Le You Plains: Some commentary on the Place and translation of the Poem of the same name by Li Shang Yin for which the Chinese title of Wonderland of Love (2023) is named

Le You Plains《樂遊原》 /《乐游原》: Some commentary on the Place and translation of the Poem of the same name by Li Shang Yin李商隱, for which the Chinese title of Wonderland of Love (2023) is named  

Sometimes I find myself baffled by the strange choice of English drama titles for Chinese dramas that have poetically evocative titles - Wonderland of Love (2023) is a case in point.  

The English title sounds discount Disney tacky, which is unfortunate, because the Chinese title, Le You Yuan, is both apt and poetic. It is the name of a place, 樂遊原/Le You Plains, as well as the title of a famous poem regarding that place by Tang dynasty poet Li Shang Yin 李商隱 (813AD - 858 AD). 

In the drama Wonderland of Love (2023), Le You Yuan is also the name of the idyllic plains where the heroine and hero can ride and romance each other free from their cares. 

Below is some background information about the place, some commentary about the poem and its author, as well as my attempt at translation of the poem Le You Yuan《樂遊原》/《乐游原》.  

  

A translation of "But the East West Gate" 卻東西門行 by Shen Yue: the poem from which the Chinese title of A Journey to Love (2023) derives

A translation of "But the East West Gate"《卻東西門行》by Shen Yue 沈约, the poem from which the Chinese title of A Journey to Love (2023),《一念關山》, derives

Shen Yue 沈约 (441-513)

The Chinese title of the drama A Journey to Love (2023) is《一念關山》/《一念关山》"A

Thought of Fortresses and Mountains", and is taken from the last line of 《卻東西門行》/《却东西门行》"But the East West Gate", a poem by Shen Yue沈约 (441AD - 513AD).

The poem is a frontier poem, written in the turbulent Northern and Southern dynasties 南北朝 period. It depicts the poet on horseback, setting out from the East Gate, heading West.  As he looks back at the receding scenery of the Capital and the mountains and rivers disappearing on the horizon, he poignantly reflects on the passage of time, the remembrance of past joys and present sorrows, as well as his yearning for the fortresses and mountains  "一念起關山".  The phrase guan shan 關山 /关山 describes the frontiers and mountain ranges that delineate and protect the jiang shan 江山/the empire.   

Given the themes of A Journey to Love (2023), the scriptwriter choice of that line 一念關山 from《卻東西門行》/《却东西门行》 to be the drama's Chinese title is incredibly apt. "A Thought of Fortresses and Mountains"《一念關山》/《一念关山》 evokes the delegation's love of country and desire to protect its frontiers, as well as their yearning to return home.  

I've tried to capture the essence of the poem in my translation below, but inevitably, much of the beauty of Shen Yue's words are lost in translation and due to my shortcomings (ancient Chinese text is not my forte 😅).  All mistakes are, of course, my own and any suggestions / corrections welcome!

  

A translation of "One Love as Always" - subtheme song from The Long Ballad (2021)

A translation of one of The Long Ballad's subtheme songs: "One Love as Always" 一愛如故

Those who have watched The Long Ballad (2021) may, like me, have fallen for the Haoyan CP - the second lead couple, Imperial guard Hao Du, played by Liu Yu Ning and Princess Li Le Yan, played by Zhao Lu Si. The slow burn romance between the (not so) cold-blooded big bad wolf and the innocent fluffy bunny is unabashedly romantic.    

I've written about why I love them so much in my final review 👉here, but I love their romantic subtheme song so much that I wanted to try and provide a translation of "One Love as Always" 一愛如故, which remains a regular on my playlist.  You can find a clip of the song here. 

The song is sung by Liu Yu Ning himself (Prince of Chinese OSTs!), which makes it even more romantic, encapsulating as it does, Hao Du's perspective - a yearning, hopeless and selfless devotion.  

The song's Chinese title 一愛如故 is a play on words, the literal translation means "One Love as Always" or "One Love as in the Past", but it evokes another Chinese idiom 一見如故, which describes friendship at first sight, that is, familiarity on sight, as if you have known one another for ages (as of old/as always).  In changing "sight"見 to "love"愛, the meaning of the title evokes love at fist sight. Rather Shakespearian really - "Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?"      

Anyway, my attempt at translation below.  I have opted mostly to translate for meaning, rather than a direct literal translation (so, for eg. 'One Love as Always" 一愛如故 in the lyrics is translated as "Love at first sight").  There are also some brief footnotes for when I want to explain gaps in translation.  

All errors my own, of course!💕

  

A translation of Su Shi's "Prelude to Water Melody" (theme song in My Heroic Husband (2021))

A translation of Su Shi's 蘇軾 "Prelude to Water Melody" 水調歌頭 

One of my favourite theme songs in My Heroic Husband (2021) was the ending theme - Prelude to Water Melody《水調歌頭》, which sets the famous Song dynasty poem of Su Shi 蘇軾 aka Su Dong Po 蘇東坡 (1037AD-1101AD) to music. It is sung by Zheng Yun Long in My Heroic Husband - you can listen to the song 👉here. 

Ep7: A show stopping rendition

As well as being the ending theme song, Prelude to Water Melody《水調歌頭》is used to great effect in episode 7, when Ning Yi saves the day by pulling off a stunning performance of this song, directed with modern day special effects (wire work, lighting, petal machines, fireworks etc) and alongside a secret weapon break out star.  See 👉here for a short clip💛

I think Prelude to Water Melody《水調歌頭》is a great choice of song for the drama - it captures all the wistful longing for reunion with loved ones who are far away and who may be wishing on the same moon...