Boya Breaks His Strings
This isn't going to be a full song translation, but more of a translation of background information, since this song's title is a "成语" ("chengyu") or Chinese idiom.
Quick story for people who have heard LeeHom and (Mayday's) Ashin's latest collaboration, "伯牙绝弦." (831 Band's A-Pu also helped write the lyrics. 831 is, of course, very much related to Mayday.) If you haven't heard this song yet, it's from LeeHom's new album "18 Martial Arts." Here's the MV:
The words at the beginning are as follows:
Amongst mankind, an intimate friend is hard to look for, a bosom friend is difficult to find.
The Chinese word for "bosom friend" used here more literally means someone who recognizes one's musical talent, which goes along really well with the title of the song, which means "Boya Breaks His Strings." Why did Boya break his strings? Here's a translation of what I found on Baidu Baike:
Boya was an expert at playing the guqin. Zhong Ziqi was good at listening. When Boya played and he thought of high mountains, Zhong Ziqi would praise him saying, "You play so well! It's just like the lofty Mount Tai!" When Boya thought of flowing waters, Zhong Ziqi would listen as if entranced and say, "So clever! It sounds just like the Yangtze surging forth from my heart!" Whatever Boya was thinking of would come up into Zhong Ziqi's heart. When Zhong Ziqi passed away, Boya knew he'd never find another person who understood his music (知音) like Zhong Ziqi. He broke his beloved guqin and never played again.
Thus, the phrase "伯牙绝弦" ("Boya Breaks His Strings") came to mean giving up a personal strength or hobby after a very dear friend dies to express mourning. The song is about finding someone like Boya's Zhong Ziqi. I think it's cute, too, that the person who posted the MV on Youtube says that LeeHom and Ashin are "知音."
Quick story for people who have heard LeeHom and (Mayday's) Ashin's latest collaboration, "伯牙绝弦." (831 Band's A-Pu also helped write the lyrics. 831 is, of course, very much related to Mayday.) If you haven't heard this song yet, it's from LeeHom's new album "18 Martial Arts." Here's the MV:
Click to viewThe words at the beginning are as follows:
Amongst mankind, an intimate friend is hard to look for, a bosom friend is difficult to find.
The Chinese word for "bosom friend" used here more literally means someone who recognizes one's musical talent, which goes along really well with the title of the song, which means "Boya Breaks His Strings." Why did Boya break his strings? Here's a translation of what I found on Baidu Baike:
Boya was an expert at playing the guqin. Zhong Ziqi was good at listening. When Boya played and he thought of high mountains, Zhong Ziqi would praise him saying, "You play so well! It's just like the lofty Mount Tai!" When Boya thought of flowing waters, Zhong Ziqi would listen as if entranced and say, "So clever! It sounds just like the Yangtze surging forth from my heart!" Whatever Boya was thinking of would come up into Zhong Ziqi's heart. When Zhong Ziqi passed away, Boya knew he'd never find another person who understood his music (知音) like Zhong Ziqi. He broke his beloved guqin and never played again.
Thus, the phrase "伯牙绝弦" ("Boya Breaks His Strings") came to mean giving up a personal strength or hobby after a very dear friend dies to express mourning. The song is about finding someone like Boya's Zhong Ziqi. I think it's cute, too, that the person who posted the MV on Youtube says that LeeHom and Ashin are "知音."