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北方有佳人 (so I tried to translate Jiarenqu)
May. 1st, 2010 10:09 pm北方有佳人，绝世而独立。
一顾倾人城，再顾倾人国。
宁不知倾城与倾国，佳人难再得！
There is a beauty in the northern lands,
who stands alone without peer.
One look from her and a city falls,
Another look and down crumbles an entire nation.
Oh, to never know such evils befalling the land—
Yet such a beauty shall never again appear!
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (under whom the Han dynasty reached its apex), the court musician LI Yannian composed this song (Jiarenqu, The Song of Beauty) about his sister. When the emperor heard the song, he wondered out aloud if such a beauty indeed existed. Li's sister was thus introduced to him and became a favorite wife of his. Eventually they were buried together.
(Emperor Wu of Han is like the Henry VIII of China in terms of his romantic relations...I plan to write about him in The Book I'm Supposedly Writing. The only question is—do I include the bisexual bits too?)
一顾倾人城，再顾倾人国。
宁不知倾城与倾国，佳人难再得！
There is a beauty in the northern lands,
who stands alone without peer.
One look from her and a city falls,
Another look and down crumbles an entire nation.
Oh, to never know such evils befalling the land—
Yet such a beauty shall never again appear!
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (under whom the Han dynasty reached its apex), the court musician LI Yannian composed this song (Jiarenqu, The Song of Beauty) about his sister. When the emperor heard the song, he wondered out aloud if such a beauty indeed existed. Li's sister was thus introduced to him and became a favorite wife of his. Eventually they were buried together.
(Emperor Wu of Han is like the Henry VIII of China in terms of his romantic relations...I plan to write about him in The Book I'm Supposedly Writing. The only question is—do I include the bisexual bits too?)
