dàn qín (by Liu Changqing)
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| 彈 or 弹 | dàn, tán | crossball; bullet; shot; shell; ball; impeach; to pluck a string; to play (a stringed musical instrument with fingers) |
| 琴 | qín | (mus. instr.) |
| 泠 | líng | (surname); sound of water flowing |
| 泠 | líng | (surname); sound of water flowing |
| 七 | qī | seven; 7 |
| 絃 | xián | string of mus. instr. |
| 上 | shàng | on; on top; upon; first (of two parts); previous or last (week, etc.); upper; higher; above; previous; to climb; to go into; above; to go up |
| 靜 or 静 | jìng | still; calm; quiet; not moving |
| 聽 or 听 | tīng, tìng | let; allow; listen; hear; obey |
| 松 | sōng | loose; pine |
| 風 or 风 | fēng | wind; news; style; custom; manner |
| 寒 | hán | cold; poor; to tremble |
| 古 | gǔ | ancient; old |
| 調 or 调 | diào, tiáo | harmonize; reconcile; mode (music); to move (troops); tune; tone; melody; to transfer |
| 雖 or 虽 | suī | although; even though |
| 自 | zì | from; self; oneself; since |
| 愛 or 爱 | ài | to love; affection; to be fond of; to like |
| 今 | jīn | today; modern; present; current; this; now |
| 人 | rén | man; person; people |
| 多 | duō | many; much; a lot of; numerous; multi- |
| 不 | bù | (negative prefix); not; no |
| 彈 or 弹 | dàn, tán | crossball; bullet; shot; shell; ball; impeach; to pluck a string; to play (a stringed musical instrument with fingers) |
Playing the zither
Ah! that mellifluous upper octave
with its soft lazy vibrato.I do love the old music
but not many people can still play it.LJW
Swoosh! Swoosh! The seven strings
Shiver the pines like cold wind.
The ancients lived surrounded by music
Modern people, however, do not play.
MAW
Music fills the air
Accompanied by a soft gentle breeze
Such appreciation is loss
Like that of ourselves today
DS
With a stroke of the qins
music arises from seven stringsYet it doesn't drown
the breeze in the background.Ancient art of such beauty,
just like love in our modern city,
has sadly faded too quickly.DS
Playing the qin
Tinkling on the seven strings,
Like pine trees trembling in the wind.
Though the harmonies are old, I still love them.
But few now play the qin.
DJW
The strings of the zither
Sound like water flowing, flowing.
Be still. Listen. The wind trembles through the pines
in ancient melodies of love.But now, all is gone.
IW