There is only one Carved-Cloud, exquisite always -
Yet she dreads the spring, blowing cold in the palace,
When her husband, a Knight of the Golden Tortoise,
Will leave her sweet bed, to be early at court.
Original Poem:
「为有」
李商隐
为有云屏无限娇， 凤城寒尽怕春宵。
无端嫁得金龟婿， 辜负香衾事早朝
Interpretation:
This is a poem about a woman’s complaint. A beautiful woman who married a golden son-in-law complained that her husband left her alone because of the “early morning”.
Some women in the world want to marry a golden son-in-law, and even if they marry a golden son-in-law, it may not be a good thing. A golden son-in-law wants to make money for himself, and naturally, he will intentionally or unintentionally cold-shoulder his wife; and if he wants to stay with his husband and wife after he has had the honour of being rich and wealthy, how can there be any such perfect thing in the world? Through the poet’s delicate and objective portrayal, we seem to be able to feel such a meaning. In connection with the poet’s poor and desperate situation at that time, this poem should be a sneer. The whole poem is cleverly conceived, with meticulous psychological descriptions and a strong sense of life.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Li Shangyin (李商隐), 813-858 AD, was a great poet of the late Tang Dynasty. His poems were on a par with those of Du Mu, and he was known as “Little Li Du”. Li Shangyin was a native of Qinyang, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province. When he was a teenager, he lost his father at the age of nine, and was called “Zheshui East and West, half a century of wandering”.
