The Ages of Fifteen or Sixteen: (Recall Qin Pretty Young Ladies)
忆 秦 娥
十 五 六，脱 罗 裳
长 恁 黛 眉 蹙。
红 玉 暖，入 人 怀
春 困 熟。
展 香 裀
帐 前 明 画 烛。
眼 波 长，斜 浸 鬓 云 绿。
看 不 足，苦 残 宵 更 漏 促。
Shi Wu Liu: (Yi Qin E)
Shi wu liu,
Tuo luo chang
Chang nen dai mei cu.
Hong yu nuan,
Ru ren huai
Chun kun shou.
Zhan xiang yin
Zhang qian ming hua zhu.
Yan bo chang, xie jin bin yun lu.
Kan bu zu, ku can xiao geng lou cu.
The Ages of Fifteen or Sixteen: (Recall Qin Pretty Young Ladies)
Ages of fifteen or sixteen
Remove their collected dancing skirts
Try to pretend they have Xishi beauty by crunching their black mascara eyebrows.
Warm red jade-like skin
They enter into my heart
Frequently exhausted, take a springtime break.
Lay out and open up the blankets
In front of the curtains, bright candles and paintings
Long sideways glances meet
From head-to-toe anticipations sway.
Just looking not enough
Too bad the night is almost gone
Drops from the water clock draw to a close.
Notes:
Qin: (897-207 BC) A nation state during the Zhou Dynasty, located in the then western border regions.
Xishi: (7th-6th century BC) Considered one of the Four Beauties of China. Legend has it that she was so beautiful that if a fish saw her reflection, it would forget how to swim.
With Ci poems, the title comes from the poem’s first line, and the title of the music appears inside parentheses.