I am only an old woodsman, whispering a sob,
As I steal like a spring-shadow down the Winding River.
...Since the palaces ashore are sealed by a thousand gates --
Fine willows, new rushes, for whom are you so green?
...I remember a cloud of flags that came from the South Garden,
And ten thousand colours, heightening one another,
And the Kingdom's first Lady, from the Palace of the Bright Sun,
Attendant on the Emperor in his royal chariot,
And the horsemen before them, each with bow and arrows,
And the snowy horses, champing at bits of yellow gold,
And an archer, breast skyward, shooting through the clouds
And felling with one dart a pair of flying birds.
...Where are those perfect eyes, where are those pearly teeth?
A blood-stained spirit has no home, has nowhere to return.
And clear Wei waters running east, through the cleft on Dagger- Tower Trail,
Carry neither there nor here any news of her.
People, compassionate, are wishing with tears
That she were as eternal as the river and the flowers.
...Mounted Tartars, in the yellow twilight, cloud the town with dust.
I am fleeing south, but I linger-gazing northward toward the throne.
Original Poem:
「春宫怨」
杜甫
早被婵娟误， 欲妆临镜慵。
承恩不在貌， 教妾若为容？
风暖鸟声碎， 日高花影重。
年年越溪女， 相忆采芙蓉。
Interpretation:
This poem is ostensibly about palace grievances, but in fact it also implies the author’s lack of talent and his resentment towards the reality of beauty and ugliness being reversed.
The poem describes a courtesan who remembers that she was chosen for the palace because of her beauty but was not favored, so she sits in front of the mirror to make up and dress up, and she has no intention of doing so. The following two sentences explain the reason for “want to make up in front of the mirror”. The emperor’s favor is not based on looks, teach me how to dress up. In other words, what is the use of dressing up? These are two very sad sentences. To gain the emperor’s favor was not based on good looks, but rather on the use of tricks, pandering, and tricks of the heart. In this way, those who are really beautiful are left out. This is a revelation of the ugly phenomenon in the palace.
Next, it is written that the spring scenery in the palace is pleasant, but it contrasts the inner bitterness of the courtesans. The meaning is that the spring breeze is warm, and all kinds of birds are crowing happily; the sun is already very high, and it reflects the shadows of all kinds of flowers and trees overlapping on the ground. This kind of cold and abandoned life in the palace made the beautiful courtesan recall her life as a young girl when she was washing clothes and picking hibiscus by the RuoYe stream in her hometown. Her female companions played by the stream, beautiful dresses, lotus leaves and flowers, and the green stream, all of which became the best memories of her life.
In ancient China, there has been a tradition of comparing beauty with talent, and this poem is no exception. This poem is no exception. On the one hand, it is a poem of complaint on behalf of the courtesan, and on the other hand, it is also a metaphor for one’s own lack of talent through the misfortune of the courtesan.
About the Poet:
Du Xunhe (杜荀鹤), 846-907 AD, was a native of Shidai, Anhui Province. During his long life of despondency and poverty, he was dissatisfied with the social reality and had a certain understanding of the people’s sufferings. As a result, his early poems include works that satirize current events, expose social darkness and sympathize with the people. Artistically, he was a poet who named himself as a “bitter poet”.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
