琵 琶 行 - 白 居 易
潯 陽 江 頭 夜 送 客 , 楓 葉 荻 花 秋 瑟 瑟 。
主 人 下 馬 客 在 船 , 舉 酒 欲 飲 無 管 絃 。
醉 不 承 歡 慘 將 別 , 別 時 茫 茫 江 浸 月 。
忽 聞 水 上 琵 琶 聲 , 主 人 忘 歸 客 不 發 。
尋 聲 暗 問 彈 者 誰 ? 琵 琶 聲 停 欲 語 遲 。
移 船 相 近 邀 相 見 , 添 酒 回 燈 重 開 宴 。
千 呼 萬 喚 始 出 來 , 猶 抱 琵 琶 半 遮 面 。
轉 軸 撥 絃 三 兩 聲 , 未 成 曲 調 先 有 情 。
絃 絃 掩 抑 聲 聲 思 , 似 訴 平 生 不 得 志 。
低 眉 信 手 續 續 彈 , 說 盡 心 中 無 限 事 。
輕 攏 慢 撚 抺 復 挑 , 初 為 霓 裳 後 六 么 。
大 絃 嘈 嘈 如 急 雨 , 小 絃 切 切 如 私 語 。
嘈 嘈 切 切 錯 雜 彈 , 大 珠 小 珠 落 玉 盤 。
間 關 鶯 語 花 底 滑 , 幽 咽 泉 流 水 下 灘 。
水 泉 冷 澀 絃 凝 絶 , 凝 絶 不 通 聲 漸 歇 。
別 有 幽 愁 暗 恨 生 , 此 時 無 聲 勝 有 聲 。
銀 瓶 乍 破 水 漿 迸 , 鐵 騎 突 出 刀 鎗 鳴 。
曲 終 收 撥 當 心 畫 , 四 絃 一 聲 如 裂 帛 。
東 船 西 舫 悄 無 言 , 惟 見 江 心 秋 月 白 。
沈 吟 放 撥 插 絃 中 , 整 頓 衣 裳 起 歛 容 。
自 言 本 是 京 城 女 , 家 在 蝦 蟆 陵 下 住 。
十 三 學 得 琵 琶 成 , 名 屬 敎 坊 第 一 部 。
曲 罷 曾 敎 善 才 服 , 妝 成 每 被 秋 娘 妬 。
五 陵 年 少 爭 纏 頭 , 一 曲 紅 綃 不 知 數 。
鈿 頭 雲 篦 擊 節 碎 , 血 色 羅 裙 翻 酒 污 。
今 年 歡 笑 復 明 年 , 秋 月 春 風 等 閒 度 。
弟 走 從 軍 阿 姨 死 , 暮 去 朝 來 顏 色 故 。
門 前 冷 落 車 馬 稀 , 老 大 嫁 作 商 人 婦 。
商 人 重 利 輕 別 離 , 前 月 浮 梁 買 茶 去 ，
去 來 江 口 守 空 船 , 繞 艙 明 月 江 水 寒 。
夜 深 忽 夢 少 年 事 , 夢 啼 妝 淚 紅 闌 干 。
我 聞 琵 琶 已 嘆 息 , 又 聞 此 語 重 喞 喞 。
同 是 天 涯 淪 落 人 , 相 逢 何 必 曾 相 識 。
我 從 去 年 辭 帝 京 , 謫 居 臥 病 潯 陽 城 。
潯 陽 地 僻 無 音 樂 , 終 歲 不 聞 絲 竹 聲 。
住 近 湓 城 地 低 濕 , 黃 蘆 苦 竹 繞 宅 生 。
其 間 旦 暮 聞 何 物 ? 杜 鵑 啼 血 猿 哀 鳴 。
春 江 花 朝 秋 月 夜 , 往 往 取 酒 還 獨 傾 。
豈 無 山 歌 與 村 笛 ? 嘔 啞 嘲 唽 難 為 聽 。
今 夜 聞 君 琵 琶 語 , 如 聽 仙 樂 耳 暫 明 。
莫 辭 更 坐 彈 一 曲 , 為 君 翻 作 琵 琶 行 。
感 我 此 言 良 久 立 , 卻 坐 促 絃 絃 轉 急 。
淒 淒 不 似 向 前 聲 , 滿 座 重 聞 皆 掩 泣 。
座 中 泣 下 誰 最 多 , 江 州 司 馬 青 衫 濕 。
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Pi Pa Verse - Bai Ju Yi
Bidding farewell to my friend in the night,
By the quayside on the Yangtze River .
Nakai flowers in the autumn moonlight,
And maple leaves in the wind quivered.
I dismounted after my friend,
Who had already stepped on deck.
We had wine cups in our hands,
But music was what we lacked.
With a dismal farewell in mind,
Little pleasure could be sought from wine.
We seemed lost, so was the moon in the river.
Then we heard the sound of pi-pa over the water,
And forgot what we were there for.
Following the sound, we discreetly called
For the fiddler but the music broke;
Only belatedly a reply was evoked.
We drew our boat near,
And invited the fiddler to appear.
In better lights we refilled our wine,
And prepared afresh to dine.
Under thousands of pleas, she slowly paced
Her debut with a pi-pa shading her face.
Tuning the peg, only a few notes she played,
But found it hard to keep her emotions at bay.
For each measure, unleashed a private sob she made,
As if delivering a plaint of her fate.
With knitted eyebrows she casually played,
To empty what her heart longed to say.
Lightly she plucked her strings with care,
Fluently playing melodies with flair.
The heavy string was strong and fast like driven rain,
The small string delicate, like a whisper faint.
All mingled, notes played slow and forte,
Like assorted pearls, landing on a plate of jade.
Like nightingales amongst the flowers sang,
Like murmuring water flowing on shallow sand.
As the strings became frozen still,
Even flowing water turned bitterly chilled.
When for a moment all sounds froze,
From the bottom of our hearts arose
All secret woes hitherto untold,
For this moment, silence was gold.
Then suddenly a silver vase explodes;
With water splashed.
And I hear cavalry riding bold
In a sortie, with weapons clashed.
As the tune came to the end,
Sweeping the fiddles, she flicked her hand.
With the sound like fabrics torn apart,
Four strings in unison, shaking my heart.
The boats next to us turned silent and still,
Over the river, only a moon hanging in the autumn chill.
With a face full of thoughts,
She put the plectrum back into slot.
Rising, aligning her attire and she
Was as composed as one could be.
"A girl from the Capital was I," she said,
"Under Sha-mo Hill, a home I once had.
By thirteen, in pi-pa I already made a name,
From the first group of Imperial Minstrels I came.
My talent was, even by the masters, unsurpassed,
My visage made other music girls outclassed.
Gallant young men fought to present
Gifts to me to befriend.
For every tune I played,
Countless silk pieces came my way.
Jade and silver hairpins bashed
To keep time beats and smashed.
In the revelries, silk gowns dashed
All over with wine splashed.
Frivolity carried on, year in, year out,
Spring turned autumn, I cared little about.
Then my brother joined the army one day,
And my aunt passed away.
Dawn followed dusk and my beauty faded,
Visitors were few and they shunned my gate.
Until no longer young I tarried,
And finally to a merchant I married.
He cared more for business than leaving me,
Last month he went on a trip buying tea.
All alone I wait in a boat by the quay,
A bright moon over the river is all I see.
In midnight dreams, youthful times I recall,
Down my rouged cheeks tears would fall."
I heard the tunes of pi-pa and I sighed,
Hearing the recitation, my woes multiplied.
We are both castaways amnestied,
By time and tide to a life undignified.
Despite we weren’t acquainted before,
This encounter is worthwhile after all.
Since leaving the Capital last year in exile,
Relegated to this city , my health failed.
Void of music, for a desolate city I wail,
Not hearing flutes and strings made me ail.
I live in soggy lowland and can only find,
Bamboo and wild creepers entwined.
What did I hear from dusk to sunrise?
Only apes' and cuckoos' awful cries.
In spring mornings and autumn moon's time,
I grab a bottle and pour my lonely wine.
Aren't there mountain songs and peasant's flutes?
Aye, but their noises appear to my ears too crude.
I heard your pi-pa articulation tonight,
Opening up my ears with fairy music in flight.
Please be kind to play one more tune,
I shall compose the pi-pa lyrics for you soon.
Brooding over my words for a while she stood,
Then resumed seated and play she would.
With strings tightened and a tempo quick,
A new wailing tune had us overwhelmed and transfixed.
All those present could not but cried,
Tears too obvious for their sleeves to hide.
Which audience had most tears to come by?
A moistened gown showed that it was I.
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