Word of Honor OST – Questioning the Heavens (山河令-天问)

What is this… 2nd OST translation in a week? I’m still deep in the abyss that is Word of Honor (WoH). The title song and one of my favourites of the entire OST. But it’s so information dense the translation is rather awkward! What if I translate it to French instead or try to keep to the song’s rhythm and phrasing…?

天问 tiān wèn	Questioning the Heavens1
问剑 问刀 恩怨销 wèn jiàn wèn dāo ēn yuàn xiāo 怕是旧恨新仇 添纷扰 pà shì jiù hèn xīn chóu tiān fēn rǎo 问计 问招 试比谁高 wèn jì wèn zhāo shì bǐ shéi gāo 几番身世浮沉 难预料 jǐ fān shēn shì fú chén nán yù liào	Question the sword, the knife, erasing favours and grievances Fearing that old resentments and new grudges would add to the turmoil Question the schemes, the methods, competing for ranks Life’s ups and downs are difficult to anticipate
问路 问程 山水迢迢 wèn lù wèn chéng shān shuǐ tiáo tiáo 知音何处 人寂寥 zhī yīn hé chù rén jì liáo 问雨 问晴 心事多少 wèn yǔ wèn qíng xīn shì duō shǎo 付明月 暮暮与朝朝 fù míng yuè mù mù yǔ cháo cháo	Question the path, the journey, in remote lands Where’s the one who knows my heart’s music? Alone and desolate Question the rain, the fine weather, the worries in your heart Entrust them to the bright moon2, every night and day
问花 问叶 颜色正好 wèn huā wèn yè yán sè zhèng hǎo 人生欢乐苦短 几春宵 rén shēng huān lè kǔ duǎn jǐ chūn xiāo 问秋 问冬 风雪萧萧 wèn qiū wèn dōng fēng xuě xiāo xiāo 彩云易散 岁月难熬 cǎi yún yì sàn suì yuè nán áo	Question the flowers, the leaves, coloured just right Life’s pleasures are bitterly short, how long can they last? Question the autumn, the winter, the desolate snowstorm Rosy clouds scatter easily, it’s difficult to endure the passing of the years
花开早 天知晓 天莫笑 天亦老 huā kāi zǎo tiān zhī xiǎo tiān mò xiào tiān yì lǎo 江湖小 天地遥 人去了 我忘了 jiāng hú xiǎo tiān de yáo rén qù le wǒ wàng le 花谢了 天知晓 天莫悲 天亦老 huā xiè le tiān zhī xiǎo tiān mò bēi tiān yì lǎo 英雄尽 岁月少 人去了 我忘了 yīng xióng jǐn suì yuè shǎo rén qù le wǒ wàng le	Flowers bloom early, the heavens know all; the heavens don’t laugh and have aged The jianghu is small, the world is vast; the people are gone, my memories too Flowers wither, the heavens know all; the heavens don’t mourn and have aged The heros are exhausted, time is limited; the jianghu is small, the world is vast; the people are gone, my memories too
问仙 问道 谁得逍遥 wèn xiān wèn dào shéi dé xiāo yáo 少年子弟 江湖老 shǎo nián zi dì jiāng hú lǎo 问地 问天 一生骄傲 wèn de wèn tiān yī shēng jiāo ào 人渺渺 可笑 忘不了 rén miǎo miǎo kě xiào wàng bù le	Question the immortals, the way, who gets to remain carefree? Young disciples, aged by the jianghu Question the world, the heavens, a life full of pride An insignificant, laughable one who cannot forget
问花 问叶 颜色正好 wèn huā wèn yè yán sè zhèng hǎo 人生欢乐苦短 几春宵 rén shēng huān lè kǔ duǎn jǐ chūn xiāo 问秋 问冬 风雪萧萧 wèn qiū wèn dōng fēng xuě xiāo xiāo 彩云易散 岁月难熬 cǎi yún yì sàn suì yuè nán áo	Question the flowers, the leaves, coloured just right Life’s pleasures are bitterly short, how long can they last? Question the autumn, the winter, the desolate snowstorm Rosy clouds scatter easily, it’s difficult to endure the passing of the years
花开早 天知晓 天莫笑 天亦老 huā kāi zǎo tiān zhī xiǎo tiān mò xiào tiān yì lǎo 江湖小 天地遥 人去了 我忘了 jiāng hú xiǎo tiān de yáo rén qù le wǒ wàng le 花谢了 天知晓 天莫悲 天亦老 huā xiè le tiān zhī xiǎo tiān mò bēi tiān yì lǎo 英雄尽 岁月少 人去了 我忘了 yīng xióng jǐn suì yuè shǎo rén qù le wǒ wàng le (x2)	Flowers bloom early, the heavens know all; the heavens don’t laugh and have aged The jianghu is small, the world is vast; the people are gone, my memories too Flowers wither, the heavens know all; the heavens don’t mourn and have aged The heros are exhausted, time is limited; the jianghu is small, the world is vast; the people are gone, my memories too (x2)

Chinese and pinyin lyrics from https://lyricstranslate.com

Some translation notes:

1. 《天问》is also the name of a) China’s space program and the spacecraft they sent out in 2020, and b) a long poem by one of the poetry greats, Qu Yuan, from the late Warring Period. The poem is written in the form of questions covering everything from natural phenomena to history and myths. Probably not a direct reference but fun to know.
2. This is a rather liberal translation, since the word 付 generally means pay/give, and the dense poetic style means there’s no further clue to which meaning it should be. But this feels right to me so there.

I love the rhythm of this song and its poetry, so I’ve tried to mirror the poetry of it in English too. Maybe next, I’ll try to condense it, less poetically, but following the rhythm and phrasing of the song closely enough to sing.

I’ve also translated Lonely Dream/ 孤梦 if you’d like to check it out!

Please do not repost anywhere else. If you liked this, come read my regular translations on Volare!