G9-U9 Section B 2b
Sad but Beautiful
Last night one of my Chinese friends took me to a concert of Chinese folk music. The piece which was played on the erhu especially moved me. The music was strangely beautiful, but under the beauty of it I sensed a strong sadness and pain. The piece had a simple name, Erquan Yingyue (Moon Reflected on Second Spring), but it was one of the most moving pieces of music that I’ve ever heard. The erhu sounded so sad that I almost cried along with it as I listened. Later I looked up the history of Erquan Yingyue, and I began to understand the sadness in the music.
The music was written by Abing, a folk musician who was born in the city of Wuxi in 1893. His mother died when he was very young. Abing’s father taught him to play many musical instruments, such as the drums, dizi and erhu, and by age 17, Abing was known for his musical ability. However, after his father died, Abing’s life grew worse. He was very poor. Not only that, he developed a serious illness and became blind. For several years, he had no home. He lived on the streets and played music to make money. Even after Abing got married and had a home again, he continued to sing and play on the streets. He performed in this way for many years.
Abing’s amazing musical skills made him very popular during his lifetime. By the end of his life, he could play over 600 pieces of music. Many of them were written by Abing himself. It is a pity that only six pieces of music in total were recorded for the future world. But his popularity continues to this day. Today, Abing’s Erquan Yingyue is a piece which all the great erhu masters play and praise. It has become one of China’s national treasures. Its sad beauty not only paints a picture of Abing’s own life but also makes people recall their deepest wounds from their own sad or painful experiences.
参考译文
悲伤与唯美
昨晚，我的一个中国朋友带我去听了一场中国民乐音乐会。其中用二胡演奏的那首曲子，特别打动我。那音乐美得很特别，但在这份美感之下，我能感受到一种强烈的悲伤和痛苦。这首曲子有个简单的名字 ——《二泉映月》，可它却是我听过的最动人的音乐作品之一。二胡的声音听起来太悲伤了，我听着听着，差点就跟着哭了。后来我查了《二泉映月》的背景故事，才开始明白音乐里的那份悲伤从何而来。
这首曲子是民间音乐家阿炳创作的。阿炳 1893 年出生在无锡城。他很小的时候，母亲就去世了。阿炳的父亲教他演奏很多乐器，比如鼓、笛子和二胡。到 17 岁时，阿炳就因为他的音乐才能出了名。可是，父亲去世后，阿炳的生活变得越来越糟。他非常贫穷。不仅如此，他还得了一场重病，眼睛失明了。有好几年时间，他没有家。只能住在街上，靠演奏音乐挣钱糊口。就算后来阿炳结了婚，重新有了家，他还是继续在街上唱歌、演奏。他就这样在街上表演了很多年。
阿炳高超的音乐技艺，让他在生前就非常受欢迎。到他晚年时，已经能演奏 600 多首曲子了。其中很多都是他自己创作的。可惜的是，流传下来的、为后人记录下来的曲子，总共只有 6 首。但他的影响力一直延续到今天。现在，阿炳的《二泉映月》是所有顶尖二胡大师都会演奏并且称赞的曲子。它已经成了中国的国宝之一。这首曲子悲伤中带着美感，不仅描绘出了阿炳自己的人生，也能让人们想起自己经历过的悲伤或痛苦往事中，那些深埋心底的伤痛。