Ouyang Xiu: Human Experiences Mostly Full of Suffering: (Yan Jiaoer Street Snack Seller)

Human Experiences Mostly Full of Suffering: (Yan Jiaoer Street Snack Seller)

盐 角 儿

人 生 最 苦 少 年 不 得
鸳 帏 相 守。
西 风 时 节 那 堪 话 别
双 蛾 频 皱。

暗 消 魂，重 回 首。
奈 心 儿 里，彼 此 皆 有
后 时 我，两 个 相 见
管 取 一 双 清 瘦。

Ren Sheng Zui Ku: Yan Jiao Er

Ren sheng zui ku
Shao nian bu de
Yuan wei xiang shou.

Xi feng shi jie
Na kan hua bie
Shuang e pin zhou.

An xiao hun, chong hui shou.
Nai xin er li, bi ci jie you
Hou shi wo, liang ge xiang jian
Guan qu yi shuang qing shou.

Human Experiences Mostly Full of Suffering: (Yan Jiaoer Street Snack Seller)

Human experiences mostly full of suffering
Cannot retrieve one’s youth
Behind the mandarin duck curtain in her embrace.

Season of westerly winds
Have to talk of our impending departure
Time and again her eyebrows begin to wrinkle and crease.

Hidden soul disappears, again her mind goes back to the early days
Still our hearts child-like inside, for the both of us.
Later on we will meet each other again
Together I am certain of bodies that will be thin and light.

Notes:

With Ci poems, the title comes from the poem’s first line, and the title of the music appears inside the parentheses.