7 Reasons Why You Should Watch Love and Destiny
Ever wondered what the singer was singing when you are watching a Chinese drama? Today I am going to introduce you all to the most difficult language in the world, Chinese, through song lyrics. There are many difficult languages in this world, and there are also many ways to define how difficult a language is, such as pronunciation, grammar, cultural and historical background, depth and variance in meanings of words, and so on and so forth. Despite the fact that I do not personally know enough languages to determine where each language stands on the spectrum, I am still fairly sure that Chinese is the most difficult language. You can fight me on this, but by the time you finish reading this article, you will probably understand why this is the case.
During my attempt to translate song lyrics from Chinese dramas, I experienced fatigue, dizziness, nausea, headaches and… just joking, but man was it a pain in the neck. As a native Chinese who has been learning Chinese from a young age, I can reckon that it certainly is not as easy as it seems. You know a language is difficult when even natives struggle learning it. To make sense of a Chinese word or character, you must understand the historical and cultural background of the word, and a different combination of words could generate a completely different meaning. What’s worse is that a slightly more poetic or literary use of words could immediately render a modern Chinese user clueless. Some may think that if a language is so hard to learn and understand, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the language as a means of communication? This is also a reason why Chinese is so off-putting and often criticized for its lack of efficiency. But is Chinese truly inefficient? In fact, it is one of the most concise languages in the world if you can demonstrate good control over it, and painting a vivid picture with just four or five words is not uncommon for this oriental language. Today, I will present to you some of the most poetically intricate song lyrics from some of your favorite dramas.
The Eternal Love (雙世寵妃) – Nine Part Rhyme (九張機)
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. The metaphors were beautifully used and contained some of the most classic phrases of all time.
Chinese lyrics | Literal translation | Actual meaning |
光陰如梭一梭才去 一梭癡 情絲百轉絲絲纏亂 猶不知 織一段錦繡紋飾 並連理雙枝 難寄託這相思 *兜兜轉轉朝花夕拾 卻已遲 尋尋覓覓醉生夢死 又一世 還記得前生盟誓 欲言竟無詞 恨對面不相識 #我願化作 望斷天涯 那一方青石 篆刻心頭 是你的名字 輪迴彩蝶 化繭自縛 織就春蠶絲 剪不斷 共纏綿 生生世世 | Light and shadows like a weaving loom, one weave has just passed, (and) another weave has already gone mad Threads of emotions have circled hundreds of times, and threads have intertwined chaotically but (I) still haven’t realized (Even) weaving a beautiful silk pattern decoration and an interlinked twin branch, is hard to entrust this yearning (After) twists and turns, (the) morning flower is picked up at night, but (it is) already too late (While) searching and finding, drunk in living and dreaming in death, another life ends Still remembering past life’s promise, (I) desire to speak but have no words Resent (the one) across (me) not recognizing (me) I am willing to transform into a blue stone that stares across the end of the sky and cliff until it breaks Engraved in (my) heart is your name (I) reincarnate into a colorful butterfly, become a self-constricted cocoon, weave spring silk as a silkworm Inseverable, interlaced together, for lifetimes and lifetimes | Time flies, only a small span of time has passed / he has just left, and I have already gone mad Emotional connections have formed inseparably without me realizing Even weaving a beautiful silk pattern decoration and an interlinked twin branch, cannot entrust this yearning After all the wasted time, I try to harvest this love that I have planted long ago, but it is already too late We spend our lives searching, drunk in living and dreaming in death, that’s how our lives pass by Still remembering our promise in our past lives, I want to speak but can’t find the words I can only resent the person in front of me for not recognizing me I am willing to wait for you until I freeze rock solid Engraved in my heart is your name I reincarnate into a colorful butterfly (moth?), become a self-constricted cocoon, weave spring silk as a silkworm / I want to turn back time so I can tie us together Inseparable, interlaced together, for eternity |
Three Miles of Peach Blossoms (三生三世十里桃花) – Cool (涼涼)
This one was really difficult for me because of the inherent structural differences between Chinese and English. Many poetic devices lost their beauty after being translated, and it was hard to grasp a balance between translating the meaning and the imagery.
Chinese lyrics | Literal translation | Actual meaning |
入夜漸微涼 繁花落地成霜 你在遠方眺望 耗盡所有暮光 不思量 自難相忘 夭夭桃花涼 前世你怎舍下 這一海心茫茫 還故作不痛不癢不牽強 都是假象 涼涼夜色 為你思念成河 化作春泥 呵護著我 淺淺歲月 拂滿愛人袖 片片芳菲 入水流 涼涼天意 瀲灩一身花色 落入凡塵 傷情著我 生劫易渡 情劫難了 折舊的心 還有幾分前生的恨 也曾鬢微霜 也曾因你迴光 悠悠歲月漫長 怎能浪費時光 去流浪（去流浪）去換成長 灼灼桃花涼 今生愈漸滾燙 一朵已放心上 足夠三生三世背影成雙（背影成雙） 在水一方 涼涼三生三世 恍然如夢 須臾的年 風乾淚痕 若是回憶不能再相認 就讓情分 落九塵 涼涼十里 何時還會春盛 又見樹下 一盞風存 落花有意 流水無情 別讓恩怨愛恨 涼透那花的純 吾生願 牽塵 | Into the night it gradually gets cool, flowers fall and become frost You gaze from afar, exhausting all the twilight Not realizing the weight (of emotions), makes it hard to forget each other Tender peach blossoms cool, how can you put down your past life? The sea is vast but (I) still pretend to not be in pain, in yearning (and) not feel forced It’s all illusionary Cool cool night, (I) become a river for missing you Dissolve into spring mud, nurturing me Shallow years, whisked full of (my) lover’s sleeve Petals blossom gracefully, into the flowing waters Cool cool fate, the shimmering full body of flower colors Has fallen into mortal dust, saddening me Life’s ill fates are easy to overcome, (but) love’s ill fates are difficult Depreciating heart, and some hate from the past life (I) once had frost on my temple hair, and once had terminal lucidity for you Unhurried years are drawn out, how can one waste time? Go wander to redeem growth Scorching blossoms are cooling, this lifetime is becoming boiling hot One flower already in (my) heart, is enough for three lives and three lifetimes to be a pair with my shadow On one side of the waters Cool cool three lives and three lifetimes, (I) suddenly awake as if it was a dream Brief years, the wind dries up (my) tear traces If memories cannot reconcile again Then let the affection descend for nine dimensions Cool cool ten miles, when will the spring blossom? And (I) see beneath the tree, a *measurement unit for lamps* of wind storage The falling flower has feelings, (but) the flowing water is heartless Don’t let favor, resentment, love and hate, cool down the pureness of the flower I am willing to, in my lifetime, hold hands with dust | Into the night it gradually gets cool, flowers fall and become frost You gaze from afar, exhausting all the twilight Emotions deep in our hearts are hard to cast aside Tender peach blossoms cool down, how can you put down your past life? The heart is directionless, but I still pretend to not be in pain, in yearning and not feel forced It’s all faked The cool cool night, I become a river for missing you Dissolve into spring mud, nurturing me Not many years have passed, but my lover’s sleeve kept whisking away / my lover kept leaving me Petals blossom gracefully, into the flowing waters The cool cool fate, the person that once was beautiful has fallen into the mortal world, saddening me Life’s ill fates are easy to overcome, but love’s ill fates are difficult My heart is depreciating, and it also holds some hate from the past life I was once in vain, but I also once got better because of you Unhurried years are drawn out, how can one waste time? Go venture the world to gain experience / mature Scorching blossoms are cooling, this lifetime is becoming boiling hot I already have you in my heart, so I can bear with just being with my shadow / being alone for three lives and three lifetimes On one side of the waters Cool cool three lives and three lifetimes, I suddenly awake as if it was a dream Brief years, the wind dries up my tear traces If memories cannot reconcile again Then let the affection descend for nine dimensions That spring the departure on the ten miles’ pavilion, has cooled down my heart When will the next spring come when everything blossoms again? When it comes, I will again see the lamp on the pavilion / you I want to get closer to you, but you leave heartlessly Don’t let favor, resentment, love and hate, cool down this pure flower I am willing to, in my lifetime, live an ordinary life for you |
As seen from the above examples, Chinese literature contains heavy use of metaphors, sometimes even having one metaphor on top of another. Some of the phrases are borrowed from historical writing and have common symbolic meanings, such as the phrase “落花有意 流水無情” ("the falling flower has feelings, but the flowing water is heartless") in the song “Cool (涼涼)” is commonly used to describe an unrequited love. It also paints an image in the reader’s mind – a flower from a tree falls down into a river, and the river mercilessly carries the flower away.
You may also find “情絲” ("threads of emotions/love") or silk being mentioned multiple times in “Nine Part Rhyme (九張機)”. It is not uncommon for Chinese people to use threads, silk, ropes, or knots to describe bonds and relationships, as these objects all symbolize a connection or attachment. Not only do the threads connect to each other, they also get entangled together, and cannot be pulled apart or distinguished. This symbolizes an inseparable involvement between two people, and more so, a love that cannot be pulled apart.
In many situations, the subject matter or person is omitted and inferred, and sometimes objects may be used in place of the person. The “flower” in the phrase “one flower already in my heart” is actually a person. The “memories” in “if memories cannot reconcile again” are actually people, since it is not the memories that reconcile, it is the people holding these memories who do. “Light and shadows like a weaving loom, one weave has just passed, (and) another weave has already gone mad” – weave here is used as a measurement of time; each weave represents one unit of time passing by, but is that really the case? Why is it that when one weave passes, the other weave becomes crazy? Can time go insane? Here, two metaphors are actually being used simultaneously – weave means time but it also means people. When one person leaves, the other person misses them like crazy.
The specialty of the Chinese language is its conciseness and precision in objectifying abstract emotions. By replacing people with emotions or objects, and using adjectives to infer the noun, a long sentence can be shortened into just several words but still be able to contain the complete meaning of the original sentence, along with two metaphors plus an amalgam of beautiful vocabulary that drives your imagination.
If this topic piques your interest, do leave a comment below so that I can write more in the future. Are there any other lyrics that you would like to be translated? What are your favorite Chinese drama OST's? Feel free to tell me!
