Sad but Beautiful
悲伤但优美
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.
昨晚，我的一位中国朋友带我去听了一场中国民俗音乐会。那首用二胡演奏的曲子尤为打动我。
The music was strangely beautiful, but under the beauty I sensed a strong sadness and pain.
这首曲子异常优美，但在其优美的背后，我感受到了一股强烈的悲伤和痛苦。
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.
这首曲子有一个简单的名字《二泉映月》，但这是我听过的最动人的音乐之一。
The erhu sounded so sad that I almost cried along with it as I listened.
二胡声听起来很悲伤，听到时几乎让我流泪。
Later I looked up the history of "erquan Yingyue", and I began to understand the sadness in the music.
后来，我查阅了《二泉映月》的历史，我开始理解这首曲子中的悲伤。
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.
这首曲子是阿炳写的，他是一位民间音乐家，1893年出生于无锡市。他的母亲在他很小的时候便去世了。
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.
阿炳的父亲教他演奏很多种乐器，比如鼓、笛子和二胡，阿炳17岁便以其音乐才能而为人所知。
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.
然而，在他的父亲去世后，阿炳的生活变得更加糟糕。他很贫穷。不仅如此，他还生了一场很严重的病且双目失明。
For several years, he had no home. He lived on the streets and played music to make money.
几年来，他都无家可归。他住在街上靠演奏赚钱。
Even after Abing got married and had a home again, he continued to sing and play in the city streets. He performed in this way for many years.
即使是在阿炳结婚安家后，他还是继续在城市街边唱歌演奏。他以这样的方式演奏了很多年。
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.
阿炳惊艳的音乐才能让他在一生中都非常受欢迎。直到他去世时，他可以演奏六百多首曲子。
Many of these were written by Abing himself.
其中许多都是阿炳自己写的。
It is a pity that only six pieces of music in total were recorded for the future world to hear, but his popularity continues to this day.
很遗憾，仅有六首曲子被录了下来为后人所听到，但是他的知名度延续到了今天。
Today, Abing's erque Yingyue is a piece which all the great erhu masters play and praise. It has become one of China's national treasures.
如今阿炳的《二泉映月》是所有伟大的二胡大师所弹奏和赞赏的一首曲子。它成为了中国的国家宝藏之一。
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.
其凄美不仅刻画出了阿炳自己的人生，也使人们从自己悲伤或痛苦的经历中回想起最深的伤口。
