In the faded old imperial palace,
Peonies are red, but no one comes to see them...
The ladies-in-waiting have grown white-haired
Debating the pomps of Emperor Xuanzong.
Original Poem:
「行宫」
元稹
寥落古行宫， 宫花寂寞红。
白头宫女在， 闲坐说玄宗。
Interpretation:
The palace in this poem is the Shangyang Palace in Luoyang. According to Bai Juyi, at the end of the Tianbao period, many courtesans were secretly arranged here, isolated from the outside world, and closed for forty years. This five-word poem tells the endless grievances of the courtesans and expresses the feeling of sympathy.
The first sentence points out the location, an old palace in disrepair, empty and cold. The second sentence implies the environment and time, March, bright spring, the palace garden red flowers blooming, fighting for color.
The third sentence explains the characters, a few white-headed courtesans, linked to the next sentence, it can be seen that they are the old courtesans who survived the end of Tianbao. The last line is like a close-up shot, but see a few white-headed palace maidens lonely and bored, sitting idly in a group, recalling Tianbao’s legacy.
The whole poem is only twenty words long, but it constitutes a wonderful picture with clear color tone and characters leaping out of it. Moreover, this picture can trigger the reader’s imagination: the palace maidens, who were young, beautiful and graceful, are living in the isolated ancient palace for no reason, and their youth is fading away year after year.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Yuan Zhen (元稹), 779-831 A.D., was a native of Luoyang, Henan Province, who was poor in his early years, but later became an official and finally died of a violent illness. He was friendly with Bai Juyi and often sang with him, and was known as “Yuan Bai”.
