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
This subtle lyric poem delicately traces the poet's unspoken admiration for a woman through layered imagery and temporal shifts. While never explicitly declaring passion, it constructs a wistful realm of unconsummated affection using symbols of nocturnal labor, fleeting encounters, and seasonal markers. The work exemplifies classical Chinese poetry's art of emotional suggestion through objective correlatives.
First Couplet: "凤尾香罗薄几重，碧文圆顶夜深缝。"
Fèng wěi xiāng luó báo jǐ chóng, bì wén yuán dǐng yè shēn féng.
Phoenix-tail silk veils in mist-thin layers / Jade-patterned canopy stitched through midnight hours
The woman's nightly ritual of embroidering bridal curtains ("phoenix-tail" symbolizing marital aspirations) becomes metaphorical courtship. Her "jade-patterned" craftsmanship mirrors poetic refinement, while the act of endless stitching in darkness suggests both artistic devotion and unacknowledged yearning.
Second Couplet: "扇裁月魄羞难掩，车走雷声语未通。"
Shàn cái yuè pò xiū nán yǎn, chē zǒu léi shēng yǔ wèi tōng.
Moon-soul shaped fan fails hidden blush / Chariot's thunder drowns unspoken words
A cinematic flashback captures their sole encounter: her fan (traditional bashfulness prop) becomes lunar mirror reflecting mutual attraction, while the roaring carriage wheels embody societal forces silencing communication. The juxtaposition of fragile "moon-soul" against mechanical "thunder" encapsulates romance crushed by circumstance.
Third Couplet: "曾是寂寥金烬暗，断无消息石榴红。"
Céng shì jì liáo jīn jìn àn, duàn wú xiāo xī shí liú hóng.
Golden ashes dwindle through lonely vigils / Pomegranate blooms signal severed news
Time's passage is measured through dying candle metals ("golden ashes") and fertility symbols ("pomegranate blooms"). The extinguished flame parallels faded hopes, while the fruit's bloody red blossoms ironically emphasize emotional barrenness - nature's fecundity mocking human isolation.
Fourth Couplet: "斑骓只系垂杨岸，何处西南待好风？"
Bān zhuī zhǐ xì chuí yáng àn, hé chù xī nán dài hǎo fēng?
Dappled steed tethered to weeping willows / Where waits the southwest wind bearing word?
The loyal horse ("dappled steed") symbolizes steadfast hope, while "weeping willows" (traditional separation motif) frame emotional stasis. The final question invokes Cao Zhi's典故 of southwest winds carrying love letters, transforming geographical direction into existential plea - less about reunion than sustaining desire itself.
Holistic Appreciation
This poem constructs an oneiric love narrative through temporal collage - stitching midnight embroidery, remembered glances, seasonal cycles, and eternal waiting into a tapestry of unconsummated longing. Each couplet functions as a symbolic window: the bridal curtains never used, the fan that obscured communication, the candle that burned without illumination, the horse perpetually saddled for departure. Together, they manifest love as suspended potentiality, forever in the subjunctive mood.
Artistic Merits
- Temporal Architecture: Circular time structure (nocturnal labor → flashback → cyclical seasons → eternal waiting) mirrors the lover's mental imprisonment.
- Synesthetic Symbolism: Tactile "mist-thin silk" versus auditory "chariot thunder" creates psychological resonance transcending individual images.
- Subverted Bridal Imagery: Traditional wedding motifs (phoenix, red candles, canopy) become ironic counterpoints to solitary existence.
Insights
The poem articulates a fundamental human paradox: the most enduring passions often dwell in realms of imagination rather than consummation. By eternalizing momentary attraction through art, the poet demonstrates how unconsummated love can achieve deeper resonance than realized relationships. It invites reflection on modern obsessions with romantic closure, suggesting that some desires gain power precisely through remaining potential - like the forever-tethered horse awaiting a wind that need never arrive.
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".
