House of Flying Daggers ~ Jiarenqu {The Beauty Song}

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Description

Here is a scene from one of my favorite martial arts films "House of Flying Daggers". Originally, the song performed in the scene was supposed to be in my upcoming Top 5 Martial Arts Movie Songs series but was removed from the list by another song from the movie OST.

The Beauty Song (Jia Ren Qu) was written by the Chinese composer Li Yannian in the Han Dynasty and descibes a woman of exceptional beauty. It is performed by the lovely Zhang Ziyi and it lives up to its name. Everything about the song and performer is beautful and I wanted to share it with you.

PINYIN TRANSCRIPTION:
Běifāng yǒu jiārén, juéshì ér dúlì.
Yí gù qīng rén chéng, zài gù qīng rén guó.
Nìng bù zhī qīng chéng yǔ qīng guó.
Jiārén nán zài dé.

MOVIE VERSION LYRICS:
A rare beauty in the north, she's the finest lady on earth.
A glance from her, the whole city falls; a second glance leaves the whole nation in ruins.
There exists no city or nation, that has been more cherished
Than a beauty like this.

LI YANNIAN'S ORIGINAL LYRICS:
In the north there is a beauty:
Surpassing the world, she stands alone.
A glance from her will overthrow a city;
A second glance will overthrow the State.
Don't I know she can overthrow the city and the State?
But such a beauty cannot be found again!

Enjoy. :)