282 t He F i v e Dy na s t i e s anD t He s ong Dy na s t y
sir not see Yu- huan Fei- yan all dust dirt 君不見、玉環飛燕皆塵土 ▲
(jūn bú jiàn yù huán fēi yàn jiē chén tŭ)
leisure sorrow most bitter 閒愁最苦 ▲
(xián chóu zuì kŭ)
don’t go lean high tower 休去倚危樓
(xiū qù yĭ wēi lóu)
slanting sun right in 斜陽正在
(xié yáng zhèng zài)
misty willow broken intestinal place 煙柳斷腸處 ▲
(yān liŭ duàn cháng chù)In this song, the persona laments, through a female voice, the passing away of
spring and the wasting of the spring of her life. But even a casual reading reveals
that this is allegorical poetry. The true reason for the persona’s fret is found in line
13: “Charming beauty did invite jealousy.” Judging from the information provided
in the prefatory comments, it is probable that the composition of the song was
prompted by the poet’s reflection on certain unpleasant experiences in his politi-
cal life.
The song begins with the persona voicing her worry about the inevitable—that
spring is “again” (you) going away (line 2). The phrase “how many more” (line 1)—
expressed by geng (still, even more) and jifan (several times) in the original—in-
dicates that the persona has been watching closely the coming and going of the
“winds and rains” and is deeply troubled by their devastating effects on the delicate
spring. She has “always [chang] been afraid that flowers would bloom” too early and
fall too soon (line 3). No doubt the “countless fallen petals” on the ground are too
much for her (line 4).
She pleads with spring to stay, employing her persistent, although poorly ar-
gued persuasion (lines 5–7). The tone of her voice is not demanding, merely en-
treating. The uncertainty and hesitation of her voice are suggested by the qualify-
ing tone of the word qie (just, why not) (line 5) and the phrase jian shuo dao (it is
said) (line 6). The stupidity of her attempt to talk spring into coming back and her
grumbling that spring gives her no response tell us not only how distraught but
also how guileless she is. The image of a fair lady with a delicate heart is instantly
established. The series of well-conceived time-measurement words and phrases—
you, geng, jifan, chang, and others—vividly portray a feminine subject extremely
susceptible to outside stimuli. The three verbs related to this tender and sensitive
subjectivity—xi (to hold dear, pity), hen (to regret), and yuan (to complain)—are all
tinged with emotional fragility.
As her monologue continues in the second stanza, the fair lady divulges the
secret of her sorrow by alluding to a story about a royal consort of Emperor Wu
of the Han (r. 140–87 b.C.e.) who managed to regain her lord’s favor by asking
the best-known literary talent of the day to write on her behalf a moving rhyme-
prose to the emperor. Here, however, the poet has changed the consort’s success
story into a tragedy: the long-cherished hope of the miserable consort to regain