Mo Li Hua

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Melody of Mo Li Hua
Melody of Mo Li Hua

Mo Li Hua (茉莉花), which means 'Jasmine Flowers', is a popular Chinese folk song. It was created during the Qianlong Emperor period of the Qing Dynasty. There are two versions of the song, the more well know one from Jiangsu Province, and the other from Zhejiang Province. They have different lyrics and a slightly different melody.

The melody has become well known to Western listeners as it has been included by Giacomo Puccini in his opera Turandot, where it is associated with 'Turandot's splendor' (see ref. 1).

This song was played by Beijing University students at the closing ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Contents

[edit] Lyrics

[edit] Traditional Chinese

好一朵美麗的茉莉花
好一朵美麗的茉莉花
芬芳美麗滿枝椏
又香又白人人誇
讓我來將你摘下
送給別人家
茉莉花呀茉莉花

[edit] Simplified Chinese

好一朵美丽的茉莉花
好一朵美丽的茉莉花
芬芳美丽满枝桠
又香又白人人夸
让我来将你摘下
送给别人家
茉莉花呀茉莉花

[edit] Hanyu Pinyin

Hǎo yī duǒ měi lì de mò li huā
Hǎo yī duǒ měi lì de mò li huā
Fēn fāng měi lì mǎn zhī yā
Yòu xiāng yòu bái rén rén kuā
Ràng wǒ lái jiāng nǐ zhāi xià
Sòng gěi biě rén jiā
Mò li huā yā mò li huā

[edit] Literal Translation

A good beautiful jasmine flower
A good beautiful jasmine flower
Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds
Fragrant and white, everyone praises
Let me pluck you down
Give to someone
Jasmine flower, oh jasmine flower

[edit] Figurative Translation

Flower of jasmine, oh so fair!
Flower of jasmine, oh so fair!
Budding and blooming here and there,
Pure and fragrant all declare.
Let me take you with tender care,
Your sweetness for all to share.
Jasmine fair, oh jasmine fair.
The older Lyric of Mo Li Hua. From the music book "Gekkin Gakufu"(1877,Japan)
The older Lyric of Mo Li Hua. From the music book "Gekkin Gakufu"(1877,Japan)

[edit] References

1. Ashbrook W & Powers H (1991) Puccini's Turandot: The End of the Great Tradition. Princeton University Press, see Ch IV

Languages