"Long Autumn Night" is a Chinese classic poem that has inspired later works of classical music in China and Europe.

After Long Autumn Night by Qian Qi 钱起《效古秋夜长》唐诗 from Tang Poems

Qian Qi Qian Qi (; 710–782) was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. Three of his poems have been included within the famous anthology ''Three Hundred Tang Poems''. His courtesy name was Zhongwen (). Poetry Qian Qi's poems as collected in ''Three Hundred ...

(710–782) was a mid-

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

Chinese court poet known by contemporaries for elegant verses which are rich in meaning and loose in syntax. They could be interpreted in many ways. This poem was inspired by "Long Autumn Night" by Wang Yong
王融
of the 5th century.

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

's choral symphony ''

Das Lied von der Erde ''Das Lied von der Erde'' ("The Song of the Earth") is an orchestral song cycle for two voices and orchestra written by Gustav Mahler between 1908 and 1909. Described as a symphony when published, it comprises six songs for two singers who alte ...

'', 2nd movement, was based on this

Tang poem Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

about a lonely young girl at her silk loom in a wealthy household. Autumn brings the white jade frost, North wind sweeps the lotus scent. Pining with love she weaves by a flickering lamp, Tearful at the long cold loom, Her cloud of finished gossamer green silk like a pool of quiet water, Until the moon and perched crow bring the dawn. Who is this young girl faithfully weaving at her loom? Hidden deep behind rich silken drapes, amidst the splendor listening to falling leaves. I sympathize with her; cold in solitary desolation. 钱起《效古秋夜长》唐中期 – 秋汉飞玉霜，北风扫荷香。含情纺织孤灯尽，拭泪相思寒漏长。檐前碧云静如水，月吊栖乌啼鸟起。谁家少妇事鸳机，锦幕云屏深掩扉。白玉窗中闻落叶，应怜寒女独无依。

"Der Einsame im Herbst" ("The Solitary One in Autumn")

The second movement of Mahler's ''

'
大地之歌
is based on this Qian Qi 钱起 poem. The German choral text of the first two stanzas are given below: Herbstnebel wallen bläulich überm See; Vom Reif bezogen stehen alle Gräser; Man meint, ein Künstler habe Staub von Jade Über die feinen Blüten ausgestreut. Der süße Duft der Blumen ist verflogen; Ein kalter Wind beugt ihre Stengel nieder. Bald werden die verwelkten, gold'nen Blätter Der Lotosblüten auf dem Wasser zieh'n.Full German choral text and English translation are in the wiki "

Mystery of ''Das Lied von der Erde'', Mahler 马勒《大地之歌》

The German text for "Der Einsame im Herbst" ("The Solitary One in Autumn") was re-written from the 19th c. German translation of French translations of the poem. The Mahler choral text by necessity differs from the Hans Bethge German text (Bethge's "Die chinesische Flöte") since it must be set to music. The original Chinese poem was not identified for a long time. But now it is conclusively shown to be by Qian Qi, a mid-Tang dynasty poet and high-ranking official. The title is "After Long Autumn Night" 《效古秋夜长.

Notes on Mystery of 2nd movement: 乐章之迷

The German source used by Mahler was a translation from French translations. There were major errors in both the text translations and attributions so that the original poem in Chinese could not be identified. The first identification was published in 1983 by Qian Renkan
钱仁康
through style and subject matter analysis. This was confirmed in 1999 after an exhaustive backwards analysis of a large number of likely authors and texts. The second movement is now generally accepted as being based on this Qian Qi Tang poem.{{Cite web, url=http://www.guoxue.com/?p=1682, title=About Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" 关于马勒《大地之歌》唐诗歌词之解译, last=, first=, date=, website=Guxue.com, access-date=

References

Chinese poems Chinese classic texts Tang dynasty literature