青花瓷 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: Jay Chou
• Album: On the Run

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the beauty of Mandarin through Jay Chou's 'Blue and White Porcelain.' This song is a perfect introduction to the poetic depth of the language, blending rich cultural imagery with a universally relatable story of love and longing. Learning the lyrics will not only enhance your vocabulary with beautiful, descriptive words but also offer a glimpse into the profound artistic heritage of China.

[English]

Plain glaze outlines the blue patterns, brush strokes from thick to pale

Peonies depicted on the vase, just like your first makeup

Gentle sandalwood incense drifts through the window; I understand your thoughts completely

On the Xuan paper, the brush stops here and lays down halfway

Glaze colors render the maiden figure, its charm kept hidden

And your charming smile, like a bud waiting to bloom

Your beauty gently drifts away

To places I can't reach

Sky blue waiting for misty rain, while I'm waiting for you

Curling smoke rises slowly, across the river a thousand miles away

Writing Han script at the bottom of the vase, imitating the elegance of bygone dynasties

Just consider it foreshadowing for meeting you

Sky blue waiting for misty rain, while I'm waiting for you

Moonlight is scooped up, blurring the ending

Like treasured blue and white porcelain, beautifully self-absorbed

Your eyes carry a smile

White with blue flowers, the carp leaps from the bowl's bottom

When copying the Song dynasty style and signing it, I still think of you

You hide within the kiln firing, a thousand-year secret

Extremely delicate, like an embroidery needle falling to the ground

Banana leaves outside the curtain provoke sudden rain, door rings provoke green patina

And I, passing by that Jiangnan small town, provoked you

Amid the splashed-ink landscape painting

You're hidden away in the depths of the ink

Sky blue waiting for misty rain, while I'm waiting for you

Curling smoke rises slowly, across the river a thousand miles away

Writing Han script at the bottom of the vase, imitating the elegance of bygone dynasties

Just consider it foreshadowing for meeting you

Sky blue waiting for misty rain, while I'm waiting for you

Moonlight is scooped up, blurring the ending

Like treasured blue and white porcelain, beautifully self-absorbed

Your eyes carry a smile

Sky blue waiting for misty rain, while I'm waiting for you

Curling smoke rises slowly, across the river a thousand miles away

Writing Han script at the bottom of the vase, imitating the elegance of bygone dynasties

Just consider it foreshadowing for meeting you

Sky blue waiting for misty rain, while I'm waiting for you

Moonlight is scooped up, blurring the ending

Like treasured blue and white porcelain, beautifully self-absorbed

Your eyes carry a smile

[Chinese]

素胚勾勒出青花 筆鋒濃轉淡

瓶身描繪的牡丹 一如妳初妝

冉冉檀香透過窗 心事我了然

宣紙上走筆至此擱一半

釉色渲染仕女圖 韻味被私藏

而妳嫣然的一笑 如含苞待放

妳的美一縷飄散

去到我到不了的地方

天青色等煙雨 而我在等妳

炊煙裊裊昇起 隔江千萬里

在瓶底書漢隸 仿前朝的飄逸

就當我為遇見妳伏筆

天青色等煙雨 而我在等妳

月色被打撈起 暈開了結局

如傳世的青花瓷 自顧自美麗

妳眼帶笑意

色白花青的錦鯉 躍然於碗底

臨摹宋體落款時 卻惦記著妳

妳隱藏在窯燒裡 千年的秘密

極細膩猶如繡花針落地

簾外芭蕉惹驟雨 門環惹銅綠

而我路過那江南小鎮惹了妳

在潑墨山水畫裡

妳從墨色深處被隱去

天青色等煙雨 而我在等妳

炊煙裊裊昇起 隔江千萬里

在瓶底書漢隸 仿前朝的飄逸

就當我為遇見妳伏筆

天青色等煙雨 而我在等妳

月色被打撈起 暈開了結局

如傳世的青花瓷 自顧自美麗

妳眼帶笑意

天青色等煙雨 而我在等妳

炊煙裊裊昇起 隔江千萬里

在瓶底書漢隸 仿前朝的飄逸

就當我為遇見妳伏筆

天青色等煙雨 而我在等妳

月色被打撈起 暈開了結局

如傳世的青花瓷 自顧自美麗

妳眼帶笑意

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
青花 /t͡ɕʰiŋ.hua/ B1	noun - blue and white porcelain
牡丹 /mǔ.tan/ B1	noun - peony
檀香 /tan.ɕiaŋ/ B2	noun - sandalwood
宣紙 /ɕɥan.ʈʂɨ̌/ C1	noun - xuan paper (a type of rice paper)
渲染 /ʐən.ʂaŋ/ B2	verb - to render, to imbue, to saturate
飄散 /piao.san/ B2	verb - to drift, to scatter
煙雨 /jan.yʊ̌/ C1	noun - mist and rain
隸 /lì/ C2	noun - clerical script (a style of Chinese calligraphy)
飄逸 /piao.jì/ C1	adjective - graceful, elegant, free and easy
伏筆 /fú.bǐ/ C2	noun - foreshadowing, a hint of things to come
暈開 /jùn.kāi/ B2	verb - to blur, to spread out
自顧 /tsì.kù/ C1	verb - to look at oneself, to be self-absorbed
錦鯉 /t͡ɕǐn.lǐ/ B1	noun - koi (carp)
躍然 /jʊ̀e.ʐán/ C1	adverb - vividly, strikingly
惦記 /djàn.t͡ɕì/ B2	verb - to remember with longing, to be concerned about
隱藏 /jǐn.t͡saŋ/ B1	verb - to hide, to conceal
極細膩 /t͡ɕì.ɕǐ.nì/ C1	adjective - extremely delicate, exquisite
惹 /ʐə̀/ B2	verb - to attract, to cause, to bring about

Key Grammar Structures

• 素胚勾勒出青花 筆鋒濃轉淡

  ➔ Resultative Verb Compound (勾勒"出")

  ➔ The verb "勾勒" (gōu lè - outline) is followed by "出" (chū - out) to indicate the successful completion of the action. The outlining *results* in the appearance of the blue and white porcelain design.

• 瓶身描繪的牡丹 一如妳初妝

  ➔ Subject-Predicate Structure (描繪的牡丹)

  ➔ "描繪的牡丹" (miáohuì de mǔdān) means "the peony that is painted/depicted". The structure consists of a verb-object phrase "描繪牡丹" (describe peony) modified by the particle "的", making it function as a noun phrase (subject). The whole line uses this noun phrase as a comparison: the peonies painted on the vase are like her initial makeup.

• 天青色等煙雨 而我在等妳

  ➔ Parallel Structure with Coordination Conjunction (而)

  ➔ The line presents two parallel clauses connected by the coordinating conjunction "而" (ér - but, and). Both clauses follow a similar structure: Subject + Verb + Object. The conjunction "而" emphasizes the contrast or parallel nature of waiting for the ideal sky-blue color and waiting for a person.

• 就當我為遇見妳伏筆

  ➔ "就當" as an Idiomatic Expression (Treating something as)

  ➔ "就當" (jiù dāng) means "just consider it as", "let's just say", or "treat it as if". It implies a hypothetical or metaphorical way of viewing something. In this context, the speaker is saying, "Let's just say I'm foreshadowing our meeting".

• 如傳世的青花瓷 自顧自美麗

  ➔ Use of "自" (zì) to indicate "self" or "autonomously"

  ➔ The character "自" (zì) indicates that the action or state is performed by or belongs to the subject itself. In "自顧自美麗" (zì gù zì měilì), the porcelain is beautiful *on its own*, without needing external validation or attention.