卜算子. 缺月挂疏桐 （黄州定慧院寓居作） 原作：苏东坡 (11世纪) 英译：闵晓红（2022） 缺月挂疏桐， 漏断人初静。 谁见幽人独往来？ 飘缈孤鸿影。 惊起却回头， 有恨无人省。 拣尽寒枝不肯栖， 寂寞沙洲冷。 A Waning Moon Descended the Parasol Tree （composed at Dinghui Monastery,Huangzhou） - to the tune of Busuanzi written by Su Dongpo（11th century） translated by Julia Min (2022) A waning moon descended the parasol tree near a wanderer in the dark -- just the old me. The night smiled serenely as water clock stopped and a goose arrived seeking for his flock of geese. He winged up the air, turning head back to check, only to find regrets in a barren world retrieved. No company, no home on cold branches to rest, he’d surrender to the unblemished sandy beach. For appreciation: Composed in 1082 during his first career downturn after being banished from the Royal Court to this remote little town Huangzhou (in today’s Hubei Province) on the north bank of the Yangtze River. He arrived here in 1080 with his family and had to live in a small house by Dinghui Monastery, still under the watch of the town’s magistrate. Without any income from government, he had to plough the fields for food like the local farmers – a challenge that would weigh on his tolerance and endurance, but trained him to become not only a most resistant and gracious mind, but also a great poet, calligrapher, and a painter. Huangzhou had indeed witnessed most of his greatest works loved for a thousand years onward. The poem features a few metaphorical touches. A waning moon implies a decline in life. A parasol tree is symbol of decent and noble qualities as it is the only tree the king of birds, the phoenix in China, would rest upon. And here the leafless parasol tree in winter represents a miserable time of a noble being. The goose is simply a personification of the poet himself. Chinese has always taken the flying wild geese as a bird with noble qualities of loyalty, trust and devoted love for family. The concluding lines are perceived as his courage to face the challenge for not drifting away with the social current. Reference: 1. Blooming Alone in Winter by Gordon Osing, Julia Min and Huang Haipeng，published by the People's Publication House Henan Province in 1991 (《寒心未肯随春态》戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红，黄海鹏) (“A waning moon hung in the Decembered limbs of the parasol tree,/The top of the hourglass is empty, and people are deeply asleep./Who’ll see the loneliness of my coming and going/In the mists, faint as that shadow of a swan.//Startled into the air, looking back startled?/But no one cares about the disdains of such an one./Who would not take shelter in all the frozen branches,/Wants no chances but choosing rest in wintered sand.”) 2. pictures from baike.baidu.com（百度百科）

蝶恋花 . 花褪残红青杏小 原作：苏东坡 (11世纪) 英译：闵晓红（2022） 花褪残红青杏小。 燕子飞时， 绿水人家绕。 枝上柳绵吹又少。 天涯何处无芳草。 墙里秋千墙外道。 墙外行人， 墙里佳人笑。 笑渐不闻声渐悄。 多情却被无情恼。 When the catkins are vanishing in weakening wind - to the tune “Butterflies in Love with Flowers” written by Su Dongpo（11th century） translated by Julia Min (2022) When the catkins are vanishing in weakening wind， and the spring blossoms give way to apricots green, swallows swoop around the houses and over waters. There is splendour in grass as the glory in flowers. Behind the walls some girls are laughing on swings. Outside on the road a traveller’s lost in thinking, until the rejoicing cheers faded in the distance. The sentiments of autumn, the innocence of spring. For appreciation: This poem could be, more likely, written in Huangzhou, Hubei Province. The composing structure is designed by contrasting between the young and the old, the happy world and the lonely melancholy, and possibly, the favoured new party inside the Song Royal Court and the banished old party outside. Dongpo made an effort in the last line of the first stanza comforting himself with an optimistic turn of tone: life still has so much to offer. Let’s appreciate and enjoy the ‘philosophic mind’ that can only be obtained as one ages. The second stanza ends with a strong sentiment on the desperate situation of his official career, his ambition and contribution for the country unappreciated and wasted here in a desolate town of Huangzhou. It’s a sarcastic comment made with the two antonyms: the outside and the inside -- the heartfelt sentiments and the heartless innocence. ‘splendour in grass’ and ‘the glory in flowers’ are borrowed from Wordsworth’s poetry: "...The radiance which was once so bright Is now forever taken from my sight. Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass Of glory in the flower We will grieve not Rather find strength in what remains behind.” Reference: 1. Blooming Alone in Winter by Gordon Osing, Julia Min and Huang Haipeng，published by the People's Publication House Henan Province in 1991 (《寒心未肯随春态》戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红，黄海鹏) (“It's time for flowers to fade and wither; the tiny apricots are green./And swallows dart over the fish ponds around the houses./ The wind can't scatter the catkin willows any more./Where is not the spice of all things growing?//Inside a wall a lady swings, outside I have my road, apart./Outside the wall a wanderer walking, inside a lady's pretty laughing./It seems that laughter fades forever on the wanderer's ears;/He feels too much and knows that laughing knows no heart.”) 2. pictures from 汪国新

永遇乐. 明月如霜 (彭城夜宿燕子楼，梦盼盼，因作此词) 原作：苏轼 英译：戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红 明月如霜， 好风如水， 清景无限。 曲港跳鱼， 圆荷泻露， 寂寞无人见。 紞如三鼓， 铿然一叶， 黯黯梦云惊断。 夜茫茫, 重寻无处， 觉来小园行遍。 天涯倦客， 山中归路， 望断故园心眼。 燕子楼空， 佳人何在， 空锁楼中燕。 古今如梦， 何曾梦觉， 但有旧欢新怨。 异时对、黄楼夜景， 为余浩叹。 The moon’s frost white; the wind’s fresh and cool - to the tune of Yongyule written by: Su Shi ( 11th century) translated by: Gordon Osing and Julia Min The moon’s frost white; The wind’s fresh and cool. A boundless quietude till a fish leaps the winding pool. The dews trickle from lotus leaves, and no one but me.- The night hears three drum-beats and then, a falling leaf. A sadness takes me as I startle awake from a deep sleep. Out in the garden I seek her of my dream: where’re thee? I can feel her everywhere, yet nowhere to be retrieved. The night is seemingly endless here in the far east. A traveller, tired of the world, I’ve drained my heart‘s eye looking for my way back in the mountains of the west. The Swallow Pavilion is long empty, the beauty, where? Locked in dust, there’re only deserted nests in here. The past and the present are dreams that never end. What added daily are just memories and new regrets. Someday, there’ll be travellers to my Yellow Pavilion. I wonder if they’d sigh at midnight so deeply for me. Appreciation: In the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Zhang Jian-feng built the Swallow Pavilion (Peng City, Xuzhou in the east of the Song) by a lake for his newly married concubine Guan Panpan, a famous singer and dancer. The pavilion attracted many swallows nesting there, hence the name. After he died, she lived on, refusing to remarry out of faithfulness in memory. The story was often referred to in poetry to imply the loss of love and fulfillment. This ci poem was composed in 1078, apparently after Su Shi’s new project The Yellow Pavilion was completed. He was then the governor of Xuzhou. Su Shi stayed at Swallow Pavilion one night and dreamed the brief visit of the beautiful lady’s spirit there and then. A late autumn night scene under a full moon is a moment often painted in Chinese poetry to express a lost sense of eternal and fulfilled love. The melancholy was also coupled with his shaky status in the Royal Court where the two parties were experiencing a tough political conflict. Daoism came to his comfort for a return back to nature, to his home in Sichuan mountains in the west of the Song. This subject worked as a theme line throughout his career life, a persistent stress whether he should be fully committed to the official career or just leave it and return to nature as a recluse. Well, we all know Su Shi was a man of times and tides. He would always have so much worldly concern that he would never choose a Daoist life over an official life for the Song Court. Reference: 1. 古诗文网https://so.gushiwen.cn/ 2. All pictures are selected from google search.

西江月. 照野弥弥浅浪 ( 顷在黄州，春夜行蕲水中，过酒家饮。酒醉，乘月至一溪桥上，解鞍曲肱，醉卧少休。及觉已晓，乱山攒拥，流水锵然，疑非尘世也。书此语桥柱上。) 原作：苏轼（ 11th Century） 英译：戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红(1991) 新版修订：闵晓红(2022) 照野弥弥浅浪， 横空隐隐层霄。 障泥未解玉骢骄， 我欲醉眠芳草。 可惜一溪风月， 莫教踏碎琼瑶。 解鞍欹枕绿杨桥， 杜宇一声春晓 The Moon Brightens the Murmuring Shallow Stream - to the tune of the Moon on River West (composed during my spring trip on my horse from Huangzhou to Qishui Town; After a few drinks at the local tavern, I felt tipsy while walking to a bridge under a bright moon. So I unsaddled the horse and inclined by the bridge for a nap, only to find myself wake up to a spring dawn with the murmuring river winding the landscape from distant mountains and hills. It was so beautiful. For a moment I thought it were the dream world, hence I wrote this poem on a baluster of the bridge.) Written by: Su Shi ( 11th AC) English trans. by: Gordon Osing & Julia Min (1990) Revision by: Julia Min (2022) The moon brightens the murmuring shallow stream. A haziness in the sky might be the thinnest clouds. Holding back my steed from crossing in his turnouts, I want to lie down in the rich grass on sandy beach. It’s so lovely, the gleaming river in a cool breeze. I can’t let him trample it to pieces of broken jade. Unsaddled, he’ll rest with me by Willow Bridge, till cuckoos wake me up to the peep of a spring day. Appreciation: This Ci was composed in March, 1082 which was Su Shi’s third spring in Huangzhou. He was riding along then called 'the Orchard River' ( today’s Xi River in Xishui County, not far away from Huangzhou). I’m quite familiar with the place as it’s my birthplace where I cherish many childhood memories (1963-82). The bridge, called 'the Old Bridge' today, was on my way to my primary and middle schools on the temple side. I can still picture it that it was built with rammed earth on wooden structure with wooden tiers deep into the fast running sand river which was about 150-200 metres wide, exposing wide sandy beach on the temple side in the dry seasons. We also practised military trainings there in summer. The other side of the river is less sandy, and usually covered with wild flowers I used to collect them after school. There was no cement used, no bridge railing on either side and there were many holes on it. As children we used to jump over them for fun, totally ignorant that it was indeed a dangerous bridge on the brink of breaking down after many years’ poor maintenance. The landscape must be more beautiful at Dongpo’s time with much less buildings. He could have visited the temple, rode along the River enjoying the river view and stopped at a tavern for perhaps a few cups of local wine. Then he probably inclined for a nap which quickly turned into a desire for a whole night’s rest there and then. The implied theme is the unbounded timeless sensation and the desire to surrender to his social reality and return to the slow pace lifestyle of the natural world, which he hinted by holding back his horse’s high spirit to run through the night and lie down in the rich grass. A Daoist spirit is strongly sensed here in his aspiration for a union with Mother Nature. Notes: 1. Willow Bridge: the site can be found today in the east of Xishui County, Hubei Province. A new bridge was built beside the old ruins. It’s actually about half a mile away from Clear Stream Temple where he wrote another famous poem “A Visit to Clear Stream Temple by the Orchard River Flowing East”. 2. cuckoos: the cuckoo’s cry in spring is believed in China to conjure homesickness, especially in the mind of a wearied traveller. Reference: 1. Blooming Alone in Winter by Gordon Osing, Julia Min and Huang Haipeng，published by the People's Publication House Henan Province in 1990 (《寒心未肯随春态》戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红，黄海鹏)（The moon brightens the wild murmurings of a shallow stream;/a haziness in the sky might be the thinnest clouds./Ok as is,/But I’m drunk and want to lie down in rich grasses. // They’re lovely, the full stream and the white moon./I can’t let him trample to pieces of broken jade all this./I’ll unsaddle him here, rest my head on Green Willow Bridge,/Till cuckoo wakes me and it’s already a Spring dawn.）

阳关曲·赠张继愿 原作：苏东坡 (11世纪) 英译：闵晓红（2022） 受降城下紫髯郎， 戏马台南古战场。 恨君不取契丹首， 金甲牙旗归故乡。 An Ode to Emperor Zhang Jiyuan - to the tune of Yangguan written by Su Dongpo（11th century） translated by Julia Min (2022) In Three Receive-Surrender Towns stood Zhang Jiyuan on the old battlefield by the south of Reviewing Stand. I wish he had taken all the heads of the invading Qidan, before his gold armour and flag staffs back to homeland. For appreciation: This poem was composed in 1078. The first two lines sigh for the Tang dynasty, a time of great defences and armaments against invasions. Zhang Jiyuan once came up with a genius design of a defence infrastructure with three cities strategically connected over hundreds of kilometres along the north of the Yellow River. The invaders who breached the first city would find the people escaped to a second fortification. Su Shi aims at a criticism on the present where things now have fallen a bit to ruin these days, not just the three towns, but also the Song’s military power too. The Qi Dan was a tribe of warring invaders to the north of China, in the late Yi Dynasty. Notes： 1. Three Receive-Surrender Towns: According to the Ancient Tang Book, there was a man named Zhang Jiyuan who had three towns built in the year 707 to protect Tang’s north border. 2. Reviewing Stand: the big stand for reviewing tropps with horses built by Xiang Yu who once fought a famous battle here with Liu Bang, the Han Emperor, hence’the old battlefield’. 3. Qidan: a barbarian minority in the north in the Liao State in late Yi Dynasty; Reference: 1. Blooming Alone in Winter by Gordon Osing, Julia Min and Huang Haipeng，published by the People's Publication House Henan Province in 1990 (《寒心未肯随春态》戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红，黄海鹏) (“To Zhang Jiyuan - to the tune of Yangguan: At the City-That-Knows-No-Defeat stood steadfast Zhang,/South of the reviewing stands at the old battlefield scene./I hate that you didn't take all the Qi Dan's heads./Your gold armor and flagstaffs covered with teeth, they came home clean.”) 2. pictures from google

To My Soul Autumn Falls - to the Tune of Xingxiangzi Translated by Julia Min To my soul Autumn falls Like frost to chrysanths by the walls. It’s nearly Double Ninth Festival, New wine and new clothes. A windy gust, A rainy night, A shiver chill, The little race subsides. My home quivers at dusk, My grief pillow never dry. Love is swift, forgetting a lost fight. The moon is still full and bright. The endless chirping of crickets, The endless dripping of water-clock, The endless pounding of winter clothes, My rosy dream’s out of sight. Appreciation: Yi’an wrote this poem later in her life after she migrated to the south due to the fall of Northern Song Dynasty to the Jin. This period witnessed a dramatic shift in her personal life in alignment with the declining fate of the dynasty. As the temporary Court settled in Lin’An without any promise of reclaiming homeland in northern territory, our lady’s hope of return started to subside. In Chinese literature, the four seasons and four directions all bear cultural meanings. Autumn represents the fall towards cold dark winter, an emotional shift from blooming to decay, from youth to old age. The first stanza unrolls in front of readers a late autumn day scene when people tried to prepare for the Double Ninth festival with new clothes and new wine though it’s windy, wet and cold. This foreshadows the subject in the second stanza where a solitary migrant, lost in despair, shivers at dusk that ushers in another sleepless night. A full and bright moon in Chinese culture is a symbol of happy family reunion, used here to contrast her loneliness in a strange land. All her happy days are now gone with the wind. The only place for reunion is in her dream after wine. Repetition of phrases and reduplication of words are both embraced here for a stronger artistic impact of despair for herself and for her country. Both forms contribute to a typical feature in her poetic landscape especially in her later poems, an influence likely from Su Dongpo and Ou Yangxiu. Similar usage is seen in “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Burns, and in“ Fall, Leaves, Fall ” by Emily Bronte. The Source Text in Chinese: 行香子·天与秋光 作者：李清照 天与秋光， 转转情伤。 探金英知近重阳。 薄衣初试， 绿蚁初尝。 渐一番风， 一番雨， 一番凉。 黄昏院落， 恓恓惶惶。 酒醒时往事愁肠。 那堪永夜， 明月空床。 闻砧声捣， 蛩声细， 漏声长。 Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: xíng xiāng zǐ - the music name for this song; tiān yǔ qiū guāng - the sky is clear in autumn. zhuǎn zhuǎn qíng shāng - I start to get sentimental. tàn jīn yīng zhī jìn zhòng yáng – the sight of chrysanthemums reminds us the Double Ninth Festival is drawing near. báo yī chū shì – I tried on some light clothes, lǜ yǐ chū cháng –tasted newly opened wine which is not filtered yet thus I can still see the foams roaming on the surface like green ants. jiàn yī fān fēng – here comes autumn wind, yī fān yǔ – followed by some showers yī fān liáng – and a sense of cold chill. huáng hūn yuàn luò – at dusk my courtyard qī qī huáng huáng – is a miserable place. jiǔ xǐng shí wǎng shì chóu cháng – when awake from wine, I feel the nostalgic heart hurts, nà kān yǒng yè – not to mention the coming weary and dreary night. míng yuè kōng chuáng – the moon is bright, my bed sees no company, wén zhēn shēng dǎo – listening to the pounding of winter clothes, qióng shēng xì – the weakening chirping of crickets, lòu shēng zhǎng – the endless dripping of water clock in my room.

新荷叶.薄露初零 原作：李清照（宋） 英译：闵晓红 薄露初零， 长宵共、永昼分停。 绕水楼台， 高耸万丈蓬瀛。 芝兰为寿， 相辉映、簪笏盈庭。 花柔玉净， 捧觞别有娉婷。 鹤瘦松青， 精神与、秋月争明。 德行文章， 素驰日下声名。 东山高蹈， 虽卿相、不足为荣。 安石须起， 要苏天下苍生。 You came to the world on this day of Qiufen - to the tune of ‘New Lotus Leaves’ written by: Li Qingzhao ( 1084 – 1155?) translated by Julia Min You came to the world on this day of Qiufen when day and night share the same length. and the first dews in a year start to appear by streams winding to mansions and pavilions here, - a live vision of the fairyland, Penglai Islands. Amid the gifts like Ganoderma and boat orchards, and guests with jeweled hairpins and tablet scepters, the hall is served by girls in silk like floating angels. I wish to bless you live long as crane and pine and your spirit illuminating like the autumn moon. So well-received in the capital are your articles on morality and integrity, so crucial for our officials. The recluse in Mount East named Anshi, I recall, returned stronger than those in Royal Court. Would you answer the call of the Song like a hero leaving this fairyland to save the shaking world?! --- Appreciation: This ci poem was composed in 1108 when Li Qingzhao was 25 years old and was enjoying the happiest period of her married life, in Qingzhou. It could be a celebration of Chao Buzhi’s birthday which is in autumn. Chao, one of the four followers of Su Dongpo, was living in seclusion then, a time of political turmoil when the New Law was implemented and the old party (Yuanyou Party), on the other side, went out of favor of the Throne. These were still influential people who chose either to retire to live a secluded life or to be sent to a minor post far away from the Court. Su Dongpo, as the leader was despatched to a place as far as the Emperor could find in the Song map, ‘the edge of the world, Hainan Island. At the time of this birthday celebration, Dongpo was dead 7 years ago, and Chao went away two years after this day. The political fight had been fierce like fire and water. A great poet, Chao also wrote a thesis on Ci, which could be of some impact on Li Qingzhao who later wrote the most influential thesis “On Ci Poetry” in Chinese history. She is the first one with the courage to put forward the statement that Ci stands alone as a literature form as poetry. Ci is similar to western lyric songs but more crafted with strict rhyming meters and patterns which suit into a few hundreds of tunes variegated into more sub-tunes. The tunes are fixed patterns for poets to compose more ci songs. So adding new songs to old tunes was the most popular intellectual entertainment in the Song’s society. As long as the singing girl is familiar with the tune, she could spontaneously sing a new song to the tune for the occasion. The subject of the poem starts with congratulations on Chao’s birthday and concluded with powerful lines wishing the birthday man to leave his secluded corner for the chaotic world， to fight against the deceitful officials. The shifting of the two themes, I could imagine, would be well-received by the gracious guests but dejected gentlemen in the hall when this ci lyric was sung by the singing girl. Again, Li Qingzho proves to be a lady of time and tides, contrasting her image as a sentimental woman of woe in her chamber at a time of loss. Notes: 1. Qiufen: An equinox is one of the two days in the year (the mid-spring and the mid-autumn) when day and night are of equal length as in the equator. This poem refers to autumn mid-split as hinted by the ‘first dews’ and the ‘autumn moon’. 2. Ganoderma and boat orchards: symbolic of longevity, and pure and elegant quality; Most boat orchards bloom in spring, with only rare species blooming in autumn. 3. jeweled hairpins and tablet scepters: meaning high officials, to hint the birthday person is someone of high influence; 4. crane and pine: both represent longevity; 5. autumn moon: Chinese believe that the autumn moon is brightest because the season is drier with lighter clouds cleared of mist, so the sky looks higher and clearer and the moonlight could get through best. Thus, the Moon Festival is in autumn. 6. Anshi: his last name was Xie, a well-remembered man in the Jin Dynasty. The famous expression ‘retain power after seclusion in Mount East’(东山再起) originates from here. Our poet borrows the story to urge Chao to retain the power to save the turbulent world. Pinyin： xīn hé yè báo lù chū líng ， chǎng xiāo gòng 、yǒng zhòu fèn tíng 。 rào shuǐ lóu tái ， gāo sǒng wàn zhàng péng yíng 。 zhī lán wéi shòu ， xiāng huī yìng 、zān hù yíng tíng 。 huā róu yù jìng ， pěng shāng bié yǒu pīng tíng 。 hè shòu sōng qīng ， jīng shén yǔ 、qiū yuè zhēng míng 。 dé háng wén zhāng ， sù chí rì xià shēng míng 。 dōng shān gāo dǎo ， suī qīng xiàng 、bú zú wéi róng 。 ān shí xū qǐ ， yào sū tiān xià cāng shēng 。

蝶恋花 . 晚止昌乐馆寄姊妹 作者：李清照 英译：戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红 泪湿罗衣脂粉满, 四叠阳关， 唱到千千遍。 人道山长山又断， 萧萧微雨闭孤馆。 惜别伤离方寸乱， 忘了临行， 酒盏深和浅。 好把音书凭过雁， 东莱不似蓬莱远 Long into the night I sing "Yang-guan's" refrain (to my Friends from my Hotel at Chang-le) - to the tune of Dielianhua trans. by Gordon Osing and Julia Min） Long into the night I sing "Yang-guan's" refrain, till my brocade gown by powders and tears stained, cut off by so much more than rivers and mountains, rain-showers cover my whispers in seclusion. In fierce sorrow I go, a heart broken with pain. I forget which cup this is, or how many I've drained. Let the flying geese be the messengers we send! Donglai is not as far as Penglai, that fairy land! Appreciation: This ci is thought to have been composed in 1120 on her way from Qingzhou to join her husband Zhao Mincheng who became governor of Laizhou. Li Qing-zhao had lived in Qingzhou for over ten years and had intimate friends there. These friends would have followed her out several miles from the town to see her off. She has come to her first night alone in a hotel and it has been raining all night while she passed painfully her lonely hours drinking. It was likely Autumn. Notes: ①Iuo yi: The custom would have been for such an aristocratic lady to dress-upfor travel, including the correct fashion in make-up . ②yang quan This song alludes to a familiar tune and poem "Weicheng Tune", by the famous Tang poet Wang Wei:" Weicheng morning rain wets the light dust./ The green willows of the inn are freshening;/ take another cup wine, for friendship's sake./ Once west of Yang-quan, you lose sight of old friends." This poem had been set to music and become a famous farewell song, the last line repeated three or four times. Here the lady, perhaps inebriated or lost in grief at parting, has found herself unable to get that last line out of her mind. ③ "shan you duan": the first "shan "is mountains, of course, but the second "shan", in some editions, reads "shui", rivers, as in the Chinese folk expression "many mountains and rivers of separation". ④"xiao-xiao": Chinese onomatopoeia for the sibilant, whispering sound of rain. ⑤ "guo yan": passing swallows, as in Chinese folklore, in which the birds fly everywhere and thus connect parted loved ones. ⑥ "dong lai" and "peng lai": "Dong lai", as in Laizhou, is not so far to go or send messages, as Peng Lai, the faerie island usually thought to be in the Bay of Bohai, in the north China Sea, that is, somewhere merely sometimes believed. Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: dié liàn huā – the musical tune of this song poem lèi shī luó yī zhī fěn mǎn – tears wet brocade dress cream powder, sì dié yáng guān – four repeats of “Yangguan”; chàng dào qiān qiān biàn – sing for thousands of times; rén dào shān zhǎng shān yòu duàn – people say mountains high mountains also separate; xiāo xiāo wēi yǔ bì gū guǎn – endless rain drizzling closed lonely hotel; xī bié shāng lí fāng cùn luàn -hate to go, sad to leave, heart broken; wàng le lín háng -forgot it was parting; jiǔ zhǎn shēn hé qiǎn – wine cup deep and shallow; hǎo bǎ yīn shū píng guò yàn – please have letters sent by the passing geese; dōng lái bú sì péng lái yuǎn – Donglai is not like Penglai far away;

添字采桑子.窗前种得芭蕉树 原作：李清照 （宋） 英译：戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红 窗前种得芭蕉树， 阴满中庭。 阴满中庭， 叶叶心心， 舒卷有余情。 伤心枕上三更雨， 点滴凄清。 点滴凄清， 愁损离人， 不惯起来听。 Before my Window - to the Tune of Tianzicaisangzi written by Li Qingzhao ( 1084-1155?) trans.by Gordon Osing and Julia Min Before my window, day in, day out, a dreamy shadow dominates my patio -- the banana tree, most reluctantly, unfolding her tender leaves. Awaked midnight by the drippings, my pillow of sorrow hears the rain, like a story of melancholy in endless weeping. A wanderer's heart breaks, unable to bear such listening. For appreciation: This ci was written in a season of profound homesickness, sometime after 1127, a time of turmoil when Northern Song just came to an end after the fall of the capital. The Royal Court moved south，opening a new page, the Southern Song dynasty. Banana tree bears a symbolic meaning associated with sorrow and separation in Chinese literature, especially for lovers or loved ones. It could be offered during a funeral to show deep love and respect, and a reluctance to let go of the dead. It’s also a favourable plant used to enhance feng shui both indoors and outdoors. So, the subject of this ci is well chosen, is it? ----

临江仙.庭院深深深几许 (欧阳公作《蝶恋花》，有“深深深几许”之句，予酷爱之。 用其语作“庭院深深”数阕，其声即旧《临江仙》也。) 原作：李清照 （宋） 英译：戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红 庭院深深深几许？ 云窗雾阁常扃。 柳梢梅萼渐分明。 春归秣陵树， 人老建康城。 感月吟风多少事， 如今老去无成。 谁怜憔悴更凋零。 试灯无意思， 踏雪没心情。 How deeply shrouded her courtyard had been - to the Tune of Linjiangxian written by Li Qingzhao （ 1084-1155？） translated by Gordon Osing & Julia Min How deeply shrouded her courtyard had been, the windows clouded with mist, chambers shut. But see! The tips of willows, plum buds, and a full Spring returned to the Moling trees, as if for an aging stranger locked in J.K. City. Who sings so softly of the moon and the wind, of getting old too, and cut-off from honors, … and no one pitying her, pallid and withering, too glum for the festival lanterns of Spring, unable to go out in the fresh snow fallen. For appreciation: According to Another Collection of Li Qing-zhao, this ci was composed in 1129, after she had joined her husband in Jiankang, now the city of Nanjing. Before the Lantern Festival（元宵节），the last day of Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) people tried on lanterns to be used the next night. Our poet cannot bring herself to participate; she can't give up thinking about her own and her country's sad retreats before the invading enemy. The sorrow in this, her second Spring in Jiankang, is for her country, not merely on celebrating when the nation is in such dire peril. Notes: l. “Moling” and "Jiankang": both refer to the same city which is today’s Nanjing. This is her second Spring there with her husband and she is yet to allow herself to feel at home; she can't, for the sake of her country's trouble. 2. "lanterns of Spring” try the lamps made to celebrate the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month which is usually in February in the western calendar. Pinyin and Word -For-Word Translation: lín jiāng xiān .tíng yuàn shēn shēn shēn jǐ xǔ tíng yuàn shēn shēn shēn jǐ xǔ ？ yún chuāng wù gé cháng jiōng 。 liǔ shāo méi è jiàn fèn míng 。 chūn guī mò líng shù ， rén lǎo jiàn kāng chéng 。 gǎn yuè yín fēng duō shǎo shì ， rú jīn lǎo qù wú chéng 。 shuí lián qiáo cuì gèng diāo líng 。 shì dēng wú yì sī ， tà xuě méi xīn qíng 。

摊破浣溪沙 . 揉破黄金万点轻 原作：李清照 英译：闵晓红 揉破黄金万点轻， 剪成碧玉叶层层。 风度精神如彦辅， 大鲜明。 梅蕊重重何俗甚， 丁香千结苦麄生。 熏透愁人千里梦， 却无情。 Hidden under leaves shaped like green jade - to the tune of Tanpo Huanxisha written by: Li Qingzhao ( 1084 – 1155?) translated by Julia Min Hidden under leaves shaped like green jade are spotted blooms like gold rolled into sunrays. Unworldly as Yanfu, the man of honest grace, you are also a mirror of your soul and taste. Plum trees shy away for her cluttered filaments, so are the tacky lilacs arrayed in tiered blossoms. Yet this fragrance, so sensible, kills the romance, and fumigate my sweet dream beyond reasons. For appreciation: This poem could be written by Li Qingzhao as agreed by most scholars. The last sentence could be an indication of the composing time being after she settled in Lin’an where her only hope of returning home is in her dream. Osmanthus together with chrysanthemum, are the most favoured by the Chinese among the few flowers blooming in Autumn, and so they are often the subjects in literature, especially associated with the Moon Festival. The first stanza is on the sensual features concluded with the unique quality of a crystal soul, the highlight beyond all other poems on Osmanthus. You could read it as a criticism against the fame-seeking and pleasure-hunting luxurious life of many hypocritical politicians at the time. The other hit point is the courage she used plum blossom saying it’s pale in comparison, a risky comment on the most depicted flower in Chinese art which is a respected member of “The Four Noble Beings” and also regarded, by many, as “The National Flower”. A dangerous, very very narrow, escape could be sensed as she carefully chose only the filaments, a minor property much less mentioned in literature for her symbolic spirit. Our poet has written at least two poems which are, in my opinion, the most sophisticated of all listed in history. If she were here today she’s worthy of being crowned with laurel leaves to honour her contribution to Chinese poetry. This flower poem, like many of her poems on flowers, is a riddle-like description of the form, the colour, the scent, the feel and the quality associated with Osmanthus. With such a perspective, I’d choose not using ‘Osmanthus’ as the title as many others, just leaving it open for some intellectual entertainment. This should suit her taste as my understanding of Li Qingzhao being a lady of worldly pursuit with a rare talent of eloquence and a noble elegance shared by very few in history. Yet the most attractive part is the hidden, unappreciated quality of her sensational humor and subtle taste in life itself from an intellectual perspective. Her life and works are one of the most ideal mirror of the rhymes and vibes in the Song Dynasty, a time of turmoil, a time of greatest politicians, philosophers, poets, calligraphers, artists and a time of economic innovations, philosophy, education, and scientific achievements. Together they made the period “The Renaissance of the East”. So, I’d like to conclude this poem as a masterpiece. Notes: 1. Tanpo Huanxisha: the music sub-tuned from the main tune of Huanxisha; 2. Yanfu: the social name of Yue Guang (247-304 AD), a well-recognized politician in the Jin Dynasty, a man of reason, truth, honesty, and integrity but also unearthly, unromantic, stubborn and even 'a bit cruel' when too sensible, unable to appreciate the subtleness of sentiments and imagination; 3. mirror: often used in literature as a symbol of truth, discovery, honesty and chrystal clarity; Here it’s used to emphasize the noble quality of Osmanthus;

玉楼春. 红酥肯放琼苞碎 原作：李清照 （宋） 英译：戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红 红酥肯放琼苞碎。 探著南枝开遍未。 不知酝藉几多香， 但见包藏无限意。 道人憔悴春窗底。 闷损阑干愁不倚。 要来小酌便来休， 未必明朝风不起。 No sooner the jade buds are turned to rosy lips - to the Tune of Yulouchun written by Li Qingzhao （ 1084-1155？） translated by Gordon Osing & Julia Min No sooner the jade buds are turned to rosy lips, I fear already the south blooms were fading; one needn't care how rich are their perfumes to discover all of a soul's glowing yearnings. They say someone in my favorite window grows pale, whose hand drags along the balustrade of her distress; come to her soon, while the thirst declines not the least; tomorrow, who knows, if the blossoms fall to gales. For appreciation: In some editions, this ci is titled "The Plum Tree". According to Another Collection of Li Qing-zhao, this ci was composed sometime between 1108 and 1127, placing it in what is regarded as her second period of work. As carefully as she can, considering her distress in loneliness, Li Qing-zhao projects her anxieties into the days and hours of peak fragrance of the plum tree blossoms outside her window. Arguably, she could be asking her husband / lover to join her for a cosy moment with the plum trees while they are still in full bloom. Again, she made the theme implicit for you to figure it out for yourself, the same way Song’s paintings works with the readers for a complete performance of the art, as shown in our introduation ‘A Message from the Translators’. It’s a fun game being played for a thousand years now in the artistic world of China. Many flowers have been enriched in meanings in Chinese culture owing to poets like Li Qingzhao, including plum blossoms, chrysanthemum, peony, Osmanthus, lotus flowers, crabapple blooms, bramble rose, etc. Notes: 1. jade buds: the buds of the plum tree; ‘jade’, in Chinese culture, bears the sense of gentle, pure and ideal nature. 2. south branches: those that bloom first. We may refer to "The south branches wither while the north ones are still blooming " from Chinese folklore, perhaps an allusion to the life of eros and the life of the heart. Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: yù lóu chūn . hóng sū kěn fàng qióng bāo suì hóng sū kěn fàng qióng bāo suì 。 tàn zhe nán zhī kāi biàn wèi 。 bú zhī yùn jiè jǐ duō xiāng ， dàn jiàn bāo cáng wú xiàn yì 。 dào rén qiáo cuì chūn chuāng dǐ 。 mèn sǔn lán gàn chóu bú yǐ 。 yào lái xiǎo zhuó biàn lái xiū ， wèi bì míng zháo fēng bú qǐ 。