When the Emperor sought guidance from wise men, from exiles,
He found no calmer w i sdom than that of young Chia
And assigned him the foremost council-seat at midnight,
Yet asked him about gods, instead of about people.
Original Poem:
「听筝」
李端
鸣筝金粟柱， 素手玉房前。
欲得周郎顾， 时时误拂弦。
Interpretation:
This is a poem describing a young girl in love. Through the description of a meaningful detail, it vividly portrays the image of a young girl in passionate love.
The first two lines: The koto with its golden corn shaft emits beautiful sounds, and the beauty who plucks the koto with her bare hands sits in front of the jade koto pillow.
The maiden sits in front of a gorgeous house, playing the magnificent guzheng. It doesn't say here whether it is one person or several; it could be several people playing together. This is because the meaning of the following two lines is that the girl frequently flicked the wrong string in order to gain the favor of her beloved, so obviously she is not the only one here.
The last two lines: Trying every possible way to win Zhou Lang's favor, you see that she intentionally plucked the wrong strings again and again.
The last two lines do not follow the usual style of writing, but describe the woman's intention to pluck the zither strings wrongly in order to attract the attention of her soulmate. According to legend, Zhou Yu in the Three Kingdoms era turned around when someone else played a song incorrectly, and this poem is clearly inspired by that story. The poem is clearly inspired by this story. She is not a low-skilled woman, for the mistake is obviously intentional, and she deliberately plucks the wrong string for the sake of her admirer's attention, and the lovely image of the zither-playing woman jumps off the page.
The poem describes a zither player who deliberately plucks the strings wrongly for the sake of her admirer, creating a lovely image of a zither player.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Li Duan (李端) was a native of Zhao County, Hebei Province. Li Duan was a native of Zhao County, Hebei Province. He was admitted as a jinshi in 770 AD, and was one of the “Ten Scholarly Men of the Dali Dynasty”. He was one of the “Ten Scholars of the Dali Dynasty”. His poems were often sent as farewells and gifts, and he was highly praised for his quick-wittedness.
