favor and resentment, right and wrong are difficult to avoid

静室琴声遥 / The sound of the zither travels far from the Jingshi

弹一曲问灵空回响 / playing a song of inquiry—only echoes return

你还在问吗 / Are you still asking?

问尽古来世人的痴狂 / Have you asked of all the foolish infatuations of people, since time immemorial?

谁又在远方 / Who is that in the distance?

再问世间故人 黑白毁誉几多量 / Asking again—how heavy is black and white, praise and blame?

还能忘记吗 / Can you still forget?

云深共许一诺人茫茫 / A shared promise in the depths of the clouds—a silhouette, hazy and indistinct

君又在何方 / Where are you now?

相望不忘 / Gazing at each other, never forgetting

你还在问吗 / Are you still asking?

不问古今世人的痴狂 / You no longer ask about all the foolish infatuations of people, since time immemorial

谁又在远方 / Who is that in the distance?

难解世间故人黑白毁誉几多量 / It is hard to dispel the weight of black and white, blame and praise

还能忘记吗 / Can you still forget?

看客散去唯你我不忘[6] / The guests depart–only you and I do not forget

与君在身旁 / With you at my side

别来无恙[7] / I trust you have been well since we’ve parted

ANNOTATIONS:

[1] Despite what this looks like, this is not (necessarily) a Xiao Xingchen reference. The characters here are 皎月清风 jiaoyue qingfeng as opposed to Xiao Xingchen’s 明月清风 mingyue qingfeng—but I’ll grant you that they’re close.

[2] What, you may ask, is buried in the snow? What (or who) is hidden alone? This line is an excellent example of the ambiguity you’ll often find in song lyrics—in some cases, lines will be a bunch of evocative binomes, phrases, and imagery stacked on top of each other in a trench coat. It’s all very poetic, but hell to render in translation, and aesthetically vague as heck.

[3] I’ve elided a few words in the translation of this line because it was already so long; a fuller, more faithful translation would be “asking again the old acquaintances of this mortal realm—how heavy is black and white, praise and blame?” The question here of “who is that in the distance, asking again…?” calls to mind both Wei Wuxian in the rain, asking Lan Wangji who’s strong, and who is weak? Who’s wrong, and who’s right? as well as Lan Wangji, kneeling in the snow, asking Lan Qiren who’s just, and who’s evil? Who’s wrong, and who’s right? The binome 故人 guren in particular is heavy with the weight of past relationship—technically, it’s any old friend you might have had, but often, it refers to those extremely close to you (sometimes, even to ex-lovers). In both scenes—Wei Wuxian in the rain, Lan Wangji in the snow—they are asking people who are close to them (Lan Wangji, Lan Qiren) these difficult questions. 

[4] Ah! Sudden 君 jun sighting! So in addition to being an honorific appended to titles (Zewu-jun, Hanguang-jun), 君 jun can also function as a literary, second-person pronoun, and is heavily utilized in poetry (e.g. 我住长江头，君住长江尾, etc). It’s notable because this song already features the casual/modern second-person pronoun, 你 ni, in the repeated questions (“Are you still asking?”). As a result, there are two distinct “you’s” in this song.

[5] 澤世韵含光 zeshi yun hanguang—this line was hell to translate but please believe me when I say that it is so sexy in the original. There is a clever mixing of Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji’s respective titles here—泽芜君 Zewu-jun and 含光君 Hanguang-jun. Lan Xichen’s title is notoriously difficult to translate, so rather than attempt to work in a literal rendition of 泽 ze in its valences of “pond/moisture” or “lustre/sheen,” I went straight for its literary/metaphorical valences (as in the binome 恩泽 enze, referring specifically to the generosities bestowed by a monarch upon subjects). Lan Xichen is in fact the kind of person who brings benevolence to the world, and yes, I will die on this hill.

[6] The wording of this line is ambiguous: it could be interpreted as either “the guests depart—only you and I do not forget” or “the guests depart—only you, I do not forget.” I chose the former translation, in order to contrast with the first half of the line. There is a subtle distinction between the parting guests and those who remain in this interpretation that emphasizes how different wangxian are from the rest of their peers. At the same time, the other interpretation—“only you, I do not forget”—is a very Lan Wangji sentiment, and equally valid.

[7] 别来无恙 bielai wuyang is rendered here, almost word-for-word, with its Pleco gloss: I trust you have been well since we parted. How to explain? Occasionally in CQL, we see Lan Wangji’s quiet, undying devotion manifest in these subtle, courteous, domestic gestures (I’m thinking of Lan Wangji’s 今日安否 jinri anfou / “are you well today?” in his letter to Wei Wuxian in episode 31). It makes me go feral every time.

ONCE MORE WITH CLARITY:

The night is slightly cold, deep in the clouds

The bright moon and cool winds circle the heart, soothing

A single person gazes at the snow

watching the events of a bygone world go past

Gusu’s Emperor’s Smile

buried in the snow—hidden alone—a façade of elegance and grace

The sound of the zither travels far from the Jingshi

playing a song of inquiry—only echoes return

Are you still asking?

Have you asked of all the foolish infatuations of people, since time immemorial?

Who is that in the distance?

Asking again—how heavy is black and white, praise and blame?

Can you still forget?

A shared promise in the depths of the clouds—a silhouette, hazy and indistinct

Where are you now?

Gazing at each other, never forgetting

Benevolence to the world harmonizes with the bearing of light

Appearing always with the chaos—a reputation, growing

Yet, he refuses to forget

retreading the events of a bygone world

Bichen rings, bright and loud

The madness of favor and resentment, right and wrong are difficult to avoid

The sound of the zither travels far from the Jingshi

playing a song of inquiry—only echoes return

Are you still asking?

Have you asked of all the foolish infatuations of people, since time immemorial?

Who is that in the distance?

Asking again—how heavy is black and white, praise and blame?

Can you still forget?

A shared promise in the depths of the clouds—a silhouette, hazy and indistinct

Where are you now?

Gazing at each other, never forgetting

Are you still asking?

You no longer ask about all the foolish infatuations of people, since time immemorial

Who is that in the distance?

It is hard to dispel the weight of black and white, blame and praise

Can you still forget?

The guests depart–only you, I do not forget

With you at my side

I trust you have been well since we’ve parted

MORE PL TRANSLATIONS:

masterlist

PL Translations: an introduction

无羁 Wuji

曲尽陈情 Qujinchenqing