c i P oe t ry : s Hor t s ong ly riC s 253tion words, contributes to the ci’s characteristic tendency to qualify its imagistic
presentation. The rough parallelism discernible in the relationships between the
paired three-character lines suggests a greater degree of attention to poetic craft
than we saw in the Dunhuang poems; this is, of course, in keeping with the po-
em’s literati authorship.
A second example of Wen Tingyun’s song lyrics presents a more eroticized and
objectified picture of its female subject. The poem’s more suggestive quality is
perhaps not surprising, given that it is less a complaint of abandonment than a
depiction of morning ennui in the context of a new love affair.
C 1 2. 5
To the Tune “Buddha-Like Barbarian”Layer on layer of little hills, golds shimmer and fade,
2 Cloud locks hover over the fragrant snow of a cheek.
Lazily rising to paint on moth eyebrows,
4 Dallying with makeup and hair.
Blossoms are mirrored behind and before,
6 Flower faces reflect one another.
Newly embroidered on a jacket of silk
8 Are pair after pair of golden partridges.
[QTWDC 2.194]
菩薩蠻 (pú sà mán)
small hill repeat pile up gold bright extinguish 小山重疊金明滅 ▲ (xiăo shān chóng dié jīn míng miè)
locks cloud about to cross fragrant cheek snow 鬢雲欲度香腮雪 ▲ (bìn yún yù dù xiāng sāi xuě)
lazy arise paint moth brows 懶起畫蛾眉^ △^ (liăn qĭ huà é méi)
do makeup comb wash late 弄妝梳洗遲^ △^ (nòng zhuāng shū xĭ chí)
reflect flower before behind mirror 照花前後鏡 ▲ (zhào huā qián hòu jìng)
flower face mutual each other reflect 花面交相映 ▲ (huā miàn jiāo xiāng yìng)
new written embroidered silk gauze jacket 新帖繡羅襦 △ (xīn tiè xiù luó rú)
pair pair gold partridge partridge 雙雙金鷓鴣 △ (shuāng shuāng jīn zhè gū)
This poem employs more elevated diction and more ornate imagery than
“On the Water Clock at Night.” In general, it is imagistically denser, using less-
continuous syntax and more juxtaposition of imagery. Set entirely in the interior
of the subject’s intimate boudoir, the poem presents a series of images through
which the actions of the subject’s morning routine become perceptible. The first
two lines, often cited by subsequent critics, evoke the image of the female figure
by reference to the resplendent screen that hides her in line 1, and the smallest
physical detail of her recumbent pose in line 2. The potential motion implicit in
the locks of hair that are, literally, about to cross her white cheek makes this line
particularly memorable. These loosely connected images set off the progression of