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OSTs for Chen Qing Ling (The Untamed) and related songs/music

ChineseDramaFan

I'm starting this discussion because I love all the OSTs in this drama. I love not only the musicality of the songs, I love the lyrics. Each one provides us a deeper understanding into the character and the underlying emotions which may not have been expressed openly. Unfortunately, to make the lyrics flow poetically, many of the translated songs lose their original meaning. Beautiful as they are on their own right, the translation loses out beautiful characters that are important in the story. 

I want to also acknowledge that different people interpret the same songs/music differently based on their own backgrounds and experiences. There is no one correct version. The same songs/music can be interpreted from different perspectives and hence giving totally different meanings and emotions. Therefore, it is up to us to want to accept whichever version based on our own understanding of the story. 

In these discussions, I'd like to bring in the OSTs one by one, interpret the lyrics characters by characters, and rewrite the translation. Hopefully we can capture the proper meaning without losing the aesthetic value of the poems, and I need your help, Chinese and non-Chinese speakers.

I want to also disclose that my command of both the Chinese and English languages is elementary. Therefore my interpretation may be inaccurate and I welcome anyone to correct me. I'm open to criticisms because I take these as my learning process to better understand the Chinese language itself.

In the meantime, while I collect my thoughts on the first OST to discuss, let me share a Youtube video which was shared with me by my dear friend @AlexBBB. I find it hilarious and at the same time telling the whole story in one song. It's refreshing and hope you enjoy it as I do.

https://youtu.be/24q53b4ACoY

Enjoy!

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ChineseDramaFan

I was preparing my marketing report for my company. Never have I felt such task so mundane because my heart is on The Untamed and its OSTs. Took me longer than normal time to complete my report.

The first song I'd like to look at is the Jiang Yanli character song. There's a beautiful official translated version of the song in English. Beautiful as it is on its own, I feel that it would have been even more beautiful and emotional if it is from the perspective of Wei Wuxian.

意难平

穿越 往昔 莲坞边
碧潭 旧影 犹少年
时光迁 梦浅 潋滟错觉
愿执一笔 寄予云梦故人念

意难平 笑问苍天
回首却 不觉已过经年
无别无离 无忧无怨
可还闻得 一声阿羡

梦醒 秋晚 不知觉
萤火 明灭 月翩跹
曾并肩 笑谈 人世万千
佳景易变 昔日故人今难见

意难平 斑驳从前
如何归 紫衫加身时年
不恨不悔 不生不灭
泪眼化作 一句理解

意难平 笑问苍天
回首却 不觉已过经年
无别无离 无忧无怨
可还闻得 一声阿羡
云梦水天

Existing English translated version:

Travelling back to bygone days spent by the lotus pier
The jade waters reflect a youthful silhouette
Time shifts, dreams fade, ripples blur the illusion
Brush in hand, wishing for this letter to reach Yunmeng’s old friends

With a smile, asking the Heavens to answer these relentless feelings
But years have passed in the blink of an eye
With no partings, no worries, no resentments
Can you still hear someone calling out “A-Xian”?

Imperceptible, the dream awakens to an autumn evening
Fireflies flicker below the dancing moon
Once, we chattered away happily, side by side
But such beautiful sights change so quickly; old friends are now worlds apart

Unfulfilled feelings, mottling the past
How can we return to those days with purple draped across our shoulders
With no hate, no regrets, no life and death?
Tears turn to words of understanding

With a smile, asking the Heavens to answer these relentless feelings
But years have passed in the blink of an eye
With no partings, no worries, no resentments
Can you still hear someone calling out “A-Xian”
Across Yunmeng’s water-filled skies?

Let's break the lyrics into line by line and character by character (if need be).

The title 意难平

意 - there are many meanings in this character: wish /desire (heart/soul - figuratively)

难 - difficult

平 - appease/calm/pacify

In other words, it can mean "My wish is not appeased". Whose wish is not appeased? In my opinion, not Yanli's but Wei Ying's. Yanli is an easy-going person; she has no fights for worldly matters. She doesn't like violence (hence she doesn't even wield a sword and has no cultivated power). When she dies, she has no grudges against anyone. She is peaceful. Not so for Wei Ying; he was desolate - the whole world is against him.

穿越, 往昔, 莲坞边
Traveling in time, to the old days, by the lotus pier
碧潭, 旧影, 犹少年
Jade lake, old shadow, still a youth
时光迁, 梦浅, 潋滟错觉
Time passes, shallow dreams, flooding illusion
愿执一笔, 寄予云梦故人念
Holding up a pen (can you see the hand with 5 fingers holding a bamboo brush in the character 笔?),
Sending a message to the deceased whom I missed in Yunmeng

意难平, 笑问苍天
My wish (soul/heart) is not at ease/ appeased
(note: when Yanli is killed, Wei Ying is so angry, he wants to kill everyone, he feels so hopeless, despair and desolated, how can he be appeased?)
I laugh at the heavens
(note: imagine the look Wei Ying has just before he jumps into the abyss. he's laughing hollowly, looking into the sky)
回首却, 不觉已过经年
Looking back, many years have passed unnoticeably (16 years have passed)
无别,无离, 无忧,无怨
(indicating Yanli) No parting, no separation, no worries, no resentments (note: the character 离 here is Yanli's name)
可还闻得 一声阿羡
Wishing to still hear a voice calling, "A-Xian"
(that's what Yanli calls Wei Ying fondly all the time, so endearing and that's what he misses to hear)

梦醒, 秋晚, 不知觉
Waking up from the dreams, autumn night, not realizing
(note: Wei Ying reincarnates, he says it's like a dream, he doesn't know where he has been)
萤火, 明灭, 月翩跹
Light from the fireflies, flickering, the moon dancing gracefully
曾并肩, 笑谈 ,人世万千
We've sat shoulders by shoulders, laughing and chatting, tens of thousands of things
(note: do you still remember the 3 of them, eating lotus ribs soup, chatting, laughing and Wei Ying teasing Jiang Cheng and Jiang Cheng starts complaining to Yanli and runs after Wei Ying? Those are the scenes Wei Ying misses terribly.)
佳景易变, 昔日故人今难见
Those beautiful scenes have changed, the people are gone
(note: over and over in the drama, Wei Ying reminisces the old times)

意难平, 斑驳从前
My will (soul/heart) is hard to appease, the past is mottled
如何归 ,紫衫加身时年
How to return, to the purple cladding figure of those times
不恨不悔 不生不灭
No hatred, no regrets, no anger, no obliteration
泪眼化作 一句理解
Tears turn into a word of understanding
(note: no matter what Wei Ying does, Yanli always accepts him as he is, never scolds him. When Wei Ying deviates, Yanli is worried, she has tears in her eyes and yet she truly understands and accepts him.)

(repeat)
意难平 笑问苍天
回首却 不觉已过经年
无别无离 无忧无怨
可还闻得 一声阿羡

云梦水天
Yunmeng water sky (indicating it's far away and like a dream)

My translation:

Going back in time, to the good old days, by the lotus pier
Jade blue lake, reflecting the shadow of a youth
Time passes, faded dreams clouding the senses
Holding a brush, sending a message to the deceased dearly missed in Yunmeng

My heart is difficult to appease
I laugh at the heavens
Looking back, many years have passed in a blink
There were no partings, no separation, no worries, no bitterness
Wishing to still hear a voice calling, "A-Xian"

Waking up from the dreams, without realizing, it's already autumn night
Light from the fireflies, flickering, the moon dancing gracefully
We've sat shoulders by shoulders
Laughing and chatting, everything under the sky
The beautiful scenes have changed
The people are gone

My heart is not at ease, the past is becoming blurred
How do we return to the times of the purple cladding figure
She doesn't hate, doesn't regret, doesn't anger, doesn't kill
Her tears turn into a word of understanding

My heart is difficult to calm
I laugh at the heavens
Looking back, many years have passed in a blink
There were no partings, no separation, no worries, no bitterness
Wishing to still hear a voice calling, "A-Xian"
From Yunmeng across the sky and waters

*****************************************

Does this new version provide a new way of understanding this song as how it relates to Yanli and Wei Wuxian? I hope it does. Until today, this song still conjures up images of what Wei Ying has gone through and lost, and makes me emotional.

Until next time. Chow!

edited Quote
ChineseDramaFan

无羁WuJi

This is the theme song for the drama. WuJi literally means the unrestrained or The Untamed as it is titled here. It was initially named WangXian (忘羡),  a combination of both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's names. The new name Wuji has the meaning of the title of the drama (unrestrained or untamed), as well as a combination of their names in other characters as in Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. Although the "Ji" used here is different from the character in Lan Wangji's name but they share the same sound (a homophone). So it's like one stone 2 birds, a brilliant naming idea.

This song is purportedly composed by Lan Zhan. He hums it to Wei Ying in the Xuanwu Cave (Tortoise Cave) and reveals the title as Wangxian as Wei Ying is becoming unconscious so he (Wei Ying) never knows the name to the song and its composer. He repeatedly asks Lan Zhan but Lan Zhan would not repeat a second time. It is also this song that reveals Wei Ying's identify to Lan Zhan when he (Wei Ying) plays it, because only they both know about this song; it is their song.

I love this song sung by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo as a duet. This is because it's the story of Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. The sequence of who sings which line is significant, though the lines are seemingly similar, there are subtle differences. They are telling the story from their individual perspectives which I would lay out here (almost in verbatim):

闻笛声 独惆怅 云深夜未央
(Wei Ying) Hearing the sound of flute,
Alone and sad,
Clouds deep, night still young
(note: Wei Ying playing his flute, alone, thinking of Lan Zhan)

是与非 都过往 醒来了 怎能当梦一场
(Lan Zhan) Right and wrong (discord),
All in the past,
Waking up,
How to treat it like a dream?
(note: Imagine Lan Zhan is feeling injustices that have been done to Wei Ying.)

红尘中 毁誉得失如何去量
(Wei Ying) In the secular world,
Damage to the honor/reputation how to measure

萧萧血热刀锋凉
(Together) The whistling blood is hot
The sword blade is cold
(note: implying that young blood is hot, and the swords/blades they wield are cold. Both Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are adolescent when Wei Ying dies.)

山高水远
(Wei Ying) Far across the waters in the high mountains
(note: where Gusu is)

又闻琴响
(Lan Zhan) Hearing the sound of the guqin again
(note: Lan Zhan playing his guqin, thinking of Wei Ying)

陈情未绝 卧荻花月如霜
(Together) Old love has not died,
Silver grass lies and the moon is like frost
(note: 陈情 means old love/flame. Also the name of the Chinese title for the drama and Wei Ying's flute. The silver grass and moon seem like the scenery outside the quiet room - Lan Zhan's house)

煮一壶生死悲欢 祭少年郎
(Wei Ying) Boil a pot of life death sadness happiness,
(note: these are the times they have gone through together)
To pay tribute to the young lad
(note: normally paying tribute to the dead with wine. The character 祭 implies honoring a dead one.)

明月依旧何来怅惘
(Wei Ying) The bright moon is still as regretful/uncertain
(note: the characters bright moon here can also mean next month, ie. future.  Therefore, in this context, bright moon doesn't really make much sense, but future fits in perfectly considering the next line. Essentially, together with the next line, it's saying why don't we be open about our relationship since all these unhappy events will still continue forever [no matter what, there will still be the unknowns and regrets, and nothing much we can do about it])

不如潇潇洒洒 历遍风和浪
(Lan Zhan) Might as well be forthright, explore all the winds and waves
(note: since the future is uncertain and there's nothing much one can do, might as well face it and explore the world together - this is like a wedding vow, for better and for worse)

天涯一曲共悠扬
(Together) To the limits of the earth, a song sharing for a long time
(note: to the end of the world with a song to share forever)

穿万水 过千山 路尽人茫茫
(Lan Zhan) Across tens of thousands of waters,
Over thousands of mountains,
The roads are ending,
People are endless
(note: imagine Lan Zhan was searching for Wei Ying for the last 16 years, going
through all the mountains and rivers, passing all the people and walking all the roads)

是与非 都过往醒来了 就当它梦一场
(Wei Ying) Right and wrong (Discord),
All in the past,
Waking up,
Let's treat it like a dream
(note: Wei Ying has seen through everything and is letting things go - in the drama, he says he finally understands and is letting go)

红尘中 毁誉得失如何去量
(Lan Zhan) In the secular world,
Damage to the honor how to measure,
(note: Lan Zhan still feels the injustices that Wei Ying has to bear for his damaged honor/reputation.)

萧萧血热刀锋凉
(Together) The whistling blood is hot
The sword blade is cold

山高水远
(Lan Zhan) Far across the waters in the high mountains
(note: where Gusu is)

又闻琴响
(Wei Ying) Hearing the sound of the guqin again

陈情未绝 笑世事多无常
(Together) Old love has not died,
Laughing at the world where everything is so unpredictable
(note: 陈情 means old love/flame. Also the name of the Chinese title for the drama and Wei Ying's flute. They are laughing sadly at the change of things.)

煮一壶生死悲欢 祭少年郎
(Lan Zhan) Boil a pot of life death sadness happiness,
To pay tribute to the young lad

明月依旧何来怅惘
(Lan Zhan) The bright moon is still as regretful as before
(Note: how Lan Zhan has regretted for not standing by Wei Ying 16 years ago)

不如坦坦荡荡 历遍风和浪
(Wei Ying) Let's be open and explore all the winds and waves

天涯一曲共悠扬
(Together) To the limits of the earth, a song sharing for a long time

My translation:

Verse 1
Wei Ying: 
Hearing the sound of the flute, lonely and sad, through the clouds in the young night

Lan Zhan: 
All the discords are in the past
Waking up, how can we treat it like a dream?

Wei Ying:
In the secular world, how do we measure the damages done to one's honor?

Together:
The young blood is hot, the blade of the sword is cold

Wei Ying:
Far across the waters in the high mountains

Lan Zhan:
Hearing the sound of the guqin again

Together:
Our love has not ended, where the silver grass lies under the frosty moon

Chorus
Wei Ying:
Boiling a pot of wine of life, death, sadness and happiness
Honoring the young lad

Wei Ying:
The future is still uncertain

Lan Zhan:
Let's be forthright, for better and for worse, experience the world together

Together:
To the end of the world, with a song we'll share forever

Verse 2
Lan Zhan:
Across the seas and lakes, over thousands of mountains
The roads are ending, and people are endless

Wei Ying:
All discords are in the past
Waking up, let's treat it like a dream

Lan Zhan:
In the secular world, how do we measure the damages done to one's honor?

Together:
The young blood is hot and the blade of the sword is cold

Lan Zhan:
 Far across the waters in the high mountains

Wei Ying:
Hearing the sound of the guqin again

Together:
Our love has not ended, laughing at the world where everything is so unpredictable

Lan Zhan:
Boiling a pot of wine of life, death, sadness and happiness
Paying tribute to the young lad

Lan Zhan:
The future is still uncertain

Wei Ying:
Let's be open, for better and for worse, experience the world together

Together:
To the end of the world, with a song we'll share forever

************************************************

Let me know your thoughts. Does this give you a more vivid image of all the happenings in the drama? It does for me.

Enjoy!

edited Quote
ChineseDramaFan

Jing Xin Yin (静心音) - Calming Tune

Lan Zhan plays this tune for Wei Ying for healing and when he's in a coma. The original song of this tune is from an old song called "Actually you don't understand my heart". Now we can tie the lyrics of this song to those scenes when Lan Zhan plays the Jing Xin Yin (calming) tune for Wei Ying, how he must have felt while playing his guqin at those moments. This tune gives us an even higher
level of appreciation of the characters and the CQL team for coming up with such brilliant idea.

Almost everything mentioned in the lyrics happens in the story.

你说我像云捉摸不定
其实你不懂我的心

你说我像梦忽远又忽近
其实你不懂我的心

你说我像谜总是看不清
其实我用不在乎掩藏真心

怕自己不能负担对你的深情
所以不敢靠你太近

你说要远行暗地里伤心
不让你看到哭泣的眼睛


My translation:

You say I'm like the clouds, shifting uncertainly
Actually you don't understand my heart

You say I'm like a dream, in and out unexpectedly
Actually you don't understand my heart

You say I'm like a mystery, cannot be understood
Actually I don't care to hide my true heart

I'm worried that I can't hold on to my strong feelings for you
That's why I don't dare to be too close to you

You say you want to leave, I cry silently
I won't let you see the tears in my eyes

**********************************

These are all the words Lan Zhan wants to tell Wei Ying, but cannot. He stores them in his heart for 16 years. He expresses them through his music (too bad Wei Ying is too dense to catch them).

Let me know if these words pain your hearts. The next time when you re-watch those scenes or when the Jing Xin Yin tune is being played, maybe you'll feel Lan Zhan's heart even deeper.

edited Quote
Ai-chan

Wow.. what a great explanation of every sentences.. The Untamed has songs with really beautiful lyrics.. But it's really hard to understand for a non-native speaker like me.. You make it harder for me to move on from the drama X"D

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ChineseDramaFan
 AlexBBB:
I have to say, that I am not sure about Yanli's song... I mean, when I read the text, it also makes sense that she would say it, that it could be from her name... I do not feel the text showing otherwise... But once again, even with the translation, I do not "see" all you see. I am purely talking about the text.

Like I've said, everything is open to discussion. Everyone interprets everything differently, no exception. I'm glad you're seeing the song differently from I'm. Let me show you why I think differently. 

Among everything, the most stand out words are the words that say, "Looking back". Since Yanli is dead, there's nothing to look back, but Wei Ying comes back to life. So he looks back and years have already passed. Then another line that says, "Wishing to hear a voice calling A-Xian". To me, no one else wants to hear A-Xian more than Wei Ying does. In the drama, he sees illusions of Yanli over and over again, calling him A-Xian, each time, his eyes are filled with tears even after so many years later. There are many other hints in the song that support my assumption.

What do you think?

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ChineseDramaFan
 AlexBBB:
But wasn't Yanli singing this song after the events in lotus cove? I mean, the way I understand this song, is that she was looking back at happy moments, before she died.

Another clue is waking up from the dreams. Wei Ying wakes up, not Yanli.

梦醒, 秋晚, 不知觉
Waking up from the dreams, autumn night, not realizing
(note: Wei Ying reincarnates, he says it's like a dream, he doesn't know where he has been - he tells Lan Zhan that in Jingshi)

I try to listen to the song from Yanli's perspective. I find it's not as sad as from Wei Ying's perspective. Every time when I listen to it (from Wei Ying's perspective), I would cry a river. It's just that sad and painful. Imagine sleeping/dreaming/floating around/being dead for 16 years and when you wake up, 16 years have passed. All those lost years. I've always loved listening to it, feeling Wei Ying's memories of Yanli; she is so perfect for him and he misses her terribly. It's just heart wrenching.

Maybe try it yourself: listen to the song from Wei Ying's perspective and see if you feel differently or not. :)

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LuckyGirlGwenIce

OMG! I finally heard some OSTs today and I need to vent soo bad! 

Surprisingly, when I heard Wuji, BuYang and QuJinChenQing, I was actually very normal (Regular butterflies and expected heartfelt moments and sure, I loved WWX and LWJ just as always). But then the next song was the Lonely City - which was when I started tearing up.. ..then Xue Yang, Lan Xichen, Wen Ning, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli... and finally when I came to Wen Qing, I was crying buckets! 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK to be honest I've been feeling like I need a good cry for some time. I tried watching the iconic scenes a couple days back but there was always a distraction and I couldn't get into it fully. So I might ve been a little bit more easier to break down. Still, the songs were fantastic. No doubt about it! And I also feel so much lighter after that cry! Hmm... 

edited Quote
Ileion

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know the name of the BGM that was played during Lan Zhan got drunk in the Special EP 15 ( the stealing chicken part) and  17 (where the paper tugged on Lan Zhan's headband)?

Thank You

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hello
 Ileion:

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know the name of the BGM that was played during Lan Zhan got drunk in the Special EP 15 ( the stealing chicken part) and  17 (where the paper tugged on Lan Zhan's headband)?

Thank You

Unfortunately it is not part of the official soundtrack as far as I know. It is an unnamed track. 

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Qinghe Nie princess

That's fantastic, thank you!
Btw, does someone know the name of a song playing in episode 39, in Xue Yang's flashbacks, where he thought about Xiao Xingchen giving him candies? It lasts from 21:40 m to 22:15 m of this episode and I'm really obsessed with it. I'd like to get some help :{

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hello
 Qinghe Nie princess:

That's fantastic, thank you!
Btw, does someone know the name of a song playing in episode 39, in Xue Yang's flashbacks, where he thought about Xiao Xingchen giving him candies? It lasts from 21:40 m to 22:15 m of this episode and I'm really obsessed with it. I'd like to get some help :{

Unfortunately this is also an unnamed track that isn't on the official soundtrack, probably because it is too short or it may just be a snippet of one of the other official tracks. It sounds very very similar to this one https://youtu.be/e2zAvZhda_c called Sunshot (referring to Sunshot Campaign) so Lin Hai may have taken a snippet of that and inserted it there. 

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moonfoxx

Hey, I am working on a project right now and I am searching for appearances of the character songs in the series. Except for Wuji, Yanli's OST (Ep 14) and Wei Wuxian's OST (Ep. 43) making a short appearance in instrumental version, I can not remember any other character OSTs playing. It would be really interesting to know, if Lan Zhan's OST Bu Wang is also being played, because I can not remember at all :o

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ChineseDramaFan
 moonfoxx:

Hey, I am working on a project right now and I am searching for appearances of the character songs in the series. Except for Wuji, Yanli's OST (Ep 14) and Wei Wuxian's OST (Ep. 43) making a short appearance in instrumental version, I can not remember any other character OSTs playing. It would be really interesting to know, if Lan Zhan's OST Bu Wang is also being played, because I can not remember at all :o

It's been a long time since The Untamed, but I don't believe all the character OSTs were played in the drama; I don't remember Lan Zhan's OST played as well. Maybe other viewers who have come across the music can answer better :)

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