How to Read Chinese Poetry A Guided Anthology

342 t He y uan, m i ng, anD q i ng Dy na s t i e s

the examination system had been restored after a long hiatus.14 For many of the

scholarly class, therefore, giving up their ambitions for a public career and settling

down into a quiet private life was more a necessity than a choice. It should not be

surprising, then, to see the lofty ideal of the recluse’s life complicated by the new

social and political realities of the time.

l o v e s o n g s

Love songs account for a great portion of the extant sanqu works. Except for their

greater boldness in depicting the sensual pleasures of love, which has caused some

critics to regard this group of songs as erotic, song poems do not tell us much

more about love’s ennui and other boudoir sentiments than the song lyrics of the

Huajian tradition. It is in their freshness of poetic expression, reminiscent of the

voice of the folk songs of the period of the Great Division (420–581), that song

poems stand alone. The following three love songs all show some influence of this

folk tradition.

The author of the first song is Guan Hanqing, generally considered the best

and certainly the most productive Yuan dramatist. His skill as a playwright can be

seen in many of his sanqu works. His description of scenes of parting and longing,

when at its best, is often combined with a subtle revelation of the inner lives of the

lovers. Guan Hanqing’s keen sense of the living language of his day enabled him

to employ different voices to suit different poetic situations.

C 1 6. 7

To the Tune “A Half ” [xianlü key]: On Love

All was quiet outside the green-gauze window curtain;

2 He knelt down in front of my bed and wanted to get intimate.

I just called him an ingrate and turned my back on him.

4 Though there was annoyance in what I said,

Half of it meant to reject; the other half, consent.

[QYSQ 1:156]

【仙呂】一半兒 題情
([xiān lǚ] yí bàn-r tí qíng)

green gauze window outside quiet without person 碧紗窗外靜無人 △
(bì shā chuāng wài jìng wú rén)
kneel in bed front hurry want kiss 跪在床前忙要親 △
(guì zài chuáng qián máng yào qīn)
curse done one fail heart back turn body 罵了箇負心回轉身 △
(mà liăo gè fù xīn huí zhuăn shēn)
though be my word [particle] annoyed 雖是我話兒嗔 △
(suī shì wŏ huà-r chēn)
one half [particle] push decline one half [particle] consent 一半兒推辭一半兒肯 ▲
(yí bàn-r tuī cí yí bàn-r kĕn)