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SAD WIVES AND COURTESANS: A Chain of Ci by Bai Pu
remnant sunset at the edge of heaven,
clouds at the edge of the sea.
A goose sleeps by a withered lotus.
Crows perch in distant trees.
Fallen leaves thicken on jagged rocks.
Bamboo sways across the silken window.
Evening comes on:
Sadness grows under the pestle grinding the mortar.
1.
Take out the golden hairpins.
The jade capital guest has gone.
In carefree autumn
evenings pass in pleasant idleness.
Needle and thread are put away.
The perilous tower leans alone
beyond the twelve-pearl screen.
The wind is stiff and cold.
Rain ends and sky clears.
Filling my eyes, mountains appear as if newly painted.
--tune: Paint the Red Lips
The meaning of "jade" here is something like "exceedingly fine," as it often is in Chinese poetry. In the fourth ci below, "jade" is jade.
The meaning of "jade" here is something like "exceedingly fine," as it often is in Chinese poetry. In the fourth ci below, "jade" is jade.
2.
Heart-break places:remnant sunset at the edge of heaven,
clouds at the edge of the sea.
A goose sleeps by a withered lotus.
Crows perch in distant trees.
Fallen leaves thicken on jagged rocks.
Bamboo sways across the silken window.
Evening comes on:
Sadness grows under the pestle grinding the mortar.
Lamentation enters the lute.
--tune: Mud River Dragon
3.
Recalling him, crazy impulsive, beyond now the edge of heaven.
How would he know what's muttered about him here,
with his singing whip and the drunken shakes, sitting a clever new horse?
Please don't drink the Green Tower's wine
or the Xie family's tea.
Don't you remember our words when we held hands at Linqi?
--tune: Window-Penetrating Moon
4.
A long time leaning on the banister.
Returning to the embroidered boudoir.
Descending the dangerous tower. Coming loose, a gold lotus shoe.
Deep courtyard, silent red gate.
Standing on the mossy terrace. The chill penetrating thin stockings.
Counting days till his return, painting with a short jade hairpin.
Wiping away tears, wetting the scented silk kerchief.
--tune: Parasitic Grass
5.
Since the wild goose letters stopped,
so many divinations by tortoise shell.
Eyebrows, however freshly drawn, locked in goodbye sadness,
jade features paling.
From one festival to the next,
no arrival home.
--tune: The Yuanhe Song
"Wild goose letters" are letters eagerly awaited. Sometimes there is a particular person who is the wild goose carrying the letters. The ancient Chinese practiced divination by reading the cracks in a tortoise shell exposed to fire.
6.
So few happy meetings.
So much sorrow.
Feelings confused as tangled hemp.
Wandering down to the east fence.
Sighing, sorry for myself.
So clear, so cold, a yellow flower facing the moon.
--tune: Charm While Mounting the Horse
3.
Recalling him, crazy impulsive, beyond now the edge of heaven.
How would he know what's muttered about him here,
with his singing whip and the drunken shakes, sitting a clever new horse?
Please don't drink the Green Tower's wine
or the Xie family's tea.
Don't you remember our words when we held hands at Linqi?
--tune: Window-Penetrating Moon
4.
A long time leaning on the banister.
Returning to the embroidered boudoir.
Descending the dangerous tower. Coming loose, a gold lotus shoe.
Deep courtyard, silent red gate.
Standing on the mossy terrace. The chill penetrating thin stockings.
Counting days till his return, painting with a short jade hairpin.
Wiping away tears, wetting the scented silk kerchief.
--tune: Parasitic Grass
5.
Since the wild goose letters stopped,
so many divinations by tortoise shell.
Eyebrows, however freshly drawn, locked in goodbye sadness,
jade features paling.
From one festival to the next,
no arrival home.
--tune: The Yuanhe Song
"Wild goose letters" are letters eagerly awaited. Sometimes there is a particular person who is the wild goose carrying the letters. The ancient Chinese practiced divination by reading the cracks in a tortoise shell exposed to fire.
6.
So few happy meetings.
So much sorrow.
Feelings confused as tangled hemp.
Wandering down to the east fence.
Sighing, sorry for myself.
So clear, so cold, a yellow flower facing the moon.
--tune: Charm While Mounting the Horse
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