In gala robes she comes down from her chamber
Into her courtyard, enclosure of spring...
When she tries from the centre to count the flowers,
On her hairpin of jade a dragon-fly poises.
Original Poem:
「和乐天春词」
刘禹锡
新妆宜面下朱楼， 深锁春光一院愁。
行到中庭数花朵， 蜻蜓飞上玉搔头。
Interpretation:
This poem is about a young woman who dresses herself up in the spring and stares at the scene.
The first two lines: carefully made-up slowly walk down the attic, deep courtyard spring light although good only add sorrow.
After the heroine has finished dressing up, then the heroine in the poem dresses up and rushes downstairs, she dresses up quite carefully and elaborately. The colorful spring light makes her temporarily forget the distress in her heart, this good time and beauty, so that her heart sprouted a hint of hazy hope. She went downstairs to invite favor, but there was only spring light and no one, so she only felt a courtyard of “sorrow”.
The last two lines: When she came to the courtyard to count the blooming flowers, the dragonflies flew onto the jade hairpins.
If she had known this, she would not have had to groom herself so carefully. This rapidly changing mood of disappointment, so that she no longer have the heart to enjoy, so she can only use “counting flowers” to dispel her sorrows, to pass the spring time. Just as she was counting in silence, the dragonfly flew to her head. This is a wonderful piece of writing. It implicitly says that her situation is just like the spring flowers in the courtyard, which are lonely and unappreciated, and can only attract the ignorant dragonflies.
This poem is a refreshing and skillful portrayal of the young woman's cold and lonely situation in the midst of the springtime, which is novel and full of flavor.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Liu Yuxi(刘禹锡), 772 - 842 AD, was a native of Hebei. He was a progressive statesman and thinker in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, and a poet with unique achievements in this period. In his compositions, there is no lack of poems reflecting current affairs and the plight of the people.
