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Click to printYan Jidao. "To the tune “Qingping Music”—"I could not"." Global Medieval Sourcebook.

Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965, .

清平樂 | To the tune “Qingping Music”

Source Information

清平樂 | To the tune “Qingping Music”

by Yan Jidao

Text Source:

Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965, 34.

Responsibility Statement:
  • Text based on Tang, Guizhang 唐圭璋 (ed.). Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965,
  • Translation by Qian Jia
  • Notes by Dante Zhu
  • Encoded in TEI P5 XML by Dante Zhu
Editorial Principles:

Transcriptions and translations are encoded in XML conforming to TEI (P5) guidelines. The original-language text is contained within <lem> tags and translations within <rdg> tags.

Texts are translated into modern American English with maximum fidelity to the original text, except where it would impair comprehension or good style. Archaisms are preserved where they do not conflict with the aesthetic of the original text. Scribal errors and creative translation choices are marked and discussed in the critical notes.

The original text of this ci is based on the edition by Tang Guizhang 唐圭璋 (Quan Song Ci 全宋詞. Vol 1. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1965). Punctuation follows the edition. Since ci poetry rarely includes personal pronouns, and gender-differentiated pronouns did not exist in Classical Chinese of this period, the gender of the speaker as well as their perspective (e.g. first, second or third person) must often be deduced by the translator from context.

Publication Details:

Published by The Global Medieval Sourcebook.

The Global Medieval Sourcebook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Transcription
清平樂 To the tune “Qingping Music”
留人不住。 I could not make him stay.
醉解蘭舟去。 In drunkenness, he unmoored the magnolia boat and left.
一棹碧濤春水路。 Pushing the green waves with a paddle,
過盡曉鶯啼處。 he passed all the spots where the dawn orioles cried.
5
渡頭楊柳青青。 At the port, the willows
c
Critical note:

See Introduction for a discussion of the image of willow trees.

are green;
枝枝葉葉離情。 the twigs and leaves are full of parting sorrow.
此後錦書休寄， After your departure, do not send me any letters.
畫樓雲雨無憑。 In the painted building
c
Critical note:

The “painted building” (畫樓) refers to a highly ornate building. It implies a place of entertainment or a brothel, as it was a well-known trope that such establishments were so profitable that their buildings were often the most expensively and lavishly decorated in the town or city.

, cloud and rain
c
Critical note:

See Introduction for a discussion of the term "cloud and rain" (雲雨).

does not mean commitment.
Translation
清平樂 To the tune “Qingping Music”
留人不住。 I could not make him stay.
醉解蘭舟去。 In drunkenness, he unmoored the magnolia boat and left.
一棹碧濤春水路。 Pushing the green waves with a paddle,
過盡曉鶯啼處。 he passed all the spots where the dawn orioles cried.
5
渡頭楊柳青青。 At the port, the willows
c
Critical note:

See Introduction for a discussion of the image of willow trees.

are green;
枝枝葉葉離情。 the twigs and leaves are full of parting sorrow.
此後錦書休寄， After your departure, do not send me any letters.
畫樓雲雨無憑。 In the painted building
c
Critical note:

The “painted building” (畫樓) refers to a highly ornate building. It implies a place of entertainment or a brothel, as it was a well-known trope that such establishments were so profitable that their buildings were often the most expensively and lavishly decorated in the town or city.

, cloud and rain
c
Critical note:

See Introduction for a discussion of the term "cloud and rain" (雲雨).

does not mean commitment.
Critical Notes
Translation
Line number 5
Critical note:

See Introduction for a discussion of the image of willow trees.

Translation
Line number 8
Critical note:

The “painted building” (畫樓) refers to a highly ornate building. It implies a place of entertainment or a brothel, as it was a well-known trope that such establishments were so profitable that their buildings were often the most expensively and lavishly decorated in the town or city.

Translation
Line number 8
Critical note:

See Introduction for a discussion of the term "cloud and rain" (雲雨).

Sorry, but there are no notes associated with any currently displayed witness.