泪从喜中来 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 尹昔眠

Lyrics & Translation

Immerse yourself in the evocative world of Chinese culture through Yin Ximian's "泪从喜中来" (Tears Come From Joy). This Guofeng song offers a unique opportunity to explore poetic Mandarin lyrics, rich cultural narratives, and expressions of deep human emotion. By listening and understanding its poignant story, you can uncover the nuances of the language and appreciate the beauty of traditional Chinese musical storytelling.

[English]

A beauty's red makeup awaits not the spring breeze

How ridiculous that

Vows made together became empty

Sands drifting with the wind

A wedding gown, unclear if white or red

Allowing oneself to be pushed into a lifetime buried in the fire pit

Stumbling through bustling crowds

Witnessing guests' hypocritical flattery

Hurriedly amidst a dazzling array

Entering the bridal chamber

An extravagant outfit growing even more absurd

Not a trace of freedom in sight

Smilingly drinking the soup of the Lady Meng, to find completion in the next life

See her tears coming from joy

Learning to forget a love never had

Grief hidden in laughter, a few cries of sorrow

Unable to fathom the debts of life's warmth and coldness

Who in the mortal world can find ease

Who again can let go in memories

Three thousand threads of black hair dyed frosty white overnight

Originally, tears coming from laughter

Stumbling through bustling crowds

Witnessing guests' hypocritical flattery

Hurriedly amidst a dazzling array

Entering the bridal chamber

An extravagant outfit growing even more absurd

Not a trace of freedom in sight

Smilingly drinking the soup of the Lady Meng, to find completion in the next life

See her tears coming from joy

Learning to forget a love never had

Grief hidden in laughter, a few cries of sorrow

Unable to fathom the debts of life's warmth and coldness

Who in the mortal world can find ease

Who again can let go in memories

Three thousand threads of black hair dyed frosty white overnight

Originally, tears coming from laughter

See her tears coming from joy

Learning to forget a love never had

Grief hidden in laughter, a few cries of sorrow

Unable to fathom the debts of life's warmth and coldness

Who in the mortal world can find ease

Who again can let go in memories

Three thousand threads of black hair dyed frosty white overnight

Originally, tears coming from laughter

[Chinese]

佳人红妆未等到春风

多可笑那

与人起誓相约也作了空

随风的沙

一身嫁衣分不清是白是红

任人推搡着一生葬入火坑

跌跌撞撞熙熙攘攘

目睹来客虚伪捧场

慌慌张张满目琳琅

入洞房

一袭盛装愈发荒唐

不见半点自由模样

笑饮孟婆汤 来生再圆

看她泪从喜中来

学着遗忘未曾有的爱

悲藏笑中几声哀

参不透人世冷暖的债

红尘谁能得自在

谁又能在回忆中释怀

三千青丝一夜染霜白

本是泪从笑中来

跌跌撞撞熙熙攘攘

目睹来客虚伪捧场

慌慌张张满目琳琅

入洞房

一袭盛装愈发荒唐

不见半点自由模样

笑饮孟婆汤 来生再圆

看她泪从喜中来

学着遗忘未曾有的爱

悲藏笑中几声哀

参不透人世冷暖的债

红尘谁能得自在

谁又能在回忆中释怀

三千青丝一夜染霜白

本是泪从笑中来

看她泪从喜中来

学着遗忘未曾有的爱

悲藏笑中几声哀

参不透人世冷暖的债

红尘谁能得自在

谁又能在回忆中释怀

三千青丝一夜染霜白

本是泪从笑中来

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
泪 lèi A1	noun - tear; a drop of liquid from the eye noun - sorrow, grief (metaphorical)
喜 xǐ A2	noun - joy, happiness
爱 ài A2	noun - love; deep affection verb - to love
悲 bēi B1	noun - sadness; sorrow
哀 āi C1	noun - lament; grief verb - to lament, to mourn
自由 zì yóu B2	noun - freedom; liberty adjective - free, unrestricted
回忆 huí yì B2	noun - memory; recollection
红尘 hóng chén C1	noun - the mundane world; earthly life
释怀 shì huái C1	verb - to let go of grudges; to be reconciled
遗忘 yí wàng B2	verb - to forget
学着 xué zhe B1	verb - to try to learn; to be learning
推搡 tuī sǎng C1	verb - to push and shove; to jostle
荒唐 huāng táng C1	adjective - absurd; ridiculous
虚伪 xū wěi C1	adjective - hypocritical; insincere
嫁衣 jià yī B1	noun - wedding dress
火坑 huǒ kēng B2	noun - fire pit; a place of burning
盛装 shèng zhuāng B2	noun - formal attire; splendid dress

Key Grammar Structures

• 佳人红妆未等到春风

  ➔ Negation with 未 + V (not yet).

  ➔ The word '未' marks negation before the verb; in this line it indicates that the spring breeze has not yet arrived.

• 一身嫁衣分不清是白是红

  ➔ Parallel structure with 是…是…; 分不清 = unable to distinguish.

  ➔ The phrase '是白是红' uses a correlative '是...是...' to present two possibilities side by side, with '分不清' meaning 'unable to tell apart'.

• 任人推搡着一生葬入火坑

  ➔ Pattern 任 + person/agent + 着 + verb; '任人' means 'let people' or 'allow people to'.

  ➔ The '任...着' construction expresses letting or allowing someone to perform an action, here combined with '推搡着' to indicate ongoing pushing.

• 跌跌撞撞熙熙攘攘

  ➔ Reduplication (doublets) of adjectives to convey state or continuous action.

  ➔ The repeated syllables '跌跌撞撞' and '熙熙攘攘' are reduplicated adjectives to convey repeated motion and crowding.

• 入洞房

  ➔ Simple verb + object phrase used elliptically to denote an action (entering the bridal chamber).

  ➔ The verb '入' here is used alone to convey the act of entering the bridal chamber; an elliptical, poetic shorthand common in lyric style.

• 一袭盛装愈发荒唐

  ➔ Adverbial intensifier '愈发' to mark increasing degree.

  ➔ The adverb '愈发' intensifies the adjective, meaning the outfit has become even more extravagant or ridiculous.

• 不见半点自由模样

  ➔ Quantifier '半点' meaning 'a single bit/not a bit'; negation with 不见 + Noun phrase.

  ➔ The phrase '半点' means 'a single bit' or 'not a bit', used with negation '不见' to stress the lack of freedom.

• 看她泪从喜中来

  ➔ From…to… construction: 从喜中来 indicates origin or source of tears.

  ➔ The '从…来' pattern shows the tears originate from happiness, personifying emotion.

• 三千青丝一夜染霜白

  ➔ Time expression '一夜' to indicate short time; numeral + noun for hyperbolic quantity.

  ➔ The time adverb '一夜' marks a rapid, dramatic change within one night; '三千' exaggerates the amount of hair.