How to Read Chinese Poetry A Guided Anthology

110 t He Han Dy na s t y

Oh, how green is the grass on the riverbank, 青青河邊草   (qīng qīng hé pàn căo)

How endless is my longing for the distant

road. 綿綿思遠道  (mián mián sī yuăo dào)

The distant road I long for only in vain. 遠道不可思  (yuăo dào bù kĕ sī)

[XQHWJNBCS, 192]

C 5. 5

No. 16, Cold and Cold: The Year Approaches Its End

Having given the embroidered quilt to the beauty

of the Luo River 錦衾遺洛浦   (jĭn qīn yí luò pŭ)

6 He is now estranged from me, his bedfellow. 同袍與我違  (tóng páo yŭ wŏ wéi)

I sleep alone night after night, 獨宿累長夜   (dú sù lĕi cháng yè)

8 In my dream I see the radiance of his face. 夢想見容輝  (mèng xiăng jiàn róng huī)

My dear one thinking of our old joys, 良人惟古懽  (liáng rén wéi gŭ huān)

10 Graciously comes and extends to me the rope for

boarding his carriage. 枉駕惠前綏     (wāng jià huì qián suí)

“I hope to see your beautiful smile often, 願得常巧笑     (yuàn dé cháng qiăo xiào)

12 Let us hold hands and return together in my coach.” 攜手同車歸     (xié shŏu tóng chē guī)

Come as he did, he would not stay long, 旣來不須臾    (jì lái bù xū yú)

14 Nor was he with me in the inner chamber. 又不處重闈    (yòu bù chŭ chóng wĕi)

Truly without the wings of a soaring bird, 亮無晨風翼     (liàng wú chén fēng yì)

16 How can I ride on the wind [and fly to him]? 焉能淩風飛    (yān néng líng fēng fēi)

[Lines 5–16; WX 29.1349]

The motif of riverside lamentation is appropriated and turned into a monologue

in poem 6. While “Watering Horses” merely touches on the speaker’s emotional

state, poem 6 presents us with a sustained process of self-expression. The speaker

complains about the distance preventing him from sending the flowers to his wife,

looks longingly toward home, and laments their separation.

This poem offers a useful comparison with lines 4–8 of “Watering Horses”:

In bed last night I saw him in a dream, 宿昔夢見之    (sù xī mèng jiàn zhī)

In the dream I saw him by my side. 夢見在我傍     (mèng jiàn zài wŏ páng)

Suddenly I awoke to find him still in another town, 忽覚在他鄕    (hū jué zài tā xiāng)

Another town, we each in different counties. 他鄕各異縣   (tā xiāng gè yì xiàn)

Tossing and turning, I could see him no more. 展轉不可見  (zhăn zhuăn bù kĕ jiàn)

Again, we can observe the sharp difference between the narrative and lyrical treat-

ments of a similar situation. Both pieces describe a neglected wife’s dream of a

reunion with her husband. “Watering Horses” merely tells us when the neglected

This poem may be seen as a refashioning of lines 1–3 of “Watering Horses”: