点绛唇 · 寂寞深闺 作者：(宋）李清照 英译：戈登.奥赛茵，闵晓红 寂寞深闺， 柔肠一寸， 愁千缕。 惜春春去， 几点催花雨。 倚遍栏干， 只是无情绪。 人何处？ 连天衰草， 望断归来路。 In the lonely chambers a heart of night silence - to the tune of Dianjiangchun Translated by Gordon Osing and Julia Min In the lonely chambers a heart of night silence labors the pieces of sorrow to countless strands. Blossoms are hurried to their fates by the rains. I cherish a Spring vanishing with her scents. Where’s our spring joy, my heart's friend? Over and over the rails, till each day ends! Grasses will wither and weave sky to land before my gaze abandons your road's end. Appreciation: This ci is thought belonging to the earlier and happier period of the poet's life, before 1107. Her longing for her absent husband is obviously revealed. Poems like this are noted for their absence of modesty and reserve from a lady of upper class in the Song dynasty. She is all but breaking custom in declaring her love for her husband so openly, or, as the Westerner might say, erotically. She is at the edge and beyond the edge of Confucian propriety, but some artistic allowance has to be made for such a gifted poet's romantic expressions, even in feudal China. Confucian philosophy held that only the man may make overt romantic statements, and even these in coded similes and hyperboles. Li Qingzhao's young married life was intensely lived, in union and in separations, exemplary in its bonding, we may also say. Notes: lù nóng huā shòu – thick dews and tiny buds, the beginning of high spring; qīng yī – light dress made of brocade, gauze or very light fabric; yǐ mén huí shǒu – can’t resist the urge of looking back at the visitor, a naughty tongue-in-cheek, arch and even disproportionate for someone of her class. Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: diǎn jiàng chún – to the tune of Dianjiangchun cù bà qiū qiān – after playing on the swing, qǐ lái yōng zhěng xiān xiān shǒu – get up lazy to tidy up delicate hands. lù nóng huā shòu – the dews are heavy, flower buds tiny, báo hàn qīng yī tòu – steaming sweat light dress is wet through. jiàn yǒu rén lái – noticed someone coming, wà chǎn jīn chāi liū – walk on socks my gold hairpin slip off hé xiū zǒu - so shy, skip away. yǐ mén huí shǒu – leaning on the door, look back, què bǎ qīng méi xiù – but hold green plum to scent.

如梦令.常记溪亭日暮 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 常记溪亭日暮， 沉醉不知归路。 兴尽晚回舟， 误入藕花深处。 争渡，争渡， 惊起一滩鸥鹭。 Always I see that stream, the pavilion, the reddening sun - to the Tune of Rumengling trans. by Gordon Osing and Julia Min Always I see that stream, the pavilion, the reddening sun, and girls lost their way home, too taken with wine. and too joy-filled to start back so late in the day, into a world of lotus blooms we strayed. Pull, she said, pull, if only to startle the gulls and herons from this maze. Other versions for your reference (许渊冲): http://www.231395.com/y/gssttmgsyjyagetjttgsyjpmgsygtsgotssygusotqguyosqgoyqyoghttyh/ Appreciation: According to scholars, this poem was probably written in 1107, when Li Qing-zhao was in her early twenties. It is sometimes called "Drinking Joy" which we dropped for the first line since the image resonates her happy moment of childhood memories. It is believed this ci depicts an event in her life, a day outing with her dear friends. They were caught in maze of lotus blooms and hundreds of birds rising up around them, an image of carefree joy and innocent pleasure in the junior world. Notes: ① "chen zui": deeply drunk, but not simply in the sense of intoxication, also in the sense of Keats' reverie, in "Ode to a Nightingale," i.e., lost in pleasurable or hypnotic dreaming. ② "wu ru": "mistake into", i.e., not paying attention to where she was going;

永遇乐 . 玉兰词 (庚子年八月澳洲) 作者：闵晓红 蓝天无云， 玉兰无叶， 佳人何处？ 日丽风和， 花香鸟语， 岂知无雷雨？ 梅心惊破， 中秋临近， 新冠何时离去？ 闻天语，归去来兮， 可知田园将芜？ 五洲神游， 二零一九， 都市繁华争有无。 新冠度人， 闭门思过， 街巷让动物。 遥问长江， 几时息怒？ 却念都江堰举； 堤坝堵心且移去， 千年愁无。

浣溪沙.莫许杯深琥珀浓 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 莫许杯深琥珀浓， 未成沉醉意先融。 疏钟已应晚来风。 瑞脑香消魂梦断， 辟寒金小髻鬟松。 醒时空对烛花红。 The Cup Is Never Too Full - to the tune of Huanxisha translated by Julia X. Min The cup is never too full, the wine never too strong. Before the amber drink goes in, my wits are melt and gone. From chime to chime, weary and heavy, a cold wind blows to the lonely town. Whatever incense scented, whatever dream dreamed, all faded but emptiness to dwell upon. With my hairdo messy and worn, the hairpin gold now looks so small. Even red wicks can’t have him at dawn. Other versions for your reference (许渊冲): https://www.en84.com/dianji/ci/200912/00000849.html Appreciation: This ci poem is a good example of “Boudoir Sentiments” popular in the Song poetry by both gentlemen and gentleladies who would compose there and then during grand dinner party or in the drawing rooms. Ci poems are songs composed for the singing girls to sing for the occasion. The guest would usually choose a musical tune ( there were hundreds of them in the Song) for his ci poem. Once done, the ci poem was handed over to a singing girl familiar with the tune. She would sing there and then to entertain. Other guests, if interested, would write more poems in the same rhyming scheme to honour the first one, or, they could start a new one. To become sociable in the Song Court, or aristocratic occasions, you were expected to have mastered the art of music, poetry and prose, calligraphy, drawing, chess, and ultimately a knowledge of history. These include military generals, politicians, martial art masters, and most emperors. The last leader in China who wrote poetry and calligraphy is Mao Zedong. It’s lost now. Contemporaries don’t seem to stand a chance to be ushered in the saloons of the Song. Something we need to dig into, aye…

好事近.风定落花深 原作：【宋】李清照 英译：闵晓红 风定落花深， 帘外拥红堆雪。 长记海棠开后， 正是伤春时节。 酒阑歌罢玉尊空， 青缸暗明灭。 魂梦不堪幽怨， 更一声啼鴂。 The Wind Stops to Mock the Fallen Crimsons - to the tune of Haoshijin translated by Julia X. Min The wind stops and mock the fallen crimsons now piled like snow outside my windows. I’m bound to memories of spring blossoms like the fragrance to the bare crabapples. After all the cheers over wine and songs, only the swaying lamps now stay to mourn, until swallowed by gloom and doom, until cuckoo birds wakes me before dawn. Other versions for your reference (茅于美 译): https://www.en84.com/dianji/ci/200912/00000886.html Appreciation: What’s unique about this poem lies in the choice of perspective and moment. Despite being a sentimental poem, it breaks away from the convention of traditional verse on windy description but a still moment after the wind, as if time is suspended for a clearer insight into her mind. Being an anchor poet in literature, she often takes readers’ breath away with originality and subtleness, such as the ci poem “A bit tipsy, I slept with make-up on” (to the tune of Suzhongqing) which chose a withered flower as the subject, as if she’s got the divine power to turn anything into gold. The relationship between dreamy world of the past and the reality is a popular topic during Southern Song Dynasty. Social conflicts in history seems to have initiated great literature without failure. This ci reminds me of Shakespeare’s play Love’s Labour’s Fantasy, a masterpiece on the fantasy of love and social success, and a hot theme throughout the Renaissance. Both the cuckoo bird and the crab-apple flower associate strong juxtaposition of spring joy and love with nostalgic sentiment, like rainbow and dark storm on the same stage, which ultimately lends to irony for a stronger artistic impact. The bird resonate with early spring, vitality, even pilgrimage spirit for a pure and ideal world, such as in To the Cuckoo by William Wordsworth (1770-1850, representative of British Romanticism).

Too Sad with Spring Passing to Braid and Comb - to the Tune of Huanxisha Translated by Gordon Osing and Julia Min Too sad with Spring passing to braid and comb, too quick the night wind blows the plum blossoms, too many the cloud wisps, blurring the dim moon. Neglected my jade incense burner, the duckling one, the fragrant heart and bed net lying in last night's ruins: a spell broken only by a gold rhinoceros' horn. Appreciation: The consensus is that this ci was composed sometime before 1107, based on its emotional urgencies. It is sometimes titled "Boudoir Sentiments". The original text describes the lady abandoning her own ennui for an outer world, which appears to mirror them in insoluble ways. Finally she says only the fabled rhino's magic horn could dispel the gloom. The western Freud would, perhaps, find a thing or two to speculate about in that. The Source Text in Chinese: 浣溪沙.髻子伤春慵更梳 作者：李清照 髻子伤春慵更梳， 晚风庭院落梅初。 淡云来往月疏疏。 玉鸭熏炉闲瑞脑， 朱樱斗帐掩流苏。 遗犀还解辟寒无？ Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: huàn xī shā – the musical tune; jì zǐ shāng chūn yōng gèng shū - hair coil sad for spring lazy to comb, wǎn fēng tíng yuàn luò méi chū - evening wind courtyard fall plum blossom begin. dàn yún lái wǎng yuè shū shū - thin clouds come go moon dim dim. yù yā xūn lú xián ruì nǎo - jade duck-shaped burner left aside/unused incense, zhū yīng dòu zhàng yǎn liú sū - red cherry mosquito net covers liusu. yí xī hái jiě pì hán wú - the rhinoceros could know drive away cold? Notes: zhu ying: red cherry, or heart-shaped pouch, used to hold fragrances, on hanging bed decorations. dou zhang: the bed netting, hung over the usual frame over the bed, inverted, resembling the shape "dou" (斗ㄩ), also a unit of measure. liu su: brocade covering, also hung over the bed frame to keep warmth in. yi xi: rhinoceros, horn, mythical, taken from an old story about Emperor Wen Di in the Sui Dynasty. When the Emperor received as a gift the golden horn of a rhino, his chambers immediately warmed and all expressed wonder. Later, the great scholar of Chinese medicine Li Shi-zhen propounded that the horn of a golden rhinoceros can drive away a chilly spell, meaning "Only in fable is there an end to this spell" .

Swinging, and Swinging Done - to the tune of Dianjiangchun Translated by Gordon Osing and Julia Min Swinging, and swinging done, too weary to rise and tidy-up even a maiden's hands. She can't notice either the thick dew appearing on the buds or the back of her dress' damp. Someone's coming! Sock-footed, golden clasp lost behind, she skips for her own rooms, halting at the door, of course not looking back for any reason more than to scent green-plums. Appreciation: There was a time when the critics refused to attribute this ci to Li Qing-zhao, because its subject tests the limits of polite subject matter, both in the imagery it employs and the frank， erotic boisterousness it suggests, certainly no lady of high breeding. It was often anthologized without an author mentioned, because editors couldn't believe she wrote it. Even the feudal boudoir was supposed to reflect Confucian judgement. This poem's personage is clearly a fresh, young girl, ready to linger for a glance of perhaps a gentleman she longs to see, and still almost a girl. Perhaps the guest in her garden is none other than Zhao Mingcheng, who will soon be her betrothed! The Source Text in Chinese: 点绛唇 · 蹴把秋千 作者：李清照 蹴罢秋千， 起来慵整纤纤手。 露浓花瘦， 薄汗轻衣透。 见有人来， 袜剗金钗溜。 和羞走， 倚门回首， 却把青梅嗅。 Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: diǎn jiàng chún – to the tune of Dianjiangchun cù bà qiū qiān – after playing on the swing, qǐ lái yōng zhěng xiān xiān shǒu – get up lazy to tidy up delicate hands. lù nóng huā shòu – the dews are heavy, flower buds tiny, báo hàn qīng yī tòu – steaming sweat light dress is wet through. jiàn yǒu rén lái – noticed someone coming, wà chǎn jīn chāi liū – walk on socks my gold hairpin slip off hé xiū zǒu - so shy, skip away. yǐ mén huí shǒu – leaning on the door, look back, què bǎ qīng méi xiù – but hold green plum to scent. Notes: lù nóng huā shòu – thick dews and tiny buds, the beginning of high spring; qīng yī – light dress made of brocade, gauze or very light fabric; yǐ mén huí shǒu – can’t resist the urge of looking back at the visitor, a naughty tongue-in-cheek, arch and even disproportionate for someone of her class.

On 21 July, 2021, it was sunny with a couple of showers when I was having my early morning walk while listening to the news about Covic-19 and trade conflicts between China and Australia. Rhyming lines stream in like a well never dry. So here they are: Winter in July By J. Min It’s sunny and rainy at the same time, not divided in the sky. The clear blue behind some ink clouds all on the East side. The Moon, dimming, holds no opinion on Down Under or Middle Kingdom. It’s summer and winter at the same time, Feeling divided by the equator line. Rain and Apollo blessing both seasons, Wrong or right, they never define On the dragons awakened Or the kangaroos, or kiwi island. Notes: 1. Seasons in the southern hemisphere is opposite to the northern hemisphere. But the rain season comes at the same time of the year. 2. 'Down Under': slang word for Australia and New Zealand; 3. ' Middle Kingdom': ancient name for China; JM: Your thoughts? Leave a comment and let me know :)

A Cold Sun Climbs Up My Crafted Window - to the Tune of Zhegutian Translated by Julia Min A cold sun climbs up my crafted window Thro’ Phoenix trees robbed bare by frost night. A bit tipsy, I prefer the tea ball’s bitter taste； For the broken dream I deem Dragon’s Delight. Why the day feels long but short thro’ the night? Zhongxuan’s poem only makes nostalgia right. Easy friend, easy aye, waste not the nice wine. On yellow chrysanths Tao’s insight enlights. Appreciation: This ci poem marks the theme mood of her later life after the fall of Northern Song Dynasty. It was most likely written after her husband’s death, in my opinion, though thought by others to be the year 1128 when her husband was appointed by the Emperor as the Mayor of Jiangling ( later changed to ‘Jiankang’ by the Emperer; today’s Nanjing City). Chrysanthemum is the flower in her late years. She has kind of monopolized it with unparallel verse that it seems to belong to her though she refers to Tao Yuanming here. Others would feel hard pressed whenever writing about the flower as it would seem better to quote her phrase than create a new one. An obvious shift could be sensed between the first couplet and the second couplet in each of the stanzas. It’s an uplift in spirit brought by a new broad-minded tolerance, at least some active effort, towards the sufferings. A precision of emotion with pointy language is empowered through the contrast of‘xiāo xiāo’ and ‘ hèn’ with ‘xǐ’and ‘yí’, ‘rì yóu chǎng’with‘bú rú suí fèn’and‘mò fù dōng lí’. Emily Dickinson might come to your mind. Such transcendence didn’t come easy considering her carefree childhood and a happy marriage suddenly shocked by the Jin’s invasion followed by their ten households of literary collections burned, and ultimately her husband’s death. Alone in a strange land in her fifties, Qingzhao had every reason to feel pessimistic and doomed. However, here in this poem she seems to have learned ways to calm down, to accept and live with miseries for a new balance, the kind of seclusive and vigorous temperament we would expect to see in gentlemen’s society, such as Su Dongpo, and Tao Yuanming. Miseries do make people stronger. we could see our lady now settled in peacefully for a life in seclusion with a much smaller circle of friends, a grace not lost in defeat during her remaining years. The song ‘Let It Be’ comes to my ear. The Source Ci in Chinese: 鹧鸪天·寒日萧萧上锁窗 作者：李清照 寒日萧萧上锁窗， 梧桐应恨夜来霜。 酒阑更喜团茶苦， 梦断偏宜瑞脑香。 秋已尽，日犹长， 仲宣怀远更凄凉。 不如随分尊前醉， 莫负东篱菊蕊黄。 Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: zhè gū tiān – Zhegutian, the musical tune for this song，which also defines the rhyming scheme and number of words used for this ci poem; hán rì xiāo xiāo shàng suǒ chuāng – The bleak and cold sun beams slowly climb up my windows carved with entangled designs; wú tóng yīng hèn yè lái shuāng – The parasol trees must hate the cold frost of last night; jiǔ lán gèng xǐ tuán chá kǔ – After drowsy drinking I favour the bitter taste of black tea made of brick-tea balls; mèng duàn piān yí ruì nǎo xiāng – When my dream is interrupted the aroma of Ruinao incense serves best calming me down; qiū yǐ jìn，rì yóu zhǎng – Autumn is now ended. Somehow the day feels longer; zhòng xuān huái yuǎn gèng qī liáng – Even Zhongxuan’s nostalgia for his homeland is not as miserable as mine; bú rú suí fèn zūn qián zuì – How about we forget the past, and drink up the wine of the banquet; mò fù dōng lí jú ruǐ huáng – Better not let down the golden chrysanthemum in full bloom by the East Fence; Notes: wú tóng –Chinese parasol tree, often used in Chinese literature symbolizing descent and pure love in spring and summer, while cold, bleak and lonely sentiments after the leaves fallen; tuán chá – hard-pressed brick-tea, in the shape of one-serve small ball or of pan-cake, which people of Song would first crumble into tea powder before serving. Premium quality brick teas are usually in the name of Dragon or Phoenix. ruì nǎo xiāng – Ambergris, a top quality incense, called Longxian Incense in China; zhòng xuān -- A prodigy in the late Han dynasty ( around 200 BC), the best of The Seven Gentlemen of Jian’an. Here our lady poet must refers to his most famous work “ Up the Castle”, a piece in perfect rhythm and rhetoric to express his intense nostalgia for homeland. dōng lí – from a famous poem by Tao Yuanming (365 – 427 AC), one of the best known poets of the Six Dynasties period. “ Picking chrysanthemum flowers by the east fence, my carefree mind sees only the Blue Mountain.”(translated by Julia Min). Chrysanthemum is highly regarded as one of the Four Gentlemen in plants, bearing the symbolic meaning of bravery spirit against frost and snow even though so tender and slim，a moral quality not lost in harsh times. Interesting to know that in English, a yellow chrysanthemum blossom in English signifies neglected love or sorrow.

All Spring Wavers this Cold Food Festival - to the tune of Huanxisha Translated by Gordon Osing and Julia Min All Spring wavers this Cold Food Festival! Over the jade burner the last smoke of incense curls and starting from dreams, from the pillow hiding flowered jewels. I find no swallows returned, so dou-cao with the girls. Withered are the wild river-plums, the willows cattails. By evening my swing hangs wet and empty in a dull drizzle. Appreciation: This remarkable ci appears to present the poet's consciousness of the moments in which her girlhood was ending and womanhood beginning. One notes her sense of urgency in this ci, her passion for getting everything out of life. She is in her latest teens or early twenties here, in girlhood dreaming, with a woman's jewelled earrings out of sight behind the ceramic pillow. The Source Text in Chinese: 浣溪沙·淡荡春光寒食天 作者：李清照 淡荡春光寒食天， 玉炉沉水袅残烟。 梦回山枕隐花钿。 海燕未来人斗草， 江梅已过柳生棉。 黄昏疏雨湿秋千。 Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: huàn xī shā – the musical tune dàn dàng chūn guāng hán shí tiān - swaying spring the Fire Forbidden Festival, yù lú chén shuǐ niǎo cán yān - jade burner incense curling upward last smoke. mèng huí shān zhěn yǐn huā diàn - dream wake up hill pillow hide flower ornament/ jewelry. hǎi yàn wèi lái rén dòu cǎo - sea swallows not yet come/return people Doucao Game, jiāng méi yǐ guò liǔ shēng mián - river plums (season) have passed willows grow catkin. huáng hūn shū yǔ shī qiū qiān - by dusk sparse rain wet the swing. Notes: han shi: Cold Food Festival, two days before Qing Ming Festival (April 5th in the Western calendar). Cold Food Festival is also called the Festival of Forbidden Fires, and commemorates an episode in Chinese history. It seems Emperor Wen Gong burned the entire mountain to flush out his general Zi-tui, who had chosen to die there rather than be an afterthought in the emperor's reward after a victorious battle. Remembering honor is the original sense of the festival. yu lu: Not necessarily jade, of course. They were also of metal and other stones. Jade, as is so often the case, denotes wonderful or harmonizing associations. shan zhen: hill-pillow, the ceramic, concave headrest ancient Chinese people slept on. hai yan: Chinese ancients believed swallows came from the sea. dou-cao: a card game played especially in the Spring and especially by young ladies and older girls. jiang mei: a wild river-plum tree.

It’s an Early Spring Day - to the Tune of Pusaman Translated by Julia Min With gentle breeze comes early spring, Sunny mood cheered by lighter trim. Then the morning chill sobers me like thorn, The plum petals on my hair dry and drawn. Where’s my dear homeland in my dream? Drinking seems the only hope to that realm. The burning incense felt cosy before sleep. The scent no more just a lonely soul at sea. Appreciation: Li Qingzhao wrote this in Ling’an after the long escape following Song’s Court from the fallen capital in the north. This ci poem is structured in couplets with the first two lines in seven characters, and the rest all in five, denoting a shifting of emotion from sunny mood to a growing sentiment evoked by the sight of the withered plum blossom and her drawn face in the mirror. The next stanza explains why she can’t feel happy even though the day is nice now after the long winter. The fate of the plum flower associates with her youth and the good life in her own homeland which is now just stories. Hence she is drawn to rice wine which helps her dreaming away, back to cosy home where her husband was still alive and they were so happy in a peaceful world. Such drinking habit and drunk state, often written in Chinese literature, especially in poetry, resonates intellectual sentiments rather than the vulgar out-of-control indulgence sensed by western readers. This poem is regarded as a strong intellectual criticism against the weak response of the Southern Song Court at the invasion of the barbarians from Jin State. Though a lady, Qingzhao had a braveheart as she had written many heritage poems in support of warriors fighting for the lost homeland. The Source Text in Chinese: 菩萨蛮·风柔日薄春犹早 作者：李清照 风柔日薄春犹早， 夹衫乍著心情好。 睡起觉微寒， 梅花鬓上残。 故乡何处是， 忘了除非醉。 沉水卧时烧， 香消酒未消。 Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: pú sà mán—Pusaman, the musical tune for this song; fēng róu rì bó chūn yóu zǎo -- wind soft sunlight thin spring still early; jiá shān zhà zhuó xīn qíng hǎo – spring dress and vest wearing feeling better; shuì qǐ jué wēi hán – wake up feeling a bit chilly; méi huā bìn shàng cán – the plum flower in my hair is withered; gù xiāng hé chù shì – homeland where is; wàng liǎo chú fēi zuì – forget only when drunk; chén shuǐ wò shí shāo – the chenxiang incense was lit at bedtime; xiāng xiāo jiǔ wèi xiāo – the aroma from the incense disappeared wine smell still lingers; Notes: rì bó -- sunlight cozy; zhà zhuó – wear / put on; bìn shàng -- on her hairdo near her forehead side; gù xiāng – her native place in Shandong and Song’s capital where she met her husband were all lost to the Jin invaders from the North; She is now in a strange place in the south, called Ling’an. chén shuǐ -- an incense made from a scented wood, often referred to as chenxiang today;

Warm Wind Sends Rain Melting the Ice - to the Tune of Dielianhua Translated by Julia Min Warm wind sends rain melting the ice. Green willow shoots by red plum blooms, like a maiden’s blush with glowing eyes. With whom shall I share this poem with wine? In tears my makeup washed is now dry. The new vest gown looks nice in golden lines. My phoenix pin broke as I lean on my side. The pretty hairdo feels heavy not sure why. Ah, where’s my dream of butterflies? Alone, I muddle wicks into sullied night. Appreciation: Most likely written in her thirties when her husband was away after being assigned to a new post. The legendary idioms ‘nuǎn yǔ qíng fēng’ and ‘ liǔ yǎn méi sāi’ originate from here and have been quoted or used by poets and writers since then. Chinese literature has always shown tremendous favor for plum blossoms, a jady flower that braves the frost and snow but also a strong message of early spring. Budding in pair on the branch, the icy jade petals, white or pink or red, represent pure young love, like pink rose in English literature. Willow has been another traditional subject, a symbol for the graceful young girl’s figure. The flower floating in the air is often used to hint an unsettled life experience. To associate willow shoots to a beauty’s eye appeared first in Su Dongpo’s ci poem “ In reply to Zhang Zhifu’s 'Ode on Catkin Willows'” ("Their twining flowers wound a heart whose tender eyes/Are trying to open, but close upon a dream ten thousand miles/Away, seeking her husband where he’s gone. Then oriole wakens!" – from our book Blooming Alone in Winter) As we all know our poet had a profound interest in Dongpo’s work. What refreshes creative minds here is that she was able to infuse the image with only two simple words, literally, ' willow eye'. In the two short stanzas, Yi’an leads the readers into her scene, a vivid visionary artistic stage which begins with a romantic spring view contrasting her sentiments in the following lines. The volta or the turn of this poem stays on the couplet at the end of each stanza, the first one concluding her weary state during the day, followed by the return of a dreary night in the second couplet. The structure moves from outward sight to inward sentiment in the form of a monologue. The last two lines strikes me with an image so vivid that I could hear her sigh while cutting the wicks, an image born only after one’s life experience. The Source Text in Chinese: 蝶恋花·暖雨晴风初破冻 作者：李清照 暖雨晴风初破冻， 柳眼梅腮， 已觉春心动。 酒意诗情谁与共？ 泪融残粉花钿重。 乍试夹衫金缕缝， 山枕斜欹， 枕损钗头凤。 独抱浓愁无好梦， 夜阑犹剪灯花弄。 Pinying and Word -For-Word Translation: dié liàn huā – to the tune of Dielianhua nuǎn yǔ qíng fēng chū pò dòng – warm rain cosy wind start breaking the ice liǔ yǎn méi sāi - willow-shaped eye, plum budding cheeks yǐ juē chūn xīn dòng – already feel spring sensations jiǔ yì shī qíng shuí yǔ gòng – this romantic poem and wine who can I share with lèi róng cán fěn huā diàn zhòng - tears melted make-up, hair ornaments feel heavy zhà shì jiá shān jīn lǚ féng – first try on vest gown made with golden threads shān zhěn xiá yī – against hill-shaped pillow I leaned on my side zhěn sǔn chāi tóu fèng – the pillow damaged my phoenix hairpin dú bào nóng chóu wú hǎo mèng -alone in deep sorrow I have no good dream yè lán yóu jiǎn dēng huā nòng – late at night I cut candles wicks as if playing Notes: wú tóng –Chinese parasol tree, often used in Chinese literature symbolizing descent and pure love in spring and summer, while cold, bleak and lonely sentiments after the leaves fallen; tuán chá – hard-pressed brick-tea, in the shape of one-serve small ball or of pan-cake, which people of Song would first crumble into tea powder before serving. Premium quality brick teas are usually in the name of Dragon or Phoenix. ruì nǎo xiāng – Ambergris, a top quality incense, called Longxian Incense in China; zhòng xuān -- A prodigy in the late Han dynasty ( around 200 BC), the best of The Seven Gentlemen of Jian’an. Here our lady poet must refers to his most famous work “ Up the Castle”, a piece in perfect rhythm and rhetoric to express his intense nostalgia for homeland. dōng lí – from a famous poem by Tao Yuanming (365 – 427 AC), one of the best known poets of the Six Dynasties period. “ Picking chrysanthemum flowers by the east fence, my carefree mind sees only the Blue Mountain.”(translated by Julia Min). Chrysanthemum is highly regarded as one of the Four Gentlemen in plants, bearing the symbolic meaning of bravery spirit against frost and snow even though so tender and slim，a moral quality not lost in harsh times. Interesting to know that in English, a yellow chrysanthemum blossom in English signifies neglected love or sorrow.