Chant For Jing Ke
咏 荆 轲
燕 丹 善 养 士
志 在 报 强 赢。
招 集 百 夫 良
岁 暮 得 荆 卿。
君 子 死 知 己
提 剑 出 燕 京。
素 骥 鸣 广 陌
慷 慨 送 我 行。
雄 发 指 危 冠
猛 气 冲 长 缨。
饮 饯 易 水 上
四 座 列 群 英。
渐 离 击 悲 筑
宋 意 唱 高 声。
萧 萧 哀 风 逝
淡 淡 寒 波 生。
商 音 更 流 涕
羽 秦 壮 士 惊。
公 知 去 不 归。
且 有 后 世 名。
登 车 何 时 至
飞 盖 人 秦 庭。
凌 厉 越 万 里
逶 迤 过 千 城。
图 穷 事 自 至
豪 主 正 怔 营。
惜 哉 剑 术 疏
奇 功 逐 不 成。
其 人 虽 已 殁
千 载 有 馀 情！
Yong Jing Ke
Yan dan shan yang shi
Zhi zai bao qiang ying.
Zhao ji bai fu liang
Sui mu de jing qing.
Jun zi si zhi ji
Ti jian chu yan jing.
Su ji ming guang mo
Kang kai song wo xing.
Xiong fa zhi wei guan
Meng qi chong chang ying.
Yin jian yi shui shang
Si zuo lie qun ying.
Jian li ji bei zhu
Song yi chang gao sheng.
Xiao xiao ai feng shi
Dan dan han bo sheng.
Shang yin geng liu ti
Yu qin zhuang shi jing.
Gong zhi qu bu gui
Qie you hou shi ming.
Deng che he shi gu
Fei gai ru qin ting.
Ling li yue wan li
Wei yi guo qian cheng.
Tu qiong shi zi zhi
Hao zhu zheng zheng ying.
Xi zai jian shu shu
Qi gong zhu bu cheng.
Qi ren sui yi mo
Qian zai you yu qing !
Chant for Jing Ke
The Yan prince, Dan was a good and refined scholar
Remembered for wanting to oppose the Qin emperor.
Gathered hundreds of loyal fighters
Towards the end of the year he found a senior official, Jing Ke.
A man of noble character, someone we can die for
Raising his sword, he left the capital of Yan.
On a white horse, riding the far away roads
So many deeply touched by his bravery, were there to send him off
in their white mourning clothes.
When aroused and angry, his hair stands tall
Long tassels fly, his life force ferocious.
Along the frontier river, a farewell dinner and final toasts
Men of valor lined up to honor him.
His friend Jian Li played songs of passion on his zhu
With Song Yi singing a fine song:
Sound of the wind sighing a balled of death and grief
Cold water very shallow, life full of unexpected turn of events.
The pentatonic melodies cause the tears to flow
And haunting sounds to summon what is heroic in men.
Everyone knew once he left, he would never return
Later, only to have a name for the ages.
Climbing into his carriage
Quickly travel into the Qin territory.
Over ten thousand li he passed many mountains and rivers
And a thousand cities and villages.
(Hiding a dagger inside a rolled-up map, hoping to assassinate the Qin emperor)
Unrolling the scrolled map to its end
Qin emperor became shocked at what he saw.
But Jing Ke was unskilled and clumsy using the hidden dagger
Chasing the emperor, he did not achieve his mission.
These people have all passed away now
One thousand years later we still remember his efforts.
Notes:
Qin: (221-206 BC) Nation state during the Zhou Dynasty.
Jing Ke: (?-227 BC): Retainer of Crown Prince Dan of the Yan state. With accomplice Jian Li (Qing Wuyang), he was killed during an assassination attempt upon the life of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
Zhu: An ancient five-stringed musical instrument.