With twilight passing her silken window,
She weeps alone in her chamber of gold;
For spring is departing from a desolate garden,
And a drift of pear-petals is closing a door.
Original Poem:
「春怨」
刘方平
纱窗日落渐黄昏，金屋无人见泪痕。
寂寞空庭春欲晚，梨花满地不开门。
Interpretation:
This poem mainly expresses the resentment of the courtesan after she lost her favor, and also expresses the poet's inner complaint about the society she lives in.
In the first two lines, the sun slowly sets outside the window and dusk falls; the palace door is closed, no one can see my tears of sorrow.
The light in the room becomes dimmer and dimmer as the sun sets on the screen window and dusk falls. A lonely, desolate atmosphere is created from the very beginning. In the isolated palace, the courtesan's former favor and today's abandonment, how the situation is very different, tears are common, loneliness has made the courtesan heart very miserable.
The last two sentences: the lonely and quiet courtyard spring is nearing the end, pear blossoms fall all over the ground and the courtyard door is tightly closed.
Twilight spring, the flowers withered, the courtyard is empty, the courtesan at this time in the environment is also a bleak, the courtesan in such a bleak and lonely environment, pear blossoms all over the ground but do not care to appreciate. Scenery decay is the palace maid emaciated posture, no one asked to use the fallen flowers as a comparison, which implies a sense of grievance.
The poet uses symbolism, giving “sunset”, “dusk”, “spring evening”, “pear blossoms all over the ground” and so on. The words use the symbolism of the fate of the courtesans and their bleak state of mind to depict the grievances of the courtesans.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the Poet:
Liu Fangping(刘方平), whose date of birth and death is unknown, was a native of Luoyang and lived from Tianbao to Dali. Unrecognized for his talent, he lived in seclusion on the shores of the Yingshui and Ru River, and remained unrepresented throughout his life, as he was known at the time. He was a poet and friend of Huangfu Ran. He was a poet and good at painting landscapes.
