tīng zhēng (by Li Duan)
|
| 聽 or 听 | tīng, tìng | let; allow; listen; hear; obey |
| 箏 | zhēng | (mus. instr.) |
| 鳴 or 鸣 | míng | to cry (of birds) |
| 箏 | zhēng | (mus. instr.) |
| 金 | jīn | metal; money; gold |
| 粟 | sù | grain; millet |
| 柱 | zhù | pillar |
| 素 | sù | plain |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; convenient |
| 玉 | yù | jade |
| 房 | fáng | house |
| 前 | qián | before; in front; ago; former; previous; earlier; front |
| 欲 | yù | desire; longing; appetite; wish |
| 得 | dé, de, děi | a sentence particle used after a verb to show effect; degree or possibility; to have to; must; ought to; to need to; obtain; get; gain; proper; suitable; proud; contented; allow; permit; ready; finished |
| 周 | zhōu | (surname); complete; encircle; circuit; lap; week; cycle; all; every; attentive; thoughtful |
| 郎 | láng | (surname); a youth |
| 顧 or 顾 | gù | look after; take into consideration; to attend to |
| 時 or 时 | shí | O'clock; time; when; hour; season; period |
| 時 or 时 | shí | O'clock; time; when; hour; season; period |
| 誤 or 误 | wù | mistake; error; to miss; to harm; to delay; to neglect |
| 拂 | fú | brush away |
| 絃 | xián | string of mus. instr. |
Listen to the lute
A youth plays a lute in front of the jade house
But his note sounds like metal on a pillar
I wish he would consider playing the piece again from the beginning
To get it right
CMW
Work bell
The cry of the golden bell sounds from the grain tower.
Rung by a plain hand, not some jade-house-dwelling aristocrat.
I long to run laps as younger men can.
Oh how time flies, like a brush on a string.
MAW
The work bell
The bell sounds out the "Golden Grain" company tone.
It's a proletarian sound, not some idle aristocrat!
Now we must all do calisthenics with the new recruits.
Two hours of that will cure any subversive thoughts.
MAW
Listening to music
Birds sing as they peck golden grains
from children's hands, in front of
the jade-pillared house.They are all captivated by the music,
and time stands still,
and then they brush it away.DJW
Surrendering to the draw of the lute
The notes of the lute fall like a slow golden rain.
In front of a tavern
a youth is wholly engrossed in his luteHours and hours pass as he plucks its strings.
LJW
Listen to the lute
It sings odd music like pillars of grain
Plain in front of the jade house
The longing ought to encircle and embrace the youth.
GS