Song of a Pipa Player Ba Juyi 

琵琶行-白居易



One night by riverside I bade a friend goodbye;

浔阳江头夜送客，
 
In maple leaves and rushes autumn seemed to sigh.

枫叶荻花秋瑟瑟。
 
My friend and I dismounted and came into the boat;

主人下马客在船，
 
Without flute songs we drank our cups with heavy heart;

举酒欲饮无管弦。
 
The moonbeams blended with water when we were to part.

醉不成欢惨将别，别时茫茫江浸月。
 
Suddenly o’er the stream we heard a pipa sound;

忽闻水上琵琶声，
 
I forgot to go home and the guest stood spell-bound.

主人忘归客不发。
 
We followed where the music led to find the player,

寻声暗问弹者谁，
 
But heard the pipa stop and no music in the air.

琵琶声停欲语迟。
 
We moved our boat towards the one whence came the strain,

移船相近邀相见，
 
Brought back the lamp, asked for more wine and drank again.

添酒回灯重开宴。
 
Repeatedly we called for the fair player still.

千呼万唤始出来，
 
She came, her face half hidden behind a pipa still.

犹抱琵琶半遮面。
 
She turned the pegs and tested twice or thrice each string;

转轴拨弦三两声，
 
Before a tune was played we heard her feelings sing.

未成曲调先有情。
 
Each string she plucked, each note she struck with pathos strong,

弦弦掩抑声声思，
 
All seemed to say she’d missed her dreams all her life long.

似诉平生不得志。
 
Head bent, she played with unpremeditated art

低眉信手续续弹，
 
On and on to pour out her overflowing heart.

说尽心中无限事。
 
外国网友评论：译者：Perter.Zhu
 
Athena April Besire
 
I have stumbled in this song because it was mentioned in the novel I am currently reading  and wow this is a nice music

哇，我在读小说时看到了这首歌词，这真是一首好歌！

Queen Takes the King
 
Me too. Were you reading "To Be a Virtuous Wife"?

我也是。你是在读“何为贤妻”吗？

ka -e
 
I want to know the meaning of this song. This is such a beautiful song 

我想知道这首歌的意思，很美的声音

HGBZ
 
Such a beautiful song and the Poet

如此优美的歌曲，诗人
 
Karl Van
 
I see you in almost every comment on Pipa Xing

我看到你每个琵琶行歌曲下都评论了

Sara Alyafee
 
I'm learning Chinese and this song is so beautiful I'm actually in love

我在学中文，这首歌太美了，我爱上它了

Karl Van
 
When you finish learning Chinese, you can learn Chinese ancient poetry, so that you can appreciate the beauty of Chinese and Chinese culture. After that, if you listen to this song again, you will find it more beautiful.Even this English translation can not fully express the beauty of the poem in this song.Because the meaning is still a little different.

当你学完汉语后，在学习中国古诗词。你就可以领略中国的文化之美。你再听这首歌时，你会发现它更美，这首英文译本也不能完全表达这首歌中诗的美，其中的意思还是有些出入的。

Mane Mane
 
Thank you for the English translation, I appreciated the music before, but being able to understand the lyrics really opened up a whole new dimension to me

谢谢你的翻译，我很欣赏这个音乐，为我能理解歌词打开了一个全新的方式
 
Agent Hofer
 
That's the coolest thing ever, a dead guy made the lyrics 

这是一个最酷的事，一个逝者做了一首歌词

Maggie Jetson
 
It wouldn't be remembered for 1200 years if it was trash.

如果它是垃圾，也不会被人记了1200年。
 
Parrot Brand
 
The lyrics are writings from a poet? Brilliant composition. Great poet 

歌词是诗人的作品？精彩的作品。伟大的诗人

Chaim
 
I actually discovered the song (rather poem) like 2 years ago, but never got to understand the meaning behind it until I stumbled upon this. 
Blessed be who translated it to English, and goddamn the dude who sang in this version gave it a whole new meaning (now that I know the sad story behind it) 

两年前，我发现这首歌，从来没有得到理解背后的含义，直到发现这个。
幸运的是它已经翻译成英语，该死，这个版本给了它一个全新的意义（现在我知道了背后的悲惨故事）

shiro hebi
 
MARVELOUS!!!!! CREATION!!!!!! JUST WOW

了不起的歌！
 
aisha
 
Can anyone suggest songs that are similar to this?? I love this kind of songs but i can't speak chinese  it's hard to find

有人能推荐类似的歌曲吗？我喜欢这种歌，但我不中文很难找到

Mr Ainz Ooal Gown
 
Just search douyin music many chinese song will appear.

搜索抖音就会出现许多中国歌曲。

Mohd Fayyadh
 
wow and I thought it was just a fun song.. until I open the caption, sad yet a beautiful story.

哇，这只是一首搞笑的歌。直到我打开字幕，悲伤却又美丽的故事。

Ritella
 
This is both a beautiful song and a heartwrenching story, I cannot deny it, I did cry reading the subs..

这是一首美丽的歌，也是一个令人心碎的故事，不能否认我是哭着看完的

SH
 
What story is that ?

这是什么故事？

Ritella
 
@SH  Oh, I meant the 'plot' of the poem about a talented lady who's talent in playing the pipa were not recognised, and instead had to live.. quite a miserable life

这首诗的“情节”是关于一位才华横溢的女士，她弹琵琶的天赋没有被认可，而是不得不苟活下去，相当的悲惨
 
Curufinwë
 
@Ritella  Her talent in playing the pipa were definitely recognized, it's that when she was young she lived lavishly but with age she gradually lost her fame and family. Eventually she married to settle down but her husband was a merchant so he chases profit and travels far while leaving her lonely.

她年轻时生活奢侈，演奏的琵琶得到了众人的认可，但随着年龄的增长，她逐渐失去了名望和家庭。在最后，她结婚了，但她的丈夫是一个重利商人，经常为了追逐利润而离开，她很孤独。

noran
 
this is very beautiful I wish I could understand the lyrics without subs

很美的歌词，希望有一天没有字幕就能理解歌词