In the faded old imperial palace,
Peonies are red, but no one comes to see them...
The ladies-in-waiting have grown white-haired
Debating the pomps of Emperor Xuanzong.
Original Poem:
「行宫」
元稹
寥落古行宫， 宫花寂寞红。
白头宫女在， 闲坐说玄宗。
Interpretation:
The palace in this poem is the palace in Luoyang, Shangyang Palace. According to Bai Juyi, at the end of Tianbao, many courtesans were “submerged” here, isolated from the outside world, a closed is forty years. This poem tells the endless grievances of the courtesans, expressing the poet's sympathy.
The first two lines: once magnificent ancient palace has been a desolate and cold, the palace in the lonesome flowers in the lonesome open.
First write the environment. The palace is very empty and cold, and dilapidated, such an environment itself suggests the change of the past and present decline. Delicate red flowers and the old palace contrast, strengthened the sense of change of the world's prosperity and decline.
The last two lines: the surviving few gray-haired courtesans can only talk about the anecdotes of Emperor Xuanzong when they are sitting idly.
The palace flowers bloomed as in the old days, and when the flowery palace maid has become a gray-haired old woman. Things are not the same, this contains how much grief, how much sadness is self-evident. The last sentence of the courtesans write out the loneliness and helplessness of the long years of being left out of the cold. In the past, they knitted their brows and smiled, dressed in beautiful clothes only to please the king, and now no longer have the chance to see the face of the dragon, what else can they do? Only boredom “idle” in the cold palace. And what these courtesans talk about is still the old times.
The whole poem is only twenty words long, but it forms a wonderful picture with clear color tone and characters leaping out of it. This picture triggers the reader's imagination: the palace maidens, who were young, beautiful and graceful, are living in the isolated ancient palace for no reason, and year after year, their youth is fading away, their red faces are fading away, and their gray hairs are frequently growing, so it is not possible to look back on the past!
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Yuan Zhen (元稹), 779-831 A.D., was a native of Luoyang, Henan Province, who was poor in his early years, but later became an official and finally died of a violent illness. He was friendly with Bai Juyi and often sang with him, and was known as “Yuan Bai”.
