A faint phoenix-tail gauze, fragrant and doubled,
Lines your green canopy, closed for the night…
Will your shy face peer round a moon-shaped fan,
And your voice be heard hushing the rattle of my carriage?
It is quiet and quiet where your gold lamp dies,
How far can a pomegranate-blossom whisper?
…I will tether my horse to a river willow
And wait for the will of the southwest wind.
Original Poem:
「无题 · 凤尾香罗薄几重」
李商隐
凤尾香罗薄几重，碧文圆顶夜深缝。
扇裁月魄羞难掩，车走雷声语未通。
曾是寂寥金烬暗，断无消息石榴红。
斑骓只系垂杨岸，何处西南待好风？
Interpretation:
TThis poem expresses the love for a woman in a cryptic tone.
The first two lines: The damask woven with phoenix-tail patterns is thin and heavy; the turquoise-patterned domed tent, I hurriedly sewed late at night.
It seems to be a chance encounter, love at first sight, and thereafter unforgettable, looking forward to reunion. A woman sewing late at night under the lamp: embroidered with exquisite phoenix-tail pattern of silk roses, thin and soft, like smoke and mist, emitting a burst of fragrance, was cut into heavy drapery; orange light, turquoise patterned dome tent in the quiet late at night sewing. That flying needle and thread must have a pair of dexterous hands, that busy figure in the depths of the night is so focused, virtuous.
The third and fourth lines: that encounter, too late to cover with a fan; but you drove rumbling past, speechless.
The poet recalled and the woman’s encounter: the two met on the street by chance, the four eyes, the moment the sparks of the soul, the woman blushed and smiled, hastened to cover her face with a fan, although it covered the face of the moon, but could not hide the shyness. Between the gaze, the words are not through, the car has been hurriedly driven by the beauty of the car, the sound of the car is gradually moving away. This should be the feeling of love at first sight, although only a glimpse, but the woman’s beautiful face, shy demeanor, but deeply imprinted in the poet’s mind, and will never forget.
Fifth, six lines: had been sleepless because of the silence, think of more residual candle; but no news of you, wait until the pomegranate blossom red.
The poet’s later feelings: once for her love, in the long night, alone, guarding the metal candlestick, looking at the dim lights flickering in the night, the tide of loneliness flooded the body and mind, but she is “no news”. Time passes, the pomegranate tree has blossomed with red flowers, but she is still not heard from, which makes people feel infinite melancholy.
The last two sentences: perhaps you are in the poplar bank, tied Zhui Zhui horse; how can you wait, sent to meet your southwest wind.
I am in love with her, and my piebald horse only wants to be tied up under the green willow tree, making an abstract and subtle feeling tangible, where is the good wind blowing to fulfill the wish of the one who loves the other? There is an unthinkable anguish here, but also a hidden hope.
The poem is very subtle in its expression, the sincerity and depth of the emotion, the delicacy and image of the expression, and the clearness and beauty of the words, which make the unspoken feelings euphemistic and touching.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Li Shangyin (李商隐), 813-858 AD, was a great poet of the late Tang Dynasty. His poems were on a par with those of Du Mu, and he was known as “Little Li Du”. Li Shangyin was a native of Qinyang, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province. When he was a teenager, he lost his father at the age of nine, and was called “Zheshui East and West, half a century of wandering”.
