伯虎说 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 伯爵Johnny, 唐伯虎Annie

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the beauty of the Chinese language through '伯虎说', a song that masterfully fuses contemporary pop with the elegance of traditional Chinese opera. This song offers a unique opportunity to learn poetic lyrics inspired by the famous Ming Dynasty scholar, Tang Bohu. The blend of modern and classical elements makes it an engaging and culturally rich listening experience, perfect for anyone interested in the deeper artistic traditions of China.

[English]

A gentle spring breeze knocks at the thatched door

A magpie's call, I cherish myself

No opponent in the game, one move decides the fate

Drunkenly entrusting this body

A pot of cooking smoke brews the dusk

A cup of old tea floats and sinks

Cool breeze asks no one

Wiping away all the dust

Sipping stars with you

Opera aria:

The bright moon has no predecessor for ten thousand years

Illuminating the sober soul through ages

Why worry about sons of nobles

Wasting my youth

The bright moon has no predecessor for ten thousand years

Illuminating the sober soul through ages

Why worry about sons of nobles

Mingling with the dust

A gentle spring breeze knocks at the thatched door

A magpie's call, I cherish myself

No opponent in the game, one move decides the fate

Drunkenly entrusting this body

A pot of cooking smoke brews the dusk

A cup of old tea floats and sinks

Cool breeze asks no one

Wiping away all the dust

Sipping stars with you

Opera aria:

The bright moon has no predecessor for ten thousand years

Illuminating the sober soul through ages

Why worry about sons of nobles

Wasting my youth

The bright moon has no predecessor for ten thousand years

Illuminating the sober soul through ages

Why worry about sons of nobles

Mingling with the dust

The bright moon has no predecessor for ten thousand years

Illuminating the sober soul through ages

Why worry about sons of nobles

Wasting my youth

The bright moon has no predecessor for ten thousand years

Illuminating the sober soul through ages

Why worry about sons of nobles

Mingling with the dust

[Chinese]

一枝春风叩柴门

一声鹊啼我自珍

不见对弈人 落子定乾坤

酩酊寄此身

一壶炊烟煮黄昏

一盏旧茶浮亦沉

清风无人问

拭尽万般尘

与君酌星辰

戏腔：

明月万年无前身

照见古今独醒人

公子王孙何必问

虚度我青春

明月万年无前身

照见古今独醒人

公子王孙何必问

和光也同尘

一枝春风叩柴门

一声鹊啼我自珍

不见对弈人 落子定乾坤

酩酊寄此身

一壶炊烟煮黄昏

一盏旧茶浮亦沉

清风无人问

拭尽万般尘

与君酌星辰

戏腔：

明月万年无前身

照见古今独醒人

公子王孙何必问

虚度我青春

明月万年无前身

照见古今独醒人

公子王孙何必问

和光也同尘

明月万年无前身

照见古今独醒人

公子王孙何必问

虚度我青春

明月万年无前身

照见古今独醒人

公子王孙何必问

和光也同尘

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
春风 /ˈsprɪŋ ˈbriz/ B1	noun - spring breeze
柴门 /ˈθætʃ dɔːr/ B2	noun - thatched door
鹊啼 /ˈmæɡpaɪ ˈtʃɜːr/ B2	verb - magpie chirps
对弈 /ˈtʃes ˈpleɪ/ B2	verb - play chess (or a board game)
乾坤 /ˈjuːnɪˈvɜːrs/ C1	noun - the universe; cosmos
酩酊 /ɪnˈtɒksɪkeɪtɪd/ B2	adjective - intoxicated noun - intoxication
黄昏 /dʌsk/ B1	noun - dusk
旧茶 /ˈoʊld ˈtiː/ B1	noun - old tea
清风 /ˈklɪr ˈbriz/ B1	noun - clear breeze
尘 /dʌst/ A2	noun - dust
星辰 /stɑːrz/ B1	noun - stars; celestial bodies
明月 /brɪt ˈmuːn/ B1	noun - bright moon
照见 /ˈɪləˌluːˈmeɪt/ B2	verb - to illuminate; to reveal
虚度 /ˈwɑːst ˈtaɪm/ B2	verb - to waste time
青春 /juːθ/ B1	noun - youth
公子 /ˈlɑːd/ B2	noun - young gentleman; lord
王孙 /ˈrɔɪəl dɪˈsɛnˌdənt/ C1	noun - royal descendant; prince

Key Grammar Structures

• 一枝春风叩柴门

  ➔ Use of measure words with quantifying nouns

  ➔ In Chinese, measure words or classifiers like "枝" are used with numerals to quantify certain nouns, such as "一枝春风" (a breath of spring wind) which makes the language more precise and poetic.

• 一声鹊啼我自珍

  ➔ Omission of explicit subject in poetic structures

  ➔ Here, the structure "一声鹊啼我自珍" uses poetic license to omit overt connectors, implying causation: with "一声鹊啼" (a magpie's call), "我" (I) "自珍" (cherish myself), reflecting literary inversion for rhythm.

• 不见对弈人 落子定乾坤

  ➔ Parallel verb phrases in poetic expressions

  ➔ The line uses parallelism with "不见" (not see) "对弈人" (chess player) and "落子" (place a piece) "定乾坤" (determine the universe), creating symmetry for emphasis without conjunctions.

• 酩酊寄此身

  ➔ Object placement after adverbs in literary Chinese

  ➔ "酩酊" (drunken) acts as an adverb modifying "寄" (entrust), with the object "此身" (this body) following, a classic structure for describing states in poetic language.

• 一盏旧茶浮亦沉

  ➔ Adverb positioning in compound predicates

  ➔ Here, "一盏旧茶" (a cup of old tea) is the subject, with the predicate "浮亦沉" (floats and also sinks), where "亦" (also) connects actions for balance, emphasizing duality.

• 拭尽万般尘

  ➔ Resultative complement construction

  ➔ "拭" (wipe) uses the resultative complement "尽" (fully/dry), paired with object "万般尘" (all kinds of dust), indicating completion of the wiping action.

• 明月万年无前身

  ➔ Negation with '无' in classical expressions

  ➔ The negation "无前身" (has no predecessor) uses "无" to denote absence, a common literary device for eternity, as in "明月万年" (bright moon for ten thousand years).

• 公子王孙何必问

  ➔ Rhetorical question structure with '何必'

  ➔ This rhetorical question uses "何必问" (why bother asking), with "公子王孙" (young nobles) as the object implied to question, dismissing inquiry as unnecessary.

• 虚度我青春

  ➔ Object-verb inversion for emphasis

  ➔ "我青春" (my youth) is placed before the verb "虚度" (waste in vain), for poetic emphasis, contrasting with standard Subject-Verb-Object order.

• 和光也同尘

  ➔ Conjunctive use of '也' in adverbial phrases

  ➔ "也" connects "和光" (blend with light) and implies equivalence with "同尘" (same as dust), meaning to conceal brilliance by mingling with the mundane.