‘Orchid Pavilion’ by Jay Chou

Song and Music Videos:

The Most Widely-Viewed Version (CCTV Spring Festival Gala 2011):

Composer: Jay Chou/Zhou Jielun
Lyrics: Vincent Fang/Fang Wenshan
Singer: Jay Chou/Zhou Jielun

Lyrics (Original Chinese, Pinyin Romanization, and English Translation):

兰亭临帖 行书如行云流水
lan2 ting2 lin2 tie3 xing2 shu1 ru2 xing2 yun2 liu2 shui3
Practicing calligraphy at the Orchid Pavilion, the semi-cursive script resembling sailing clouds and flowing water

月下门推 心细如你脚步碎
yue4 xia4 men2 tui1 xin1 xi4 ru2 ni3 jiao3 bu4 sui4
Under the moon the door yielded to a gentle push, your thoughtfulness reflected in your fragile footsteps

忙不迭 千年碑易拓 却难拓你的美
mang2 bu4 die2 qian1 nian2 bei1 yi4 ta4 que4 nan2 ta4 ni3 de mei3
In haste, the one-thousand-year tablet is easy to copy, yet your beauty is not

真迹绝 真心能给谁
zhen1 ji1 jue2 zhen1 xin1 neng2 gei3 shui2
If the original script were gone, to whom would I give my heart?

 
牧笛横吹 黄酒小菜又几碟
mu4 di2 heng2 chui1 huang2 jiu3 xiao3 cai4 you4 ji2 die2
I was playing the flute over the rice wine and several dishes

夕阳余晖 如你的羞怯似醉
xi1 yang2 yu2 hui1 ru2 ni3 de xiu1 qie4 si4 zui4
The sun’s setting rays were like your blushes as if drunk

摹本易写 而墨香不退与你共留余味
mo4 ben3 yi3 xie3 er2 mo4 xiang1 bu2 tui4 yu3 ni3 gong4 liu2 yu2 wei4
A copy is easy to make, and the fragrance of the ink did not fade away, like the remnants of your scent

一行朱砂 到底圈了谁
yi4 hang2 zhu1 sha1 dao4 di3 quan1 le shui2
A stripe of cinnabar, whose name after all did it circle?

 
CHORUS:

无关风月 我题序等你回
wu2 guan1 feng1 yue4 wo3 ti2 xu4 deng3 ni3 hui2
No matter when, I write the preface while awaiting your return

悬笔一绝 那岸边浪千叠
xuan2 bi3 yi4 jue2 na4 an4 bian1 lang4 qian1 die2
Holding the brush with my arm in mid-air, I completed the character, the waves piled up against the shore

情字何解 怎落笔都不对
qing2 zi4 he2 jie33 zen3 luo4 bi3 dou1 bu2 dui4
But how could I understand the character “love”? Whatever stroke I started with always seemed wrong

而我独缺 你一生的了解
er2 wo3 du2 que1 ni3 yi4 sheng1 de liao3 jie3
because the one thing I lack, is the understanding of your life

 
CHORUS X2

 
弹指岁月 倾城顷刻间烟灭
tan2 zhi3 sui4 yue4 qing1 cheng2 qin3 ke4 jian1 yan1 mie4
Years passed in a snap of fingers, beauty vanished in an instant

青石板街 回眸一笑你婉约
qing1 shi2 ban3 jie1 hui2 mou2 yi2 xiao4 ni3 wan3 yue1
On the bluestone alley, you glanced back and smiled with grace and restraint

恨了没 你摇头轻叹谁让你蹙着眉
hen4 le mei2 ni3 yao2 tou2 qing1 tan4 shui2 rang4 ni3 cu4 zhe mei2
Have you regretted or not? You shook your head and sighed. Who put a frown on your face?

而深闺 徒留胭脂味
er2 shen1 gui1 tu2 liu2 yan1 zhi1 wei4
And deep in the lady’s chamber, the smell of the rouge lingered in vain

 
人雁南飞 转身一瞥你噙泪
ren2 yan4 nan2 fei1 zhuan3 shen1 yi4 pie3 ni3 qin2 lei4
As geese flew south in a v-pattern, I turned around and caught a glimpse of your tears

掬一把月 手揽回忆怎么睡
ju1 yi4 ba3 yue4 shou3 lan3 hui2 yi4 zen3 me shui4
Holding a handful of moonlight in my hands, how could I sleep with those memories?

又怎么会 心事密缝绣花鞋针针怨对
you4 zen3 me hui4 xin1 shi4 mi4 feng2 xiu4 hua1 xie2 zhen1 zhen1 yuan4 dui4
And how could the matters of your heart be so tightly sewn into the embroidered shoes, with every pair of stitches so filled with resentment?

若花怨蝶 你会怨着谁
ruo4 hua1 yuan4 die2 ni3 hui4 yuan4 zhe shui2
If the flower resented the butterfly, whom would you resent?

 
CHORUS

 
无关风月 我题序等你回
wu2 guan1 feng1 yue4 wo3 ti2 xu4 deng3 ni3 hui2
No matter when, I write the preface while awaiting your return

手书无愧 无惧人间是非
shou3 shu1 wu2 kui4 wu2 ju4 ren2 jian1 shi4 fei1
These handwritten words have no qualms, not afraid of the rights and wrongs of the human world

雨打蕉叶 又潇潇了几夜
yu3 da3 jiao1 ye4 you4 xiao1 xiao1 le ji3 ye4
The rain has been striking the banana leaves, the whistling and pattering having lasted for several nights

我等春雷 来提醒你爱谁
wo3 deng3 chun1 lei2 lai2 ti2 xing3 ni3 ai4 shui2
I await the spring thunder to remind you who you really love