Bright moon, cool breeze1—a chance meeting in life’s river2
A heart that wished to save the world3 carried us forward, together
Interactions, warm and gentle—mornings and evenings sweet as candy
But fate, unfeeling and ruthless, misplaced us

1. Somehow, this is still not the precise combination of the chengyu associated with Xiao Xingchen. The chengyu 霁月清风 jiyue qingfeng / “bright moon, cool breeze” has connotations of peacefulness and tranquility, as well as beauty. A closely related chengyu, 霁月光风 jiyue guangfeng / “like a light breeze and clear moon” is specifically used to describe a person’s character, and contains valences of “open-hearted, tolerant.”
2. The chengyu 萍水相逢 pingshui xiangfeng means, literally, “to meet by chance, like patches of duckweed.” We’ve seen this literary metaphor before, in Wen Qing’s 疏林如有诉 Shulinruyousu. Gloss duplicated below: 水中萍 shuizhongping, literally “[duck]weed floating on water,” is often used to describe passerbys who have no connection to each other—they meet briefly, bump into each other, and then separate, without any lingering connections. It is likely a reference to the Song Dynasty poem 《阮郎归·风中柳絮水中萍》 by 王丛书 Wang Congshu, which begins with the lines, 风中柳絮水中萍。聚散两无情 / in the wind, willow catkins; in the water, floating duckweed. Meeting and separation—both, without feeling.
3. I couldn’t manage to work in an elegant translation of 初心 chuxin into the translation of this line; literally “beginning heart,” the concept of 初心 chuxin is quite similar to the concept of 原本 yuanben / “original intent” from Wen Ning’s character song 赤子 Chizi. Both gesture at the good (often idealized) intentions a person often has at the beginning of a particular journey. Whether or not a person can remain true to their “beginning heart” or “original intent” as they confront setbacks and gain power is a central concern of much of Chinese history and literature.

Celia Cruz - Guantanamera

I plant a snowy rose in January and July,
I grow a snowy rose in January and July,
For the open-hearted friend who puts a helping hand in mine

James - Moving On

Please don't get me started
Looking backwards to move on.
Strong yet open-hearted,
Accept leaving when leaving's come.

Taras Petrynenko - Lord, have mercy on us

Sinful children - are not alien children,
Our Father, hear their open-hearted voice,
God save Ukraine,

Miguel Bosé - I'll love you

In risking the forbidden, I'll love you
In the false and right
Open-hearted for you
For being a not-perfecft being, I'll love you

INNA - Love bizarre

Your love is so bizarre

I was open-hearted
Look what you just started

Sonny with a chance (OST) - Me,Myself And Time

I just entered this brand new world
And I'm so open hearted
I know I've got a long way to go

Alanis Morissette - Unsent

Dear Terrence,
I love you muchly.
You've been nothing but open-hearted and emotionally available and supportive,
And nurturing, and consummately there for me!

Leonard Cohen - The Guests

The guests are coming through
The broken-hearted many
The open-hearted few

CocoRosie - Black Swan (G. C. Menotti) & Promise

take me down with you

Open-hearted as a heart can be
'Cause we're all a ruin like broken leaves

Gennady Belov - Hello, mother

There are many good people on the Earth,
Many open-hearted people,
But, anyway, mother, my mother

Antony and The Johnsons - The guests

The guests are coming through
The broken-hearted many
The open-hearted few

1.	Fuck around and find out
2.	To be born for the rose and pearl
3.	Turtle dovin'
4.	It's not all sunshine and roses
5.	One for the money, two for the show
6.	As the crow flies
7.	The person who can't reach the grapes, says they are sour
8.	Out of the ordinary
9.	Pop a bean
10.	Break a leg
11.	Dead and buried
12.	you don´t shit where you eat
13.	Behind the curtain
14.	Wife material
15.	Show me a liar, and I will show you a thief