Yang Guan Triassic is one of China's most famous Guqin (string instrument) songs. The song's origins go back to 1491. It is based on a 4 line seven character quatrain "Send Yuan Er Shi Anxi."送元二使安西 (Seeing Yuaner off on a Mission to Anxi) written by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei王維(701-761) Wang Wei, from Taiyuan in Shanxi, was a well-known poet, painter, and musician of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He wrote over 400 poems. The poems of the frontier fortress and the seclusion poems of the mountains are very popular with people all over the world.
The poet Su Shi wrote, 'In his poetry there is painting and in his painting there is poetry'. Weatherwise, Wang Wei 'paints' a picture of a natural and fitting day for Yuan's journey with the willow tree symbolic of parting. The mood is hopeful rather than sad, though the friends will deeply miss each other. They delay the parting for as long as they can sharing their farewell banquet. The lyrics of the song then expand upon this theme, a common one in classical poetry
The song 陽關三疊 is divided into three sections, with Wang Wei's poem sung at the beginning of each section, hence the name "Yang Guan triassic." It is a three-stage tune with a pure and passionate melody, and appropriate melancholy. Yangguan was a pass near Dunhuang at the western end of the Great Wall. During the Han and Tang dynasties there was apparently an oasis town at Yangguan, built around a lake. It was China's westernmost cultural and administrative centre. The 2000 km trip from the Tang capital Chang'an to Yangguan would begin at Weicheng, on the Wei river. The departing friend, gets on a boat on the Wei, heading upriver, entering the Wu Mountains after about 200 km. The final destination was Anxi, a military region.
Guo Shuzhen, 郭淑珍, born on June 1, 1927 in Tianjin, Shandong Province, was another of the younger generation of singers who came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution, helping New China to continue its cultural heritage.. She graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in 1952 and continued her studies at Tchaikovsky Music Conservatory in Moscow. She married Zhu Gongqi on December 15, 1959, a love that would last a lifetime. During the 1960s, she gave recitals in Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Hong Kong, Leningrad and other places. She also visited and gave performances in many countries including: Germany, U.S.A., Canada, Cuba, Columbia, Venezuela and Austria. The China Record Corporation published a number of her repertoires including famous arias and art songs. All her recordings were highly praised by critics and audience. She received the Gold Album Award at the First National Album Awards Appraisal in 1989. Guo Shuzhen was awarded the best instructor prize for the art songs competition among the music conservatories all over the country in 1988. She also received the first prize of the National Education Achievements in 1997.
Mandarin
渭城朝雨浥輕塵 客舍青青柳色新
勸君更盡一杯酒 西出陽關無故人
遄行 遄行 長途越度關津
歷苦辛 歷苦辛 歷歷苦辛
宜自珍 宜自珍
渭城朝雨浥輕塵 客舍青青柳色新
勸君更盡一杯酒 西出陽關無故人
依依顧戀不忍離 淚滴沾巾
感懷 感懷 思君十二時辰
誰相因 誰相因 誰可相因
日馳神 日馳神
渭城朝雨浥輕塵 客舍青青柳色新
勸君更盡一杯酒 西出陽關無故人
旨酒 旨酒 未飲心已先醇
載馳駰 載馳駰 何日言旋軒轔
能酌幾多巡
千巡有盡 寸衷難泯 無窮的傷感
尺素申 尺素申 尺素頻申
如相親 如相親 噫~ 從今一別
兩地相思入夢頻 聞雁來賓
English Translation: Massive thanks to John Thompson at www.silkqin.com/ and to Jin Qiuyu 金秋雨
The morning rain at Weicheng dampens the light dust,
At the inn, the willows look lush and green once again.
I urge you, dear sir, to finish one more cup of wine, for
Going west through Yangguan there will be no old friends.
( the above 4 lines are Wng Wei's original poem)
Hurry along, hurry along, the journey is long, and the ferry awaits.
Endure, endure, endure hardship, and
Take good care, take good care.
2 Repeat Wang Wei's 4 lines ... then
Full of regret at parting, and filled with nostalgia, I cannot bear this separation; Teardrops soak the towel.
Yearning, yearning, longing for my good friend all twelve watches of the day.
Who can carry on, who can carry on, who is able to carry on?
Each day, my thoughts fly to you; each day, my thoughts fly to you.
3 Repeat Wang Wei's 4 lines ... then
Excellent wine, excellent wine; even without a sip the heart is already intoxicated.
Pulled by galloping dappled horses, pulled by galloping dappled horses,
On what day will we be able to speak again, when I hear the rumble of your returning carriage?
How many rounds can we pour?
Even after a thousand rounds have been finished, one inch of sentiment can’t be extinguished, infinite sadness
Bring the message, bring the message, again and again bring the message,
So as to meet again, to meet again. Alas! From today on, we separate.
Two lands apart, but close in dreams. I hear the migrating wild geese coming as guests.