赤伶 – Bilingual Lyrics Vietnamese/English

• By: HITA

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the evocative world of "赤伶" by HITA, a captivating Guofeng song that masterfully fuses traditional Chinese opera with modern melodies. Through its poignant lyrics and dramatic storytelling, you'll gain insight into rich cultural narratives and the nuances of Chinese expressions related to patriotism, sacrifice, and the intricate emotions of performers. This song offers a unique and engaging way to explore the beauty and depth of the Chinese language and its artistic heritage.

[English]

A single act of the play

Water sleeves rise and fall

Singing of joy and sorrow

Of parting and reunion, none concern me

Fan opens and closes

Gongs and drums sound, then silence

Emotions in the play, people outside

Who can tell

Accustomed to blending joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness into the stage makeup

What does it matter if the old lines are sung through?

White bones and ashes, all are me

A drifting weed in chaotic times, bearing witness to flames engulfing the rivers and mountains

Though lowly, I dare not forget my country, even if no one knows me

The audience passes by, seeing no trace of the old colors

The performer on stage sings a heart-wrenching farewell song

The word "emotion" is hard to ink; she sings, mixing it with blood

The curtain rises, the curtain falls, who is the guest?

A single act of the play

Water sleeves rise and fall

Singing of joy and sorrow

Of parting and reunion, none concern me

Fan opens and closes

Gongs and drums sound, then silence

Emotions in the play, people outside

Who can tell

Accustomed to hiding joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness within the stage makeup

What does it matter if the old lines are sung through?

White bones and ashes, all are me

A drifting weed in chaotic times, bearing witness to flames engulfing the rivers and mountains

Though lowly, I dare not forget my country, even if no one knows me

The audience passes by, seeing no trace of the old colors

The performer on stage sings a heart-wrenching farewell song

The word "emotion" is hard to ink; she sings, mixing it with blood

The curtain rises, the curtain falls, in the end, I am but a guest

As you finish your act, I take the stage

Don’t mock the wind and moon, don’t laugh at others’ folly

I once questioned the world, once sang boldly of rise and fall

They say there’s no emotion, they say there is, how to measure?

They say there’s no emotion, they say there is, it’s hard to measure.

[Vietnamese]

戏一折

水袖起落

唱悲欢

唱离合 无关我

扇开合

锣鼓响又默

戏中情 戏外人

凭谁说

惯将喜怒哀乐都融入粉墨

陈词唱穿又如何

白骨青灰皆我

乱世浮萍忍看烽火燃山河

位卑未敢忘忧国 哪怕无人知我

台下人走过 不见旧颜色

台上人唱着 心碎离别歌

情字难落墨 她唱须以血来和

戏幕起 戏幕落 谁是客

戏一折

水袖起落

唱悲欢

唱离合 无关我

扇开合

锣鼓响又默

戏中情 戏外人

凭谁说

惯将喜怒哀乐都藏入粉墨

陈词唱穿又如何

白骨青灰皆我

乱世浮萍忍看烽火燃山河

位卑未敢忘忧国 哪怕无人知我

台下人走过 不见旧颜色

台上人唱着 心碎离别歌

情字难落墨 她唱须以血来和

戏幕起 戏幕落 终是客

你方唱罢我登场

莫嘲风月戏 莫笑人荒唐

也曾问青黄 也曾铿锵唱兴亡

道无情 道有情 怎思量

道无情 道有情 费思量

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
戏 /xì/ B1	noun - opera, play, drama
悲欢 /bēi huān/ B2	noun - sorrow and joy
离合 /lí hé/ B2	noun - parting and reuniting
唱 /chàng/ A2	verb - to sing, to perform
粉墨 /fěn mò/ C1	noun - face paint, makeup (used in traditional Chinese opera)
白骨 /bái gǔ/ B2	noun - white bones, skeletons
浮萍 /fú píng/ C1	noun - duckweed, drifting without a fixed place
烽火 /fēng huǒ/ C1	noun - beacon fire, war
山河 /shān hé/ B1	noun - mountains and rivers, country
位卑 /wèi bēi/ C1	adjective - lowly position, humble status
忧国 /yōu guó/ C1	verb - to worry about the country
心碎 /xīn suì/ B2	adjective - heartbroken
离别 /lí bié/ B1	noun - separation, parting
落墨 /luò mò/ C2	verb - to put ink to paper, to write
铿锵 /kēng qiāng/ C2	adjective - clear and resounding, vigorous

Key Grammar Structures

• 戏一折

  ➔ Subject + Measure Word + Verb

  ➔ “戏一折” uses the structure Subject (“戏”) + Measure Word (“一”) + Verb (“折”). Here, “一折” acts as a measure word for a segment of an opera.

• 唱悲欢 唱离合 无关我

  ➔ Verb + Object (repeated) + Negative Adverbial Phrase

  ➔ “唱悲欢 唱离合 无关我” uses a repeated Verb + Object structure (“唱悲欢”, “唱离合”), followed by a negative adverbial phrase (“无关我”) to express detachment.

• 戏中情 戏外人

  ➔ Noun + Location Phrase + Noun

  ➔ “戏中情 戏外人” contrasts two Nouns (“情”, “人”) using Location Phrases (“戏中”, “戏外”) to highlight the difference between emotions in the play and people outside it.

• 惯将喜怒哀乐都融入粉墨

  ➔ Adverb + Verb + Object + Result Complement

  ➔ “惯将喜怒哀乐都融入粉墨” uses an Adverb (“惯”) + Verb (“将...融入”) + Object (“喜怒哀乐”) + Result Complement (“粉墨”) to describe a habitual action and its outcome.

• 白骨青灰皆我

  ➔ Noun + Noun + Pronoun (Topic)

  ➔ “白骨青灰皆我” uses a series of Nouns (“白骨”, “青灰”) followed by a Pronoun (“皆我”) to emphasize that all these states belong to the speaker.

• 位卑未敢忘忧国

  ➔ Adverbial Phrase + Negative Adverb + Verb

  ➔ “位卑未敢忘忧国” uses an Adverbial Phrase (“位卑”) + Negative Adverb (“未敢”) + Verb (“忘”) to express humility and unwavering patriotism.

• 情字难落墨 她唱须以血来和

  ➔ Noun + Adjective + Verb + Modal Verb + Prepositional Phrase

  ➔ “情字难落墨 她唱须以血来和” uses a Noun (“情字”) + Adjective (“难”) + Verb (“落墨”) and a Modal Verb (“须”) + Prepositional Phrase (“以血来和”) to emphasize difficulty and necessity.

• 你方唱罢我登场

  ➔ Pronoun + Adverbial Phrase + Verb + Pronoun + Verb

  ➔ “你方唱罢我登场” uses Pronouns (“你”, “我”) + Adverbial Phrases (“方唱罢”, “登场”) + Verbs to depict a sequential action, emphasizing the cyclical nature of life.