Dongba Script
Gu Naxi
Lyrics: Gu Naxi
Composer: Gu Naxi
Gu Naxi Studio
A Li Ya
A Li
Dongba Script
The ancient pictographic
script of the Naxi people
A Li
The carvings on wood and
stone are books of time
Every stroke draws the
home of mountains
and rivers
The sun rises the moon sets
stars rest on the paper
Ancient codes hold the
Naxi’s earliest roots
Wind sweeps through Jade
Dragon Snow Mountain
lifting mist from scrolls
Water winds through
ancient city lanes flowing
a thousand-year path
Dongba’s brush dips
in ink of time
Writing heaven and earth
writing mortal life’s
smoke and fire
A Li A Li A Li
A Li A Li
Walking in a painting
holding light of sun
and moon
Stepping on stone slabs
through spring autumn
winter and frost
Watching clouds unfold
singing the length of years
Fire warms the heart
trees guard the hometown
Sheep and cattle on hills
chickens and dogs around
the house
Fish swim in clear waves
snakes hide in grass
Fragrance from the stove
seals carved by knife
A page of Dongba Script
writes all the vicissitudes
of time
A Li A Li A Li
A Li A Li
A Li
Dongba Script
A totem carved in the heart
Every stroke is the root
of ancestors
Pictographic words draw
heaven and earth
A thousand-year soul hides
in every line
Dongba Script
Warmth flowing in blood
Every word is the soul
of the Naxi
Traces on wood
and stone record time’s
ups and downs
Ancient rhymes
sung till today
A Li A L A Li
A Li A L A Li
A Li A L A Li
Walking through time
watching clouds rise and fall
Sleeping under moonlight
dreaming of ancient legends
The line between big
and small the choice
between good and bad
The path of high and low
the gain of more and less
Beauty lies in mountains
and rivers ugliness in
human hearts
Fate of coming and going
joy of seeing and hearing
Warmth of speaking
and eating responsibility
of taking and doing
Dongba Script holds the
philosophy of life
A Li A Li A Li
A Li
Scrolls turned
a thousand times
characters still clear
Priests’chants pass through
years of wind and rain
Those pictographic words
never forgotten
They are the Naxi’s root
the nation’s memory
Dongba Script
A totem carved in the heart
Every stroke is the root
of ancestors
Pictographic words draw
heaven and earth
A thousand-year soul
hides in every line
A Li A Li A Li
A Li A Li A Li
Dongba Script
Warmth flowing in blood
Every word is the soul
of the Naxi
Traces on wood and stone
record time’s ups and downs
Ancient rhymes
sung till today
Traces on wood and stone
carve marks of time
Dongba Script guards the
nation’s root
Every stroke writes all
love and hate in the world
A thousand-year song
sung to eternity
A Li A Li A Li
A Li Ya
A Li
A Li Ya
A Li
A Li Ya
A Li
A Li Ya
A Li
Dongba Script
The ancient pictographic
script of the Naxi people
A Li A Li A Li
A Li Ya
A Li