c i P oe t ry : s Hor t s ong ly riC s 257ences to the homeland and changed human circumstances are easy to connect to
Li Yu’s personal situation.
The next poem has variously been attributed to Feng Yansi (903–960) (under
the tune title “Magpie Perching on a Branch”) of the Southern Tang, who flourished
during the reign of Li Yu’s father, and to Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072), a statesman and
an essayist of the Northern Song. Feng Yansi’s ci poetry consistently draws on the
conventions of abandonment complaints, and Ouyang Xiu’s ci poetry also falls
within the tradition of Feng and the poets anthologized in the Huajian ji. For this
reason, the dispute over the poem’s authorship is difficult to resolve. The ci had,
by the Northern Song, become a popular pursuit of intellectuals, functioning as a
sort of parallel genre to the shi that, while it lacked the shi’s seriousness of subject
matter, was considered an artistic pursuit worthy of a public figure such as Ouyang
Xiu. The shi and ci at this point occupied different spheres, characterized by a divi-
sion of labor in which the ci was assigned the treatment of delicate emotions. If the
shi was seen as a vehicle of the will or intent (shi yan zhi [the shi gives voice to the
intent]), then the ci was seen as a vehicle of feeling (ci yan qing [the ci gives voice to
emotion]).
C 1 2. 8
To the Tune “Butterflies Lingering over Flowers”
(or “Magpie Perching on a Branch” [Que ta zhi])Deep in the walled garden, deep—how deep?
2 Mist stacks on willows,
Uncountable layers of screens and blinds.
4 The jade bridle and ornate saddle are in the brothel district—
Though the tower is tall, one can’t see Zhangtai Road.7
6 A driving rain, a mad wind, late in the third month.
A door keeps out the twilight,
8 But there’s no way to keep spring from going.
With tear-filled eyes I ask the blossoms,
but the blossoms do not answer—
10 In a swirl of red they fly into the swings.
[QTWDC 4.369]
蝶戀花 (dié liàn huā)
courtyard garden deep deep deep how much 庭院深深深幾許 ▲ (tíng yuàn shēn shēn shēn jĭ xŭ)
willow willow pile mist 楊柳堆煙 (yáng liŭ duī yān)
blinds screen without layer number 簾幕無重數^ ▲^ (lián mù wú chóng shù)
jade reins painted saddle play seduce place 玉勒琱鞍遊冶處 ▲ (yù lè diāo ān yóu yě chù)
tower tall not see Zhang- tai road 樓高不見章臺路 ▲ (lóu gāo bú jiàn zhāng tái lù)
rain horizontal wind crazy third month end 雨橫風狂三月暮 ▲ (yŭ héng fēng kuáng sān yuè mù)
door cover dusk dusk 門掩黃昏 (mén yăn huáng hūn)