Shuǐ diào gē tóu

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Shui diao ge tou (Traditional Chinese: 水調歌頭; Simplified Chinese: 水调歌头; pinyin: Shuǐ diào gē tóu) is the name of a tune which is used to rhyme this famous poem, 水調歌頭·丙辰中秋, by the Song dynasty poet Su Shi, commonly known as Su Dongpo.

Contents 1 Text of the Poem 2 English Translation 3 Notes on the Poem 4 Tunes of the poem

[edit] Text of the Poem

[edit] English Translation

note: due to the nature of Chinese poetry, the English translation of this poem can vary.

Bright moon, when did you appear?
Lifting my wine, I question the blue sky.
Tonight in the palaces and halls of heaven
what year is it, I wonder?

I would like to ride the wind, make my home there,
only I fear in porphyry towers, under jade eaves,
in those high places the cold wind would be more than I could bear.
So I rise and dance and play in your pure beams,
though this human world — how can it vie with yours?

Circling red chambers,
low in the curtained door,
you light our sleeplessness.
Surely you bear us no ill will —
why then must you be so round at times when we humans are parted!

People have their griefs and joys, their togetherness and separation,
the moon its dark and clear times, its roundings and wanings.
I only hope we two may have long long lives,
may share the moon’s beauty though a thousand miles apart.

[edit] Notes on the Poem

	Characters	Pinyin	Explanation
1.	水調歌頭	shuǐ diào gē tóu	The name of a tune.
2.	丙辰	bǐng chén	the ninth year of the reign of Song Emperor Shenzong (1076 C.E.), when Su Shi served as magistrate in Mizhou, present-day Zhucheng County in Shandong Province.
3.	中秋	zhōng qiū	the Mid-Autumn Festival, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month (lunar calendar); a traditional Chinese holiday when people gather to enjoy the moon, drink wine, and eat. moon cakes
4.	懷	huái	to think of, miss.
	子由	Zǐ yóu	Su Che (蘇轍/苏辙), courtesy name Ziyou, Su Shi's younger brother, also a famous author; at this time Su Che was in Jinan, Su Shi in Mizhou; the brothers had not seen each other for seven years.
5.	宮闕	gōng què	a spectacular palace.
6.	瓊樓玉宇	qióng lóu yù yǔ	a building made of beautiful jade, here, the Moon Palace.
7.	弄	nòng	to play, to sport; here, "to dance".
	清影	qīng yǐng	crisp, cold shadow in the moonlight.
8.	何似	hé sì	how can it compare to...
9.	朱閣	zhū gé	a red pavilion.
10.	綺戶	qǐ hù	a door or window with carved patterns and designs.
11.	無眠	wú mián	sleepless; here, refers to a sleepless person.
12.	嬋娟	chán juān	originally Chang E, a beauty; here, used to refer to the splendid moon.

[edit] Tunes of the poem

In 1983, Liang Hong Zhi (梁弘誌) composed this poem into an officially produced song entitled "Wishing We Last Forever" (但願人長久) by Teresa Teng in one of her albums Light Exquisite Feeling (淡淡幽情), filled with other poems from dynasties of Tang and Song. In later years, singers like Faye Wong, Jacky Cheung and China Flowers (芳華十八) covered this song in albums and concerts.