For Nameless - Qing Xiang

Original title: 思無名
Singer: Qing Xiang (清響)
Translator: ayszhang


Green was the ripples of Qi*. Alone you had always wept
O how I worried, so I gifted you the wind
Please be with me, until the earth ages, the sky crumbles and our hair whitens
The winds never rested, blowing away my troubles
I heard stories of the past, and my memories flew off to the distance
I shall cherish the person before me this moment, and never let go
Into the welkin, emerald mountains reached, and along the villages limpid streams ran
I looked back and thought of nameless you again today
Konghou* sounded under the moonlight - the moon, my shadow and I made three*
Millenniums have elapsed when it all dissipates, and I wake, wistful.

Green was the cypress boat, underway, following the waves and chasing the breakers
Or drifting along the currents, the kings and lords of the land forgotten
Please be with me, until the earth ages, the sky crumbles and our hair whitens
The winds never rested, blowing away my troubles
I heard stories of the past, and my memories flew off to the distance
I shall cherish the person before me this moment, and never let go
By brooks alone I dwelled until death*, three years, another three autumns
Bitter shadows of the north winds spoke of sorrow and woe
Hand in hand, we’ll age together, and together in life and death we shall be
Millenniums have elapsed when it all dissipates, and I wake, wistful.

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1 A river in Northern China that is a tributary of the Wei River. It was a place of early civilization and is arguably the most praised in literature and most historically important river next to the Yellow River and Yangtze in China.
2 A harp-like instrument that was lost for a while until modern reestablishment.
3 A line directly taken from 《月下獨酌》by Li Bai (translated as ‘Beneath the Moon Drinking Alone’ by Frank C. Yue, see http://chinesepoetryinenglishverse.blogspot.ca/2013/03/beneath-moondrinking-alone-li-bai-o.html)
4 A line taken from 《衛風•考槃》(wei4 feng1 – kao3 pan2), a poem in ‘The Classics of Poetry’. This poem speaks of abandoning worldly cares and living freely. Here, dwelling by the brook signifies detachment from people and civilization.
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This translation was meant to be read with the novel translation of Cold Sands.