Analysis of Tian Ya Ke Lyrics
(line-by-line with literary references and context)
Written by Weibo user 认真看剧的打字机器
Translation by Twitter user @_keikaku
Original post:
https://m.weibo.cn/7730522257/4726629412378249
Tian Ya Ke, being Word of Honor’s ending theme, has appeared in many important scenes throughout the show. Moreover, the lyrics were penned by the script writer herself, thus it can best express the show’s overarching idea, much worthy of a detailed analysis.
[Part 1 - ZZH]
天苍苍事了功成渡寒江 Under the grey sky, I crossed the cold river as the job was done |
Meaning: The deep blue sky was vast and endless, ZZS’s service as Tianchuang’s leader under King Jin had come to an end, and he was about to cross the cold river to leave the Northwest region.
Analysis: “Cold river” points to the river water during the autumn and winter, in this context it points at ZZS leaving the Northwest in a very cold and harsh winter. A line from Jet Li’s (Li Lianjie) Flying Swords of Dragon Gate can also be aptly quoted here: “A lone silhouette on the cold river, an old friend from jianghu”, which accurately portrays ZZS’s current state.
夜茫茫杯中月影笑荒唐 In the vast night, the moon in my cup laughed at the absurdity |
Meaning: The vast darkness of the night, whose ends were nowhere in sight, there was only the reflection of the moon in my cup, laughing at my years of living in absurdity.
Analysis: “The moon’s reflection in my cup” comes from Li Bai’s Drinking Alone Under the Moonlight - First. In this poem, the author experienced an extreme sense of loneliness —— “Pouring out a cup, for no friend or kin” (WKX has also quoted this before), so he decided to take the moonlight and his own shadow as drinking companions, “Raising my cup to invite the moon, with my shadow we made three people”. In the lyrics, the moonlight is personified, purpose is to express ZZS’s solitariness at this point, where he can only find company in wine and the moon, and he mocks himself for self-righteously believing that he was sacrificing for the greater good, while in fact, it was just a preposterous case of feeding himself to the tiger.
谁许我策马江湖闯四方 Who allowed me to gallop off to traverse the world? |
Meaning: Who can accompany me to travel the world on our horsebacks?
Analysis: A complement to the solitariness in the upper sentence, lamenting about how there’s no one around ZZS who can accompany him to fulfill his wish of galloping off around the world.
谁醉遍天涯 梦醒不见故乡 Who had travelled to the ends of the world in drunkenness, yet couldn’t face their hometown when sober? |
Meaning: I can go to the ends of the world and the corners of the four seas to drink wine, but I can never return to the hometown that I dream of going back to.
Analysis: “Wandering the world, drinking to death” is not in ZZS’s romance, but the last punishment that he gives himself. There’s an old saying, “falling leaves return to their roots”; it’s also a traditional mindset of “even if I’m dying soon, I want to die in my hometown, where my roots are”. Even the most highly regarded, powerful court officials also requested to “bring their bones and ashes back to their hometowns” upon reaching their old ages. Du Fu, the God of Poetry, died on a boat heading back to his hometown. ZZS is aware that the countdown on his life has already begun, so he can’t not be thinking about returning. “Couldn’t face their hometown when sober” actual meaning isn’t “sobering up from the wine”, but rather “only can see the hometown in their dreams”, which hints to us ZZS’s reminiscence of his home. However, ZZS is set on believing that he has let down his teacher/forgone the teachings imparted in him, thus feels ashamed to face Siji Manor. Despite clearly having hometown on his mind always, since the departure from the Northwest, he leaves Kunzhou in the Southwest and heads towards the Southeast (Chengling’s home is located in the now-Zhejiang region). This kind of nomadic life, though the heart yearns for a place he can’t return to, is also one of the final punishments ZZS gives himself.
(Which is also my reasoning against hobo-Xu = freedom… he isn’t just drinking wine… he’s using wine to numb the pain in his flesh and mind…)
Summary of Part 1: The first sentence describes ZZS’s current state, the second sentence describes ZZS’s sorrow about his ideals destroying half of his life, the third describes ZZS’s loneliness, the fourth describes his yearning for home.
(Between these three types of emotions, just experiencing one is already torturing enough, yet he’s experiencing all three at once, how can he feel happy…)
[Part 2 - GJ]
西陵下凄秋凉雨吻我窗 Under the dreary autumn sky of Xiling, cold rain kissed my window |
Meaning: In the middle of Ghost Valley, there was only desolating autumn rain landing on my window.
Analysis: This sentence comes from Li Shangyin’s The Tomb of Su Xiaoxiao: “Under the Xiling sky, winds blew at the falling rain”.
This poem by Li Shangyin was one of his “ghost poems”. Through the imagery of Su Xiaoxiao’s tomb, he drew up a series of strange illusions, portraying the beautiful yet fleeting ghost of Su Xiaoxiao, thus creating a resplendent but ghostly atmosphere. It bodes well with Wen Kexing’s image in the Ghost Valley: an outstanding beauty with dark and terrifying aura. And although Wen Kexing sits at the highest position of power, there is only the cold autumn rain knocking on his window, illustrating his inner feelings of loneliness and desolation.
(T/N: The author, whose writings were dubbed as “ghost poems” was actually Li He, a poet from mid-Tang dynasty, and not Li Shangyin, a poet from late-Tang. Likely a typo on OP’s part.)
任人憎任人谤 未妨惆怅是清狂 Let people hate, let people slander; but perhaps melancholic “clear madness” will not do any harm |
Meaning: No matter how others hated me, slandered me, I always persisted with my own desire, without a care for people who said that I was obsessed.
Analysis: “But perhaps melancholic ‘clear madness’ will not do any harm” comes from Li Shangyin’s Untitled Twin Poems. The full line reads, “You may say that it is completely futile to be lovesick; But perhaps melancholic ‘clear madness’ will not do any harm”. However in this context, this part has no relation to lovesickness; we must interpret it in tandem with the former part in the lyrics “let people hate, let people slander”. It conveys WKX’s mental state during his time in Ghost Valley: although hated or slandered by the so-called righteous sects, WKX has never quite cared, and in a state of near-obsession, he step-by-step makes preparations to avenge his parents. Despite deeply knowing that in doing so, he will end up sacrificing himself/can’t step away when it ends, he still wants to go absolute bonker, using the complete destruction of jianghu as a way to return justice to his parents.
春风吹得绿江南水岸 吹不暖人心霜 Spring breezes blew greens to the banks of Jiangnan river; couldn’t blow warmth to a frosted heart |
Meaning: Spring winds could bring back luscious nature, but couldn’t melt the frost and coldness in my heart.
Analysis: The first half comes directly from Wang Anshi’s Anchoring At Guazhou. The poem continues, “when would the bright moon shine on my way back home”. Here, the “spring breezes” refers to the spring day of WenZhou meeting, at which point WKX’s heart is still a block of icy frost, but in actuality, he begins to yearn for a bright moon to bring him home, thus the latter half in the lyrics.
猝不及防 那是不是我们的光 Taken by surprise, could that be our light? |
Analysis: The bright moon whom WKX yearns for, the bright moon who will bring him home, right on that spring day in the 27th year of his life, he comes in all glowing light, and barges into WKX’s world unannounced.
Summary of Part 2: The first sentence describes WKX’s current state, the second sentence describes WKX’s mental state, the third sentence describes WKX’s yearnings, the fourth sentence describes the effect of WenZhou’s first meeting on WKX.
[Part 3 - GJ]
相见恨晚幸未晚 不再辜负四季花 Hate that we couldn’t meet sooner, happy that it wasn’t too late. Flowers of four seasons no longer bloomed in vain |
Analysis: WKX meets ZZS well into his adulthood, at the age where most people celebrate early life achievements, so it can’t be considered late. The fortunate part is, he meets ZZS where he considers to be “near the end of his life”. He then finds his own redemption and is able to live on, that’s why “it wasn’t too late”. “Flowers of four seasons” refers to the beautiful sceneries of Siji Manor: “Spring bathes in a sea of azalea, summer appreciates blooming phoenix flowers, autumn comes with wafting red osmanthus fragrance, winter beholds snow-like plum blossoms”. It also signifies WKX slowly letting go of his obsession to destroy the world after meeting ZZS, breaking free from his vengeance, and learning to admire the everchanging sceneries of four seasons along the journey of living – from then on, the beauty of ever-blooming flowers along the path of life shall not go unnoticed. And it marks the development from “as long as I can burn down this murky water of a martial world and its so-called righteous sects, there’s nothing that I can’t risk” mindset to “as long as we let go of vengeance, we are alive and living”.
将古道西风瘦马 换小桥流水人家 Trade away the old road, autumn winds and scrawny horse, for a small bridge, running stream and a home of nestling |
Analysis: This line comes from Ma Zhiyuan’s To the Tune of “Tian Jing Sha”: Autumn Thoughts. Its meaning complements “Flowers of four seasons no longer bloomed in vain”, referring to WKX’s change of heart after meeting ZZS, from a painful and desolating “thin horse trudging on an old road in the autumn winds” to a warm and lively “nestling homes over a small bridge by a running stream”.
(T/N: Tian Jing Sha (lit. Sky-Clear Sand) is the name of the tune to which this qu poem is composed (曲牌名 qubaiming), that is to say, in an oral performance, this poem is intended to be recited with the rhythm and melody of Tian Jing Sha. The english for this line is rehashed from Andrew Wong’s translation.)
Summary of Part 3: In the first sentence, WKX expresses his good fortune of having met ZZS, through which his life is no longer engulfed by vengeance. In the second sentence, he describes the change of heart after meeting ZZS.
(Plainly speaking, he’s just declaring his love to ZZS: “only after meeting you that I realise how important you are to me”)
(…Okay, enough already Wen-ge)
[Part 4 - ZZH]
万里河山万家灯 往事如烟浪淘沙 A thousand miles of rivers and mountains, a thousand lights of homes. The past went up in smokes, washed away like sands |
Analysis: “A thousand miles of rivers and mountains” comes from Xin Qiji’s To the Tune of “Qing Ping Yue”: Sleeping Alone in the Wangs’ Hut under Mt. Bo, referring to the vastness of the world. “A thousand lights of homes” is from the Qing dynasty’s novel A Flower In A Sinful Sea by Zeng Pu. Here’s the full line: “A thousand lights of homes, a path lined with songs of the flute”, describing the warm scenes of houses lighting up one after another as the night falls.
“Lang Tao Sha” (lit. waves washing away sands) is the tune title. I initially thought it refers to “great waves washing off the sands”, but the meaning of this phrase is “to stand the test of ferocious battles”, which clearly doesn’t match the context. So I made a bold guess that Liu Yuxi’s Lang Tao Sha was quoted here: “With many turns the Yellow River flows with sands from afar; Coming from the sky's edge, the wind-blown rolling waves never stay”. This matches the sentiment expressed in “(the past has) gone up in smokes” to convey the idea of “no going back”, like muddy sands swept away by the water.
In this line, ZZS is consoling WKX, telling him to treasure the beautiful sceneries and the warmth, homeliness of the mortal realm. Let bygones be bygone, don’t torment yourself over the past.
将平生霜雪 与君煮酒烹茶 Use my life’s worth of frost and snow to warm wine and brew tea with you |
Analysis: Wine is warmed by submerging a flask of wine in a hot water bath. This scene took place once before, when WenZhou were at the Siji Manor. Tea brewing is exactly how it’s normally done. However, both of these activities are considered refined hobbies to be enjoyed in the downtime by ancient folks, or like the heroes in Romance of Three Kingdoms, drinking warm wine with green plums. ZZS is expressing his desire to live a warm, simple life with WKX.
Yet, to warm the wine and brew the tea with “my life’s worth of frost and snow” just adds a whole other layer to the depth of emotions. There’s a saying, “good tea must be brewed in good water”. Which water is the purest, the most elegant of them all? The ancients believed that crystal-clear and sweet water was of the highest quality. Tea brewed from water that has once been frozen yields an extraordinary taste. In Bai Juyi’s Rising Late: After A Morning’s Slumber, “Melting snow to brew fragrant tea, melting butter to make porridge”. Lu You wrote in Tea After Snow: “Sweet and clear liquid snow filled my well, simply brewed with the tea stove I brought along; A life free of worries was a hundred years well-spent”. In Dream of the Red Mansion Part 41, as Miaoyu was making tea for Baoyu, Daiyu asked, “Is this rain water from last year?” Miaoyu sneered, “A person like you is such a boor, that you can’t even differentiate water when you taste it. This is snow collected from the plum blossom, when I was at the Panxiang temple in Xuanmu five years ago.” It’s apparent that despite being “rootless water”, melted snow is considered a grade above rain water. Surely the use of melted snow to make tea would greatly enhance the elegance and appeals of this lifestyle.
(This is definitely the stuff that ZZS they all would do… This kind of thing, you couldn’t do it unless you were rich… Except them, who would take time learning this stuff… The common people were already happy to have drinkable water…)
However, ZZS saying this isn’t meant to express his hope for a future life, and definitely not to express self-reconciliation. Because he can’t reconcile with the past, he decisively sticks the nails into his own body, straight until WKX appears, under WKX’s encouragement and gentleness (*noisiness*), that a spark of hope for a future life is ignited within ZZS, kickstarting the process of self-reconciliation. The past which hardens inside his heart like frost and snow, slowly melts away in the warm and beautiful life with WKX, to the extent that ZZS can even joke about it.
Summary of Part 4: In the first sentence, ZZS is convincing WKX to reconcile with the world; in the second sentence, ZZS shows reconciliation with his own self.
[Part 5 - GJ]
芳草长烟波流云映斜阳 Flourishing grass enshrouded in misty waves. Dusky light reflected on floating clouds |
Analysis: This line is from Fan Zhongyan’s Waterbag Dance (trans. Xu Yuanchong):
“Clouds veil emerald sky, leaves strewn in yellow dye.
Waves rise in autumn hue, and blend with mist cold and green in view.
Hills steeped in slating sunlight, sky and waves seems one;
Unfeeling grass grows sweet beyond the setting sun.”
The conveyed meaning is, the sky is painted an emerald shade, yellow foliage covers the ground, the colours of autumn stretch from the horizon to the water, and the chilly, green fog seemingly weaves itself into the water. The distant hills bathe in the dusky sun; the sky and the river meld together. The grass, who understands not the pain of homesickness, grows far beyond the edges of the twilight sky. Going back to the lyrics, we can see that “grass” and “misty waves” indicate an autumn atmosphere, whereas “floating clouds” and “dusky light” refer to sunset. In short, this line paints us the scenery of an evening sky in autumn.
If we impose this layer of meaning onto the drama’s storyline, this should tell us WKX’s emotions after he has fallen in love with ZZS (WKX himself has said this): “The setting sun is ceaselessly beautiful; what a pity that it’s too close to dusk.” Although the autumn sunset is beautiful, soon the winter night will settle in, taking away any lingering warmth of the daylight. What WKX means is, his time together with ZZS is beautiful, but once ZZS finds out WKX’s real identity —— the Leader of Ghost Valley —— this happiness will inevitably come to the end, and ZZS might never forgive him.
问何处仙乡 蝴蝶为骨玉为梁 You ask where my hometown is. I come from butterfly bones and virtues of jades |
Analysis: “仙乡” xianxiang is the formal way of addressing one’s hometown. This is basically a question to WKX, asking where he comes from. “Butterfly bones” refers to WKX’s mother, while “virtues of jades” refers to WKX’s father.
Summary of Part 5: In the first sentence, WKX likens his time spent by ZZS’s side to the hours before dusk, beautiful but inevitable. ZZS will walk away the moment WKX’s true identity is revealed, abandoning him in the darkness of the cold winter. In the second sentence, WKX reveals his true origin.
[Part 6 - ZZH]
你一肩担不尽万古愁 不如分我几两 Your shoulders couldn’t bear the weight of eternal sorrow. Why not let me carry some |
Analysis: Confronted by WKX’s many worries, ZZS hopes that he can open up his heart, ZZS is willing to share his burdens. Selected lines from episode 22: “I am helping you”, “I will come with you to seek revenge from Zhao Jing”, to the persuasion in episode 24, then again in episode 27: “The only way for you to step into Siji Manor today, is over my dead body”, and straight to episode 32: “Save your breaths” —— ZZS has always used actions to tell WKX this.
(President ZZS of the Care For WKX’s Mental Health Association is online)
陪君醉 三万场 从此不言离殇 Thirty thousand drinks, I’d accompany you. From here on, we’d never bid farewell |
Meaning: As long as you’re willing to, we could spend our lives drinking all of the good wines in the world together. From here on, we would never part.
Analysis: ZZS is consoling WKX, and at the same time making a promise: “I will never leave, I will gladly accompany you drinking to your heart’s content”. Originating from Su Shi’s To the Tune of “Nan Xiang Zi”: With Yang Yuansu, At My Transference to Mizhou, the full line reads:
“Dongwu faces Yuhang, yet (we’re) separated by seas of cloud between the sky’s edges;
When I return in glory, we shall laugh and drink for thirty thousand times.”
Summary of Part 6: ZZS shows WKX that he’s there to fight by WKX’s side, to share all of WKX’s burdens, and ZZS vows to never leave him.
(Zhou-ge… Wen-ge just declared his love to you earlier, now you’re also declaring your love… I do not understand…)
[Part 7 is a repeat of Part 2]
[Part 8 - GJ]
无边落木萧萧下 不尽长江滚滚来 Boundless greenery sheds leaves. Unending Yangtze courses through its banks |
Meaning: The gentle rustling as the thick, boundless greenery sheds its leaves. The roaring torrent as the Yangtze’s waves crash onto each other.
Analysis: This line comes from Du Fu’s Climbing High, which was also written in the autumn. Both this poem and Waterbag Dance describe an autumn sunset, however its mood completely contrasts Waterbag Dance: the quoted line leans towards the natural observation of which all beings will eventually be replaced by a newer, younger being. Falling leaves evoke melancholic emotions, but it also gives way for the growth of new, young leaves. The sun sets and night befalls, but it also means a new dawn will soon arrive. All objects or beings are no different from the water running through Yangtze river, new waves crashing onto preceding ones with no end in sight. Or like Yang Shen has written:
“On and on to the east rolls the Great Yangtze,
Burying in its current hordes of gallant men.
Right or wrong, shame or glory, all comes to naught.
Only the green hills linger, after many a glowing sunset.
White-haired men by the river, mind the seasons not;
All they care is in the bottle, and meeting with old friends.
Stories new and old, come alive in their witty retort.”
Both are depicting autumn dusks, both are expressing WKX’s emotions, but the difference is, after being convinced by ZZS, WKX no longer sees autumn as dreary and miserable. With this change of heart and his soulmate’s company, he begins breaking down his own walls to start life anew.
(T/N: the literal title of Yang Shen’s poem is To the Tune of “The Immortals by the River”: Gushing Yangtze River Flows Eastwards, although it seems more commonly referred to by the tune name The Immortals by the River《临江仙》. English translation by Alice Poon.)
风刀霜剑皆不惧只要你我还在 Fear not the cutting winds or biting frosts, as long as you and I are still here |
Meaning: As long as you are by my side and I you, we don’t have to fear any obstacles.
Analysis: “Cutting winds or biting frosts” (lit. winds that cut like a dagger, frosts that strike like a sword) comes from Burying Flower Song, a poem recited in Part 27 of Dream of the Red Mansion: “Three hundreds and sixty days in a year, ravaged by daggers of winds and swords of frost”. In context, this line talks about how a flower is always quashed by cold winds and frosts, which parallels WKX and ZZS facing great dangers everyday. But there is nothing to be afraid of, because “you and I are still here”.
(That’s right… It’s another declaration of love… This time they declare their love to each other…)
(I’m numb.)
[Part 9 - ZZH]
得即高歌失即休 无拘无束亦无碍 Sing aloud for a win, don’t dwell on a loss. A life free of shackles and hindrances |
Analysis: “Sing aloud for a win, don’t dwell on a loss” is from Luo Yin’s Self Consolation:
“Sing aloud for a win, don’t dwell on a loss
Deep in sorrows and hatred, still take it easy.
Let’s get drunk today while there’s still wine
Tomorrow’s worries can be dealt with tomorrow.”
This describes ZZS’s mentality after he has made peace with himself —— liberated, no longer tortured by the past.
但得一知己 慰尽风尘无奈 But to have found a soulmate, is enough to console my helpless sufferings |
Analysis: This line originates from Wei Yingwu’s Jian Lu Zhi. The full poem reads:
“How pitiful, the Song of White Snow hadn’t found its zhiyin
Troubled by military matters, time slipped by on Huaihai shores.
Streamside trees hold on to morning dews, mountain birds chirp at spring’s remnants
I have a gourd of wine, which is some consolation to all these sufferings.”
Wei Yingwu was upset at his own lack of zhiyin, lack of “the one who understands”, so he could only find “consolation to all these sufferings” in wine. In comparison, ZZS is more fortunate, in the sense that he has met his own zhiji, his soulmate, the one who understands him, which is enough of a comfort to all the sufferings he has gone through.
(Plainly speaking, ZZS is just declaring his love, “Only at the point of meeting you who is so perfect, that I can understand, everything I went through was worth it.”)
(Confession, again…)
[Together]
任山高水远 你在我也在 Mountains grow tall, rivers run far. As long as you’re here, so am I |
Analysis: “Mountains grow tall, rivers run far” is derived from “mountains grow tall, rivers run long”, conveying longevity and everlastingness. This line refers to WenZhou’s final ending, forever in each other’s company, living on top of Mt. Changming.
Translator’s Notes, Bibliography and Recommended Readings:
Unless cited above, english translations of referenced poems/lines are mine. Most of them are very rough, just to capture the literal meanings. If you spot any mistakes, feel free to reach out to me.
《月下独酌四首》- 李白
This is a quartet of poems, the cited one is the first of four (其一).
《苏小小墓》- 李贺
Recommended reading: On the auditory depiction of Li He’s “ghostly writing style”, a thesis by Wen Yu.
《无题二首》- 李商隐
Li Shangyin in fact wrote many untitled poems, and a quick Baidu search shows several results for 无题二首. The referenced set is this one, with translation by Li Zeng, page 211 of this thesis.
《泊船瓜洲》- 王安石
Recommended reading: Commentary on Wang Anshi’s Anchoring At Guazhou.
《天净沙 秋思》- 马致远
Recommended reading: On the visuals and poetic narrative of Autumn Thoughts, How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology, page 334.
《清平乐 独宿博山王氏庵》- 辛弃疾
《孽海花》- 曾朴
《浪淘沙九首》- 刘禹锡
This is a series of nine poems. The cited line comes from the first of nine (其一). In similar fashion to Tian Jing Sha, because a ci poem is composed to this tune, it’s called a 词牌名 cibaiming.
《晚起 烂熳朝眠后》- 白居易
《雪后煎茶》- 陆游
《红楼梦》- 曹雪芹
From Part 27, Burying Flower Song《葬花吟》. It’s a very lengthy poem. Here's one fully translated version. I’d recommend the translation by Herbert A. Gilles, published in A History of Chinese Literature as well (ebook, page 365). The english translation of Hong Lou Meng can be found on Project Gutenberg.
《南乡子 和杨元素，时移守密州》- 苏轼
Again, Nan Xiang Zi is tune title/cibaiming. Recommended reading: brief line-by-line explanation - Reddit.
《苏幕遮》- 范仲淹
This poem can also be titled To the Tune of “Su Mu Zhe”: Reminiscence (苏幕遮 怀旧) as Su Mu Zhe is another tune title/cibaiming. Translation by Xu Yuanchong, published in Xu Yuanchong Translates 300 Song Dynasty’s Poems (许渊冲译宋词三百首; ebook)
《登高》- 杜甫
《临江仙 滚滚长江东逝水》or《临江仙》- 杨慎
《自遣》- 罗隐
《简卢陟》- 韦应物
Jian Lu Zhi or Note to Lu Zhi is written by Wei Yingwu to his nephew Lu Zhi. Because I had access to the physical copy of In Such Hard Times: The Poetry of Wei Ying-wu (translated by Red Pine), here is an alternative with much more refined wordings taken from the book:
“You still haven’t met someone who knows
the touching tune White Snow
I worry about you on the march
stumbling along Huaihai shores
streamside trees are clinging to morning rain
wild birds are singing to what is left of spring
I have a gourd of wine so big
it will wash away the dust of the road.”
Due to the lack of subject in the first line, it is unclear if Wei Yingwu was talking about his nephew’s lack of a bosom friend or his own. Despite the english phrasing, Red Pine noted that it could be referring to both. In the last line, “dust of the road” or 风尘 is a metaphorical way of referring to mortal sufferings.