Word of Honor OST – Affinity Extinguished (山河令-缘灭)

Yet another mountain OST in post-concert feels.

缘灭 yuán miè	Affinity extinguished
心事纠缠 不念爱恨 xīn shì jiū chán bù niàn ài hèn 只愿你能 不说离分 zhǐ yuàn nǐ néng bù shuō lí fēn 一心只想 与你携手这红尘 yī xīn zhǐ xiǎng yǔ nǐ xié shǒu zhè hóng chén 过此生 guò cǐ shēng	Feelings in a tangle, without regard for love or grudges Only wishing that you would not speak of separation Wholeheartedly thinking of spending this mortal life hand in hand with you Living like this
缘聚红尘 不由身 yuán jù hóng chén bù yóu shēn 奈何痴情走错门 nài hé chī qíng zǒu cuò mén 你我皆是 有缘人 nǐ wǒ jiē shì yǒu yuán rén 却落江湖不得心 què luò jiāng hú bù dé xīn	Mortal affinity and meetings are not within our control Walking through the wrong doors in helpless infatuation You and I will forever be linked by fate But the jianghu forbids our love
愿天涯海角 共存 yuàn tiān yá hǎi jiǎo gòng cún 此生 不踏江湖门 cǐ shēng bù tà jiāng hú mén 若有来生 定不再负卿 ruò yǒu lái shēng dìng bù zài fù qīng 血雨腥风只盼 再黄昏 xuè yǔ xīng fēng zhǐ pàn zài huáng hūn	We would exist together, in the far reaches of the earth Never to reenter the jianghu in this life If there is a next life, I will surely not fail my spouse again Through these bloody winds and rains, only anticipating the next sunset
恩怨情仇 有几分 ēn yuàn qíng chóu yǒu jǐ fēn 你我皆不能脱身 nǐ wǒ jiē bù néng tuō shēn 一句江湖失了魂 yī jù jiāng hú shī le hún 爱已生根多残忍 ài yǐ shēng gēn duō cán rěn	How many bonds of gratitude and grudges are there? You and I can never be free of them A single word, ‘jianghu’, cost us our spirits How cruel, when love has already taken root
缘聚红尘 不由身 yuán jù hóng chén bù yóu shēn 奈何痴情走错门 nài hé chī qíng zǒu cuò mén 你我皆是 有缘人 nǐ wǒ jiē shì yǒu yuán rén 却落江湖不得心 què luò jiāng hú bù dé xīn	Mortal affinity and meetings are not within our control Walking through the wrong doors in helpless infatuation You and I will forever be linked by fate But the jianghu forbids our love
愿天涯海角 共存 yuàn tiān yá hǎi jiǎo gòng cún 此生 不踏江湖门 cǐ shēng bù tà jiāng hú mén 若有来生 定不再负卿 ruò yǒu lái shēng dìng bù zài fù qīng 血雨腥风只盼 再黄昏 xuè yǔ xīng fēng zhǐ pàn zài huáng hūn	We would exist together, in the far reaches of the earth Never to reenter the jianghu in this life If there is a next life, I will surely not fail my spouse again Through these bloody winds and rains, only anticipating the next sunset
(重复最后2段)	(repeat last 2 verses)

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

Just translating this makes me want to cry. Such a beautifully tragic song. And wow I never realised how much this song spoils part of the ending… I probably never paid attention to it till the wedding T.T

Some translation notes:

1. Do you need a note for jianghu? If you do…you need to watch more historical cdramas xD

I’ve also translated Lonely Dream/孤梦, No Question/无题 and Questioning the Heavens/天问 if you’d like to check them out!

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

Word of Honor OST – No Question (山河令-无题)

Yet another WoH OST translation.

无题 wú tí	No Question/Untitled1
满城倦柳 无飞絮 mǎn chéng juàn liǔ wú fēi xù 心门紧闭 归来无马蹄 xīn mén jǐn bì guī lái wú mǎ tí 雁千里 杳无音讯 yàn qiān lǐ yǎo wú yīn xùn 也无风雨也无晴 yě wú fēng yǔ yě wú qíng	A city full of weary willows, without any catkins2 A heart locked up tight, a return without hoofbeats A thousand miles of wild geese, disappearing without a single warning Neither is there wind, rain, nor sunshine
一钗荼蘼无头绪 yī chāi tú mí wú tóu xù 字字凋零 东风也无力 zì zì diāo líng dōng fēng yě wú lì 一杯酒 邀明月 无双成影 yī bēi jiǔ yāo míng yuè wú shuāng chéng yǐng 痴言醉语 誓言怎可信 chī yán zuì yǔ shì yán zěn kě xìn	A wild rose hairpin3, without its hair-tie4 Every word fading away; even the East Wind is powerless Invite the bright moon for a cup of wine, no other to cast a shadow5 Sentimental words and drunken utterings; how can such vows be believed?
原来天地之大 俗尘渺渺 无我也无你 yuán lái tiān de zhī dà sú chén miǎo miǎo wú wǒ yě wú nǐ 谁自由来去 嫁祸给宿命 shúi zì yóu lái qù jià huò gěi sù mìng 原来梦境之小 岁月潇潇 迷失了自己 yuán lái mèng jìng zhī xiǎo suì yuè xiāo xiāo mí shī le zì jǐ 若倦鸟无心 不如归去 ruò juàn niǎo wú xīn bù rú guī qù	However large the world may be, the vulgar mots of dust are insignificant; there is neither you nor me Who had the liberty to come and go, but blamed it all on fate? The dream world turns out to be so small; time flies and I’ve lost myself If the weary birds are not eager, why not return?
两岸莺啼 人无语 liǎng àn yīng tí rén wú yǔ 一川烟波 淹没了 眼睛 yī chuān yān bō yān méi le yǎn jīng 云万里 无名无姓 yún wàn lǐ wú míng wú xìng 也无风雨也无晴 yě wú fēng yǔ yě wú qíng	The oriole6 cries from both riverbanks; the people remain silent A mist-covered creek floods the eyes Ten thousand miles of clouds, with no name nor family Neither is there wind, rain, nor sunshine
一骑红尘 无路行 yī qí hóng chén wú lù xíng 步步惊心 月儿也无明 bù bù jīng xīn yuè ér yě wú míng 一锋剑 指黑夜 无所畏惧 yī fēng jiàn zhǐ hēi yè wú suǒ wèi jù 最可怕是 执念的自己 zuì kě pà shì zhí niàn de zì jǐ	A ride through mortal dust, without a path to go on Taking every step gingerly, the moon is dark as well A sharp sword, pointing into the dark night; there’s nothing to fear The most fearsome are my own obsessions
原来天地之大 俗尘渺渺 无我也无你 yuán lái tiān de zhī dà sú chén miǎo miǎo wú wǒ yě wú nǐ 谁自由来去 嫁祸给宿命 shúi zì yóu lái qù jià huò gěi sù mìng 原来梦境之小 岁月潇潇 迷失了自己 yuán lái mèng jìng zhī xiǎo suì yuè xiāo xiāo mí shī le zì jǐ 若倦鸟无心 不如归去 ruò juàn niǎo wú xīn bù rú guī qù (x2)	However large the world may be, the vulgar mots of dust are insignificant; there is neither you nor me Who has the liberty to come and go, to blame it all on fate The dream world turns out to be so small; time flies and I’ve lost myself If the weary birds are not eager, why not return? (x2)
若倦鸟无心 不如归去 ruò juàn niǎo wú xīn bù rú guī qù	If the weary birds are not eager, why not return?

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

Some translation notes:

1. I’ve seen most translate the title as ‘untitled’, but I feel that ‘no question’ fits in better with the themes in the lyrics.
2. Catkins are the furry-looking flowers of willows that start budding in winter. Someone else also pointed out that the ‘絮’ of catkins is the same character as Zhou Xu. So the second half can also refer to a city without any Ah Xu flying around T.T.
3. This is a flower of the Japanese Rose family, sometimes used to brew wine. In the Song Dynasty, the wine is combined with the flower petals to create something that smells just like the flower itself, and is always found in any banquet at the end of spring. The hairpin is an obvious reference to the one WKX gives ZZS.
4. 头绪 also means a root cause, or a general idea of things. So 一钗荼蘼无头绪 means a hairpin without a paired hairtie, a hairpin given without explanation, AND implies the end of spring/growth/innocence without reason. Where did the onion-cutting ninjas come from?
5. This is likely a reference to a poem by Li Bai, 月下独酌, about drinking alone in the moonlight. There’s a line which goes ‘举杯邀明月，对影成三人’, ‘I raise my cup in invitation to the bright moon; with my shadow, we make three people’.
6. Any wuxia fan should be familiar with the idiom 螳螂捕蝉黄雀在后, ‘The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind’. WKX fancies himself the oriole, looking on as the Five Lakes’ Alliance (the mantis) busy themselves with the glazed key. So is he crying out for help, looking for the blood family and found family that he’s now lost?

This is likely’s Wen Kexing’s theme song. I thought Lonely Dream was sad until I looked deeper into this! And the layers of meaning, gosh!

I’ve also translated Lonely Dream/ 孤梦 and Questioning the Heavens/天问 if you’d like to check them out!

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

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!

Word of Honor OST – Lonely Dream (山河令-孤梦)

I’m deep into the abyss that is Word of Honor (WoH). By request of some other fans and because I couldn’t find a decent translation of Zhang Zhehan’s song Lonely Dream anywhere, here we go…

孤梦 gū mèng	Lonely Dream
昨夜東風把心吹落到空城 zuó yè dōng fēng bǎ xīn chuī luò dào kōng chéng	Last night, the East Wind1 blew my heart, down into an empty city
落入凡塵細無聲 luò rù fán chén xì wú shēng	To fall soundlessly onto mortal dust2
幾輪指紋刻下年輪的虔誠 jǐ lún zhǐ wén kè xià nián lún de qián chéng	Years of sincerity, fingerprints had worn grooves into the surface
用情太深不可爭 yòng qíng tài shēn bù kě zhēng	Undeniably, the feelings run too deep
放不下所有的回憶都像 一場孤夢 fàng bù xià suǒ yǒu de huí yì dōu xiàng yī chǎng gū mèng	Unable to let go of the memories, it all feels like a lonely dream
江湖幾番沉淪枉為餘生 jiāng hú jǐ fān chén lún wǎng wèi yú shēng	Time and again, the Jianghu degenerates. My life has been lived in vain
是否辜負幾人才會讓夢 起了風 shì fǒu gū fù jǐ rén cái huì ràng mèng qǐ le fēng	How many betrayals must there be, before the dream can fly with the wind3?
恍然之間都成見證 huǎng rán zhī jiān dōu chéng jiàn zhèng	A sudden realisation, a witness to it all
昨日細雨把心困住不由衷 zuó rì xì yǔ bǎ xīn kùn zhù bù yóu zhōng	The rain of yesterday, trapped the heart in insincerity
空有堅韌亦無用 kōng yǒu jiān rèn yì wú yòng	Mere tenacity is useless
幾世經綸書寫時間的寬容 jǐ shì jīng lún shū xiě shí jiān de kuān róng	Centuries of literature write that time heals all wounds
用情太真不可碰 yòng qíng tài zhēn bù kě pèng	Untouchable, the feelings are too real
放不下所有的回憶都像 一場孤夢 fàng bù xià suǒ yǒu de huí yì dōu xiàng yī chǎng gū mèng	Can’t let go of the memories, it all feels like a lonely dream
江湖幾番沉淪枉為餘生 jiāng hú jǐ fān chén lún wǎng wèi yú shēng	Time and again, the Jianghu degenerates. My life has been lived in vain
是否辜負幾人才會讓夢 起了風 shì fǒu gū fù jǐ rén cái huì ràng mèng qǐ le fēng	How many betrayals must there be, before the dream can fly with the wind?
恍然之間都成見證 huǎng rán zhī jiān dōu chéng jiàn zhèng	A sudden realisation, a witness to it all
離不開所有的回憶都像 一場孤夢 lí bù kāi suǒ yǒu de huí yì dōu xiàng yī chǎng gū mèng	Can’t leave the memories, it all feels like a lonely dream
命運幾番糾纏風起雲湧 mìng yùn jǐ fān jiū chán fēng qǐ yún yǒng	Tangled lines of fate, surging like a gathering storm
莫非看透紅塵才會讓夢 起了風 mò fēi kàn tòu hóng chén cái huì ràng mèng qǐ le fēng	Could it be that one must be enlightened about worldly affairs, before the dream can take flight
霎那之間人去樓空 shà nà zhī jiān rén qù lóu kōng	Suddenly, everyone is gone. The building is empty.
霎那之間人去樓空 shà nà zhī jiān rén qù lóu kōng	Suddenly, everyone is gone. The building is empty.

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

Some translation notes:

1. The East Wind is a metaphor for a revolution, implying the motivation and impetus for progress.
2. Mortal dust, the red dust of the mortal world, refers to the messy and scattered worldly affairs.
3. The wind, again refers to the East Wind.

This song is so sad! It really illustrates how despondent and disillusioned Zhou Zishu was about the things he had done as spymaster for the Crown Prince/Emperor/Prince Jin. We also get a sense of how they might have had such idealistic and lofty dreams at the beginning, only to realise that maybe, the ends don’t justify the means.

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