dailycharacter
长恨歌 （白居易）
Title: The Song of Everlasting Sorrow ▪ 长恨歌
Author: Bai Juyi ▪ 白居易
Poetic Form: gǔshī ▪ 古诗
1. (汉 + 皇) + (重 + 色) + 思 + (倾 + 国)，
(Han + emperor) + (to value + face/lust) + to long
for + (to collapse + country)
(御 + 宇) + (多 + 年) + (求 + 不 + 得)。
(to manage + roof) + (many + year) + (to
seek/covet + not + to obtain)
gloss: The Han emperor focused on flirting,
seeking a beauty who could topple an empire; he
ruled his land for many years without finding her.
2. (杨 + 家) + 有 + 女 + 初 + (长 + 成)，
(Yang (willow) + house) + to have + girl + original
+ (to grow + complete)
养 + 在 + (深 + 闺) + (人 + 未 + 识)。
to (be) raise(d) + at/in + (deep + women's
chambers) + (person + not + to know)
gloss: There was a girl in the house of Yang who
had just come of age; she had been raised deep
within the women's chambers so she was not
known to the outside world.
3. (天 + 生 + (丽 + 质)) + (难 + 自 + 弃)，
(heavens + to produce + (beautiful + quality)) +
(difficult + naturally + to abandon/ignore)
(一 + 朝) + 选 + (在 + (君 + 王) + 侧)。
(one + morning) + to select + (to be + (monarch +
king) + side)
gloss: She was naturally so beautiful and
graceful that it was hard not to take notice; one
morning she was selected to stand beside the
emperor.
4. (回 + 眸) + (一 + 笑) + 百 + 媚 + 生，
(to turn around + eye) + (one + smile) + hundred
+ fascinating + to beget
(六 + 宫) + (粉 + 黛) + 无 + (颜 + 色)。
(six + palace) + (powder + eyebrow liner) + no +
(face + face/lust)
gloss: Just to turn her head and smile she would
exude a hundred different charms; powdered
women from six palaces could not compare with
her beauty.
5. (春 + 寒) + 赐 + 浴 + (华 + 清 + 池)，
(spring + cold) + to bestow + to bathe + (splendid
+ pure + pool)
(温 + (泉 + 水) + 滑 + 洗 + (凝 + 脂)。
(warm + (spring + water)) + to glide + to cleanse
+ (congealed fat: metaphor for flawless white
skin)
gloss: On a cold spring day, [he] bestowed upon
[her] the honor of bathing in the Huaqing pools;
the warm water of the springs glided over her
body, cleansing her flawless, white skin.
6. (侍 + 儿) + (抹 + 起) + (娇 + (无 + 力))，
(attendant + particle) + (to smear + to begin) +
(delicate + (no + power/strength))
始 + 是 + (新 + 承) + (恩 + 泽) + 时。
beginning + to be + (new + to accept) + (kindness
+ radiance) + time
gloss: Delicate and weak, the maids were lifting
her from the pool when she began to receive the
advances/kindnesses [of the emperor].
7. (云 + 鬓) + (花 + 颜) + (金 + 步 + 摇)，
(cloud + hair on the temples) + (flower +
countenance) + (gold + 5.5 ft. + to sway)
((芙 + 蓉) + 帐) + ((暖 + 度) + (春 + 宵))。
((hibiscus + hibiscus) + net) + ((warm + degree) +
(spring + evening))
gloss: Her hair fell in wisps, she had the face of a
flower, and lengths of gold jewelry dangled from
her neck. [They] spent the warm spring evenings
beneath hibiscus curtains.
8. (春 + 宵) + (苦 + 短) + (日 + 高 + 起)，
(spring + evening) + (bitter + short) + (sun + high
+ to rise)
(从 + 此) + (君 + 王) + ((不 + 早) + 朝) 。
(from + this) + (monarch + king) + ((not + early) +
to go to the imperial court)
gloss: These spring evenings were painfully short
and they did not rise until the sun was high in the
sky. And so the emperor no longer went early to
the imperial court.
9. (承 + 欢 + 侍 + 宴) + (无 + (闲 + 暇))，
(to undertake + pleased + to wait upon +
banquet) + (no + (idle + leisure)
((春 + 从) + (春 + 游)) + (夜 + 专 + 夜)。
((spring + attendant) + (spring + to drift)) + (night
+ to focus + night)
gloss: The days were spent in revelry and
banquets leaving no time to spare. She
accompanied him on spring outings and was the
focus of his nights.
10. (后 + 宫) + (佳 + 丽) + ((三 + 千) + 人)，
(behind + palace) + (fine + beautiful) + ((three +
thousand) + person)
(三 + 千) + (宠 + 爱) + (在 + (一 + 身))。
(three + thousand) + (to dote upon + love) + (to
be located at + (one + body))
gloss: The palace contained three thousand
ravishing beauties, but the imperial favors for
three thousand were lavished upon just one.
11. ((金 + 屋) + 妆) + 成 + (娇 + 侍 + 夜)，
((golden + room) + to adorn) + to become +
(charming + attendant + night)
((玉 + 楼) + 宴) + 罢 + (醉 + 和 + 春)。
((jade + tower) + feast) + to cease + (drunk +
and + joyful)
gloss: By the time she adorned herself in her
golden room, the charming night was ready to
attend to her and when the feasting was done in
the Jade Tower, she was drunk and joyful.
12. ((姊 + 妹) + (弟 + 兄)) + 皆 + (列 + 土)，
((older sister + younger sister) + (younger
brother + older brother)) + all + (to line up +
earth)
(可 + 怜) + (光 + 彩) + 生 + (门 + 户)。
(can + to feel tender regard for) + (bright +
colors) + to be born + (door + household)
gloss: [Her] brothers and sisters were all given
land, which led to greater respect for her clan.
13. 遂 + 令 + (天 + 下) + ((父 + 母) + 心)，
to proceed + to create + (sky + beneath) +
((father + mother) + heart)
(不 + 重 + 生 + 男) + (重 + 生 + 女)。
(not + to emphasize + to beget + boy) + (to
emphasize + to beget + girl)
gloss: And so the hearts of mothers and fathers
across the land were changed and they began
to prize baby girls over baby boys.
14. (骊 + 宫) + (高 + 处) + 入 + (青 + 云)，
(Black Horse + palace) + (high + place) + to
enter + (blue-green + cloud)
(仙 + 乐) + (风 + 飘) + (处 + 处) + 闻。
(divine + music) + (wind + to float) + (place +
place) + to hear
gloss: Li Palace rose into the blue-green clouds
and heavenly music drifted on the breeze.
15. ((缓 + 歌) + (慢 + 舞)) + 凝 + (丝 + 竹)，
((soft + song) + (slow + dance)) + to cohere +
(silk + bamboo)
(尽 + 日) + (君 + 王) + (看 + 不 + 足)。
(utmost + day) + (monarch + king) + (to look +
not + enough)
gloss: Soft songs and slow dances blended
together with the music of traditional instruments
(string and woodwind). The emperor could look
[upon her] all day long and it was not enough.
16. (渔 + 阳) + (鼙 + (鼓 + 动) + 地)+ 来，
(to fish + the sun) + (war drum + ((to vibrate + to
move) + earth) + to come
(惊 + 破) + ((霓 + 裳) + (羽 + 衣) + 曲)。
(to startle + to break) + ((rainbow + skirt) +
(feathers + robe) + song)
gloss: The sound of war drums from YuYang
began to shake the earth and broke the spell of
the song of Rainbow Skirts and Feathered
Robes.
17. ((九 + 重) + (城 + 阙)) + (烟 + 尘) + 生，
((nine + layer) + (city + palace)) + (smoke + dust)
+ to beget
((千 + 乘) + (万 + 骑) + (西 + 南) + 行。
((thousand + a team of four horses) + (ten
thousand + cavalry)) + (east + south) + to move
gloss: Smoke and dust descended upon the
nine-layered palace as thousands of chariots
and tens of thousands of cavalry rode to the
southeast.
18. ((翠 + 华) + (摇 + 摇)) + (行 + 复 + 止)，
((jade + splendor) + (to sway + to sway)) + (to
move forward + to repeat + to stop)
((西 + 出) + (都 + 门)) + (百 + 余 + 里)。
((west + to go forth) + (capital + gate)) + (one
hundred + surplus + li)
gloss: The jade ornaments [on the emperor's
carriage] swayed back and forth as the carriage
continually advanced and halted; they went forth
one hundred li (approximately 32 kilometres)
from the gate of the capital city.
19. (六 + 军) + (不 + 发) + (无 + (奈 + 何))，
(six + army) + (not + to dispatch) + (no + (what +
what))
(宛 + 转) + (蛾 + 眉) + ((马 + 前) + 死)。
(crooked + to rotate) + (moth + eyebrow) +
((horse + in front) + to die)
gloss: The emperor's six armies refused to go
further until they saw those moth-like eyebrows
[of Yang Guifei] trampled beneath their horses
hoofs.
20. ((花 + 钿) + (委 + 地)) + 无 + 人 + 收，
((flower + hairpin) + (to lower oneself + ground))
+ no + person + to gather
(翠 + 翘) + (金 + 雀) + (玉 + (搔 + 头))。
(kingfisher + long tail feathers) + (gold +
sparrow) + (jade + (to scratch + head))
gloss: Her flowered hairpin fell to the ground,
but no one picked them up. Her headdress with
its long kingfisher feathers and its golden
sparow and its jade clasp [also fell].
21. (君 + 王) + (掩 + 面) + (救 + (不 + 得))，
(monarch + king) + (to conceal + face) + (to
rescue + (not + obtain))
(回 + 看) + (血 + 泪) + (相 + (和 + 流))。
(to turn + to look) + (blood + tears) + (reciprocal
+ (to mix + to flow))
gloss: The emperor could not save her, he
could only hide his face. When he turned to
look back, [he saw] a stream of blood and tears
mingling together.
22. (黄 + 埃) + (散 + 漫) + (风 + 萧) + 索，
(yellow + dust) + (to scatter + to spread all over)
+ (wind + desolate) + to search
云 + 栈 + ((萦 + 纡) + 登 + (剑 + 阁))。
cloud + road built along a cliff + ((to entwine + to
twist) + to ascend + (dagger + pavilion))
gloss: The desolate wind blew up billows of
yellow dust and the cloud heavy road twisted up
into the pass at Jiange, the Pavilion of Swords.
23. ((峨 + 嵋 + 山) + 下) + (少 + 人) + 行，
((lofty + eyebrow + mountain) + below) + (few +
people) + to go
((旌 + 旗) + (无 + 光)) + ((日 + 色) + 薄)。
((banner + standard) + (not + brilliant)) + ((day +
color) + weak)
gloss: Few people walked at the base of Mount
Emei. The banners and standards were
lackluster and the day bleak.
24. ((蜀 + (江 + 水)) + 碧) + ((蜀 + 山) + 青)，
((Shu + (river + water)) + emerald) + ((Shu +
mountain) + cyan)
(圣 + 主) + ((朝 + 朝) + (暮 + 暮)) + 情。
(sage + leader) + ((morning + morning) +
(evening + evening) + love
gloss: The rivers of Shu are emerald blue and
its mountains green. Our leader continued to
love [her] both day and night.
25. (行 + 宫) + 见 + 月 + (伤 + 心 + 色)，
(to move + palace = temporary palace away
from capital) + to see + moon + (to hurt + heart
+ color)
(夜 + 雨) + (闻 + 铃) + (肠 + 断) + 声。
(evening + rain) + (to hear + bells) + (intestines
+ to sever = broken-hearted) + sound
gloss: In his temporary palace, he would gaze at
the moon, whose color tore his heart to shreds.
He would hear the sound of bells in the evening
rain and it would break his heart again.
26. (天 + 旋 + 地 + 转) + 回 + 龙 + 驭，
(sky + to turn back + earth + to rotate) + to
return + dragon + to drive
(到 + 此) + (踌 + 躇) + (不 + 能 + 去)。
(to arrive + here) + (hesitant + to hesitate) +
(not + to be able to + to go)
gloss: When the world had been turned upside
down and the dragon chariot faced home, [the
Emperor], upon arriving at this place, found he
could not leave it.
27. (((马 + 嵬) + 坡) + 下) + (泥 + 土 + 中)，
(((horse + high) + slope) + beneath) + (mud + earth
+ middle)
(不 + 见) + (玉 + 颜) + (空 + 死 + 处)。
(not + to see) + (jade + face) + (empty + death +
place)
gloss: In the mud beneath the slopes of MaWei, he
could not see her Jade face, only the deserted place
where she had died. (N.B. "Jade" here refers to Yang
Guifei's birth name: Yuhuan 玉环, or 'jade earrings').
28. ((君 + 臣) + (相 + 顾)) + ((尽 + 沾) + 衣)，
((monarch + officials) + (mutually + to look)) +
((utmost + moisten) + clothing)
((东 + 望) + (都 + 门)) + 信 + 马 + 归。
((east + to look) + (capital + gate)) + to trust + horse
+ to return
gloss: The emperor and his ministers looked at one
another and [tears] soaked their clothing through.
Looking east toward the gates of the capital, they
trusted their horses to lead them home.
29. (归 + 来) + ((池 + 苑) + (皆 + (依 + 旧)))，
(to return + to come) + ((pond + garden) + (all + (like
+ past)))
((太 + 液) + (芙 + 蓉)) + ((未 + 央) + 柳)。
((too + liquid) + (lotus + lotus)) + ((not + to run out) +
willow)
gloss: When they returned, the ponds and gardens
were all the same as before: the lotuses of the TaiYe
ponds and the willows of the WeiYang palace.
30. ((芙 + 蓉) + 如 + 面) + (柳 + 如 + 眉)，
((lotus + lotus) + like + face) + (willow + like +
eyebrow)
(对 + 此) + (如 + 何) + (不 + (泪 + 垂))。
(to face + this) + (as if + what) + (not + (tears + to
let down))
gloss: The lotus blooms were like her face and the
willows like her eyebrows. Looking at these, how
could [his] tears not fall?
31. (春 + 风) + ((桃 + 李) + 花) + 开 + 日，
(spring + wind) + ((peach + plum) + flower) + to open
+ day
(秋 + 雨) + ((梧 + 桐) + 叶) + 落 + 时。
(autumn + rain) + ((Chinese parasol + tree) + leaves)
+ to fall + time
gloss: [Gone] were the days of spring winds when
the peach and plum flowers blossomed, replaced by
the autumn rains in which the leaves of the Chinese
parasol trees fall to the ground.
32. (西 + 宫) + (南 + 内) + 多 + (秋 + 草)，
(west + palace) + (south + inside) + many +
(autumn + grass)
(落 + 叶) + (满 + 阶) + 红 + 不 + 扫。
(to drop + leaf) + (to fill + steps) + red + not + to
sweep
gloss: The Western Palace and Southern Palace
are overrun with autumn grass and the steps are
filled with fallen leaves whose red color is left
unswept.
33. ((梨 + 园) + (子 + 弟)) + ((白 + 发) + 新)，
((pear + garden) + (child/son + younger brother)) +
((white + hair) + new)
(椒 + 房) + ((阿 + 监) + (青 + 娥) + 老)。
(pepper + house) + (([name prefix] + to supervise) +
(young + pretty young woman) + old)
gloss: The Pear Garden performers now had white
hair; the eunuchs and pretty young ladies of the
Pepper House had all grown old.
34. (夕 + 殿) + ((萤 + 飞) + 思 + (悄 + 然))，
(evening + palace) + ((firefly + to fly) + to think +
(quietly + [suffix]))
(孤 + 灯) + (挑 + 尽) + (未 + 成 + 眠)。
(lone + lamp) + (to choose + end) + (not + to
accomplish + sleep)
gloss: In the evening palace, quiet reigns over the
flight of fireflies and [the emperor's] thoughts. A
single lamp was burned through, but still he could
not sleep.
35. (迟 + 迟) + (钟 + 鼓) + 初 + (长 + 夜)，
(slow + slow) + (bell + drum) + early + (long + night)
(耿 + 耿) + (星 + 河) + 欲 + (曙 + 天)。
(shining + shining) + (star + river) + to want + (dawn
+ day)
gloss: The bells slowly rang out, the drums slowly
beat out the start of another long night and with the
bright river of stars above [him, he] longed for
daybreak.
36. (((鸳 + 鸯) + 瓦) + 冷) + (霜 + 华 + 重)，
(((male mandarin duck + female mandarin duck) +
tile) + cold) + (frost + abundant + heavy)
(((翡 + 翠) + 衾) + 寒) + (谁 + 与 + 共)。
(((jade + jade) + quilt) + cold) + (who + with + to
share)
gloss: The mandarin duck tiles were cold beneath
the heavy frost. The jade quilt was icy: who was
there to share it with?
37. (悠 + 悠) + (生 + 死) + 别 + 经 + 年，
(remote + remote) + (to live + to die) + to depart + to
pass through + year
(魂 + 魄) + (不 + 曾) + 来 + 入 + 梦。
(soul + spirit) + (not + once) + to come + to enter +
dream
gloss: The living and the dead had been separated
for one long year and not once had [her] spirit
entered [his] dreams.
38. ((临 + 邛) + (道 + 士)) + ((鸿 + 都) + 客)，
((to descend + mound) + (Daoism + scholar)) +
((wild goose + capital) + guest)
((能 + 以) + (精 + 诚)) + 致 + (魂 + 魄)。
((able + to use) + (excellent + honest)) + to deliver
+ (soul + spirit)
gloss: A Daoist priest from Linqiong [present day
Qionglai] came to the capital as a guest; he could
use his sincere faith to summon the spirits.
39. 为 + 感 + (君 + 王) + (辗 + 转) + 思，
for + to move + (monarch + king) + (to roll over + to
turn) + thought
遂 + 教 + (方 + 士) + (殷 + 勤) + 觅。
thereupon + to teach + (power + scholar) + (eager +
diligent) + to seek
gloss: He was moved by the emperor's mental
torment and so was persuaded to use all his powers
of divination to seek [her].
40. (排 + 空) + (驭 + 气) + (奔 + 如 + 电)，
(to push + sky) + (to drive + air) + (to run + like +
lightning)
(升 + 天) + (入 + 地) + (求 + 之 + 遍)。
(to rise + sky) + (to enter + earth) + (to seek +
[modifier] + everywhere)
gloss: He parted the skies and drove the air, he
disappeared like lightning. He rose into the heavens
and dove into the earth, searching [for her]
everywhere.
41. (上 + 穷 + 碧) + (落 + 下 + (黄 + 泉))，
(up + limit + blue) + (to drop + below + (yellow +
spring))
(两 + 处) + (茫 + 茫) + 皆 + (不 + 见)。
(two + places) + (boundless + boundless) + all +
(not + to see)
gloss: He ascended into the blue beyond and delved
into the yellow springs below, but found no sight of
her in either boundless place.
42. 忽 + 闻 + (海 + 上) + 有 + (仙 + 山)，
suddenly + to hear + (ocean + above) + to have +
(immortal + mountain)
山 + 在 + (虚 + 无 + (缥 + 缈)) + 间。
mountain + to be at + (virtual + not + (misty +
indistinct)) + middle
gloss: When suddenly he heard about the
mountain of immortals high above the ocean waters.
The mountain was invisible in its veil of mist.
43. (楼 + 阁) + (玲 + 珑) + (五 + 云) + 起，
(tower + pavilion) + (tinkling of jade + gem cut like a
dragon) + (five + cloud) + to rise
(其 + 中) + (绰 + 约) + 多 + (仙 + 子)。
(this + middle) + (graceful + to arrange) + many +
(immortal + being)
gloss: A tower rose exquisitely out of the
many-colored clouds and in it lived many celestial
beings endowed with a feminine grace.
44. (中 + 有) + 一 + 人 + 字 + (太 + 真)，
(middle + to have) + one + person + character(name)
+ (too + true)
(雪 + 肤) + (花 + 貌) + (参 + 差) + 是。
(snow + skin) + (flower + countenance) + (uneven +
difference) + to be
gloss: Among them was one with the courtesy name
of TaiZhen; her snow-white skin and beautiful visage
were not unlike hers [Yang Guifei].
45. ((金 + 阙) + (西 + 厢)) + 叩 + (玉 + 扃)，
((gold + tower) + (west + wing)) + to knock + (jade +
door)
(转 + 教) + (小 + 玉) + 报 + (双 + 成)。
(to pass one + to teach) + (little + jade) + to tell +
(double + result)
gloss: [He] knocked on the jade door to the golden
tower's western wing and asked Xiaoyu (a celestial
servant girl) to pass a message to Shuangcheng
(servant girl to the Queen Mother of the West).
46. (问 + 道) + (汉 + 家) + (天 + 子) + 使，
(to hear + to say) + (Han + family) + (heaven +
being) + envoy
((九 + 华 + 帐) + 里) + 梦 + 魂 + 惊。
((nine + flower + tent) + inside) + dream + spirit + to
surprise
gloss: Upon hearing that [the priest] was an envoy of
the Han Son of Heaven (the emperor), she was
startled awake inside her multicolored tent.
47. (揽 + 衣) + (推 + 枕) + (起 + (徘 + 徊))，
(to grasp + clothing) + (to push + pillow) + (to begin
+ (to pace + to pace))
(珠 + 箔) + (银 + 屏) + ((迤 + 逦) + 开)。
(pearl + screen) + (silver + screen) + ((to wind + to
meander) + to open)
gloss: She reached for her robe and pushed aside
her pillow and began to pace about; she slowly
came through the pearled, lace curtain and the
silver-inlaid screen.
48. (云 + 鬓) + (半 + 偏) + (新 + (睡 + 觉))，
(cloud + hair on the temples) + (half + askew) +
(new + (sleep + sleep))
(花 + 冠) + (不 + 整) + (下 + 堂 + 来)。
(flower + crown) + (not + straight) + (to descend +
hall + to come)
gloss: Having just been asleep, her hair was askew
and her garland aslant as she came down into the
hall.
49. (风 + 吹) + (仙 + 袂) + ((飘 + 飘) + 举)，
(wind + to blow) + (divine/immortal + sleeves) + ((to
flutter + to flutter) + to lift up)
(犹 + 似) + ((霓 + 裳) + (羽 + 衣) + 舞。
(just like + to resemble) + ((rainbow + skirt) +
(feathers + robe) + dance
gloss: The wind fluttered her divine sleeves just like
when she would dance the Rainbow Skirts and
Feathered Robes.
50. (玉 + 容) + (寂 + 寞) + 泪 + (阑 + 干)，
(jade + countenance) + (lonely + lonely) + (tears +
(to block + empty)
(梨 + 花) + (一 + 枝) + 春 + 带 + 雨。
(pear + flower) + (one + branch) + springtime + to
wear + rain
gloss: Tears and loneliness crossed over her lovely
countenance like a branch of pear blossoms bathed
in springtime rain.
51. (含 + 情) + (凝 + 睇) + 谢 + (君 + 王)，
(full + feeling) + (to gaze + to look obliquely) + to
thank + (monarch + king)
(一 + 别) + (音 + 容) + 两 + (渺 + 茫)。
(one + separate) + (sound + face) + two + (distant +
hazy)
gloss: She looked at him, her eyes full of feeling,
and expressed her thanks to the emperor, but having
been apart awhile they each found the other's voice
and face distant, vague.
52. ((昭 + 阳 + 殿) + 里) + ((恩 + 爱) + 绝)，
((bright + sun + palace) + inside) + ((kindness +
love) + to exhaust)
((蓬 + 莱 + 宫) + 中) + ((日 + 月) + 长)。
((Peng + Lai + palace) + inside) + ((sun + moon) +
long)
gloss: The love they had shared in Zhaoyang Hall
(The Hall of Bright Sun) was no more and the days
and months pass slowly Penglai Palace.
53. (回 + 头) + (下 + 望) + ((人 + 寰) + 处)，
(to turn + head) + (down + to look) + ((person +
world) + place)
((不 + 见) + (长 + 安)) + (见 + (尘 + 雾))。
((not + to see) + (long + peace)) + (see + (dust +
fog))
gloss: Turning to look down upon the world of
mortals, she does not see Chang'an, only dust and
mist.
54. 唯 + 将 + (旧 + 物) + (表 + (深 + 情))，
only + with + (old + thing) + (to express + (deep +
feeling))
((钿 + 合) + (金 + 钗)) + 寄 + 将 + 去。
((filigree + box) + (gold + hairpin)) + to send + to
take + to go
gloss: She could only send some old keepsakes as
tokens of her deep affection, so she sent him away
with her inlaid box and gold hairpin.
55. (钗 + 留 + (一 + 股)) + (合 + (一 + 扇))，
(hairpin + to keep + (one + part)) + (box + (one +
leaf))
(钗 + 擘 + (黄 + 金)) + (合 + 分 + 钿)。
(hairpin + tear apart + (yellow + gold)) + (box +
separate + gold filigree)
gloss: [She] kept one part of the hairpin and one leaf
of the box; the gold of the hairpin would ever be
separated, as would the gold filigree of the box.
56. 但 + (教 + 心) + (似 + 钿 + 坚)，
but + (to teach + heart) + (to be like + inlaid box +
firm/resolute)
((天 + 上) + (人 + 间)) + 会 + (相 + 见)。
((sky + above) + (person + between)) + can/may +
(mutual + to see)
gloss: But she implored him to be as steadfast and
firm as the inlaid box, saying they would see one
another again, be it in the heavens or on earth among
men.
57. (临 + 别) + (殷 + 勤) + (重 + (寄 + 词))，
(be about to + to part ways) + (earnest + diligent) +
(again + (to send + word))
(词 + 中) + 有 + (誓 + ((两 + 心) + 知))。
(word + middle) + to have + (promise + ((two + heart)
+ to know))
gloss: As he was about to leave, she again earnestly
asked him to pass along a message that contained a
promise only their two hearts would know.
58. ((七 + 月) + (七 + 日)) + ((长 + 生) + 殿)，
((seven + moon) + (seven + sun)) + ((long + life) +
hall)
(夜 + 半) + (无 + 人) + (私 + 语) + 时。
(night + half) + (none + person) + (private + words) +
time/hour
gloss: On the seventh night of the seventh moon in
the Longevity Hall (within the Huaqing Palace), in the
middle of the night when no one is around, then we
will make our secret pact.
59. (在 + 天) + 愿 + (作 + (比 + 翼) + 鸟)，
(at + sky) + to be willing + (to do + (to match + wing)
+ bird)
(在 + 地) + 愿 + (为 + (连 + 理) + 枝)。
(at + earth) + to be willing + (to be + (to connect +
reason) + branch)
gloss: In the sky, we vow to fly wingtip-to-wingtip and
on earth we vow to be intertwining branches of two
trees.
60. (天 + 长) + (地 + 久) + 有 + (时 + 尽)，
(sky + long) + (earth + old) + to have + (time + end)
(此 + 恨) + (绵 + 绵) + 无 + (绝 + 期)。
(this + regret) + (continuous + continuous) + no + (to
sever + timeframe)
gloss: Though the sky is vast and the earth old, each
has its end, but our sorrow [at parting] shall never
cease.
Author: Bai Juyi ▪ 白居易
Poetic Form: gǔshī ▪ 古诗
1. (汉 + 皇) + (重 + 色) + 思 + (倾 + 国)，
(Han + emperor) + (to value + face/lust) + to long
for + (to collapse + country)
(御 + 宇) + (多 + 年) + (求 + 不 + 得)。
(to manage + roof) + (many + year) + (to
seek/covet + not + to obtain)
gloss: The Han emperor focused on flirting,
seeking a beauty who could topple an empire; he
ruled his land for many years without finding her.
2. (杨 + 家) + 有 + 女 + 初 + (长 + 成)，
(Yang (willow) + house) + to have + girl + original
+ (to grow + complete)
养 + 在 + (深 + 闺) + (人 + 未 + 识)。
to (be) raise(d) + at/in + (deep + women's
chambers) + (person + not + to know)
gloss: There was a girl in the house of Yang who
had just come of age; she had been raised deep
within the women's chambers so she was not
known to the outside world.
3. (天 + 生 + (丽 + 质)) + (难 + 自 + 弃)，
(heavens + to produce + (beautiful + quality)) +
(difficult + naturally + to abandon/ignore)
(一 + 朝) + 选 + (在 + (君 + 王) + 侧)。
(one + morning) + to select + (to be + (monarch +
king) + side)
gloss: She was naturally so beautiful and
graceful that it was hard not to take notice; one
morning she was selected to stand beside the
emperor.
4. (回 + 眸) + (一 + 笑) + 百 + 媚 + 生，
(to turn around + eye) + (one + smile) + hundred
+ fascinating + to beget
(六 + 宫) + (粉 + 黛) + 无 + (颜 + 色)。
(six + palace) + (powder + eyebrow liner) + no +
(face + face/lust)
gloss: Just to turn her head and smile she would
exude a hundred different charms; powdered
women from six palaces could not compare with
her beauty.
5. (春 + 寒) + 赐 + 浴 + (华 + 清 + 池)，
(spring + cold) + to bestow + to bathe + (splendid
+ pure + pool)
(温 + (泉 + 水) + 滑 + 洗 + (凝 + 脂)。
(warm + (spring + water)) + to glide + to cleanse
+ (congealed fat: metaphor for flawless white
skin)
gloss: On a cold spring day, [he] bestowed upon
[her] the honor of bathing in the Huaqing pools;
the warm water of the springs glided over her
body, cleansing her flawless, white skin.
6. (侍 + 儿) + (抹 + 起) + (娇 + (无 + 力))，
(attendant + particle) + (to smear + to begin) +
(delicate + (no + power/strength))
始 + 是 + (新 + 承) + (恩 + 泽) + 时。
beginning + to be + (new + to accept) + (kindness
+ radiance) + time
gloss: Delicate and weak, the maids were lifting
her from the pool when she began to receive the
advances/kindnesses [of the emperor].
7. (云 + 鬓) + (花 + 颜) + (金 + 步 + 摇)，
(cloud + hair on the temples) + (flower +
countenance) + (gold + 5.5 ft. + to sway)
((芙 + 蓉) + 帐) + ((暖 + 度) + (春 + 宵))。
((hibiscus + hibiscus) + net) + ((warm + degree) +
(spring + evening))
gloss: Her hair fell in wisps, she had the face of a
flower, and lengths of gold jewelry dangled from
her neck. [They] spent the warm spring evenings
beneath hibiscus curtains.
8. (春 + 宵) + (苦 + 短) + (日 + 高 + 起)，
(spring + evening) + (bitter + short) + (sun + high
+ to rise)
(从 + 此) + (君 + 王) + ((不 + 早) + 朝) 。
(from + this) + (monarch + king) + ((not + early) +
to go to the imperial court)
gloss: These spring evenings were painfully short
and they did not rise until the sun was high in the
sky. And so the emperor no longer went early to
the imperial court.
9. (承 + 欢 + 侍 + 宴) + (无 + (闲 + 暇))，
(to undertake + pleased + to wait upon +
banquet) + (no + (idle + leisure)
((春 + 从) + (春 + 游)) + (夜 + 专 + 夜)。
((spring + attendant) + (spring + to drift)) + (night
+ to focus + night)
gloss: The days were spent in revelry and
banquets leaving no time to spare. She
accompanied him on spring outings and was the
focus of his nights.
10. (后 + 宫) + (佳 + 丽) + ((三 + 千) + 人)，
(behind + palace) + (fine + beautiful) + ((three +
thousand) + person)
(三 + 千) + (宠 + 爱) + (在 + (一 + 身))。
(three + thousand) + (to dote upon + love) + (to
be located at + (one + body))
gloss: The palace contained three thousand
ravishing beauties, but the imperial favors for
three thousand were lavished upon just one.
11. ((金 + 屋) + 妆) + 成 + (娇 + 侍 + 夜)，
((golden + room) + to adorn) + to become +
(charming + attendant + night)
((玉 + 楼) + 宴) + 罢 + (醉 + 和 + 春)。
((jade + tower) + feast) + to cease + (drunk +
and + joyful)
gloss: By the time she adorned herself in her
golden room, the charming night was ready to
attend to her and when the feasting was done in
the Jade Tower, she was drunk and joyful.
12. ((姊 + 妹) + (弟 + 兄)) + 皆 + (列 + 土)，
((older sister + younger sister) + (younger
brother + older brother)) + all + (to line up +
earth)
(可 + 怜) + (光 + 彩) + 生 + (门 + 户)。
(can + to feel tender regard for) + (bright +
colors) + to be born + (door + household)
gloss: [Her] brothers and sisters were all given
land, which led to greater respect for her clan.
13. 遂 + 令 + (天 + 下) + ((父 + 母) + 心)，
to proceed + to create + (sky + beneath) +
((father + mother) + heart)
(不 + 重 + 生 + 男) + (重 + 生 + 女)。
(not + to emphasize + to beget + boy) + (to
emphasize + to beget + girl)
gloss: And so the hearts of mothers and fathers
across the land were changed and they began
to prize baby girls over baby boys.
14. (骊 + 宫) + (高 + 处) + 入 + (青 + 云)，
(Black Horse + palace) + (high + place) + to
enter + (blue-green + cloud)
(仙 + 乐) + (风 + 飘) + (处 + 处) + 闻。
(divine + music) + (wind + to float) + (place +
place) + to hear
gloss: Li Palace rose into the blue-green clouds
and heavenly music drifted on the breeze.
15. ((缓 + 歌) + (慢 + 舞)) + 凝 + (丝 + 竹)，
((soft + song) + (slow + dance)) + to cohere +
(silk + bamboo)
(尽 + 日) + (君 + 王) + (看 + 不 + 足)。
(utmost + day) + (monarch + king) + (to look +
not + enough)
gloss: Soft songs and slow dances blended
together with the music of traditional instruments
(string and woodwind). The emperor could look
[upon her] all day long and it was not enough.
16. (渔 + 阳) + (鼙 + (鼓 + 动) + 地)+ 来，
(to fish + the sun) + (war drum + ((to vibrate + to
move) + earth) + to come
(惊 + 破) + ((霓 + 裳) + (羽 + 衣) + 曲)。
(to startle + to break) + ((rainbow + skirt) +
(feathers + robe) + song)
gloss: The sound of war drums from YuYang
began to shake the earth and broke the spell of
the song of Rainbow Skirts and Feathered
Robes.
17. ((九 + 重) + (城 + 阙)) + (烟 + 尘) + 生，
((nine + layer) + (city + palace)) + (smoke + dust)
+ to beget
((千 + 乘) + (万 + 骑) + (西 + 南) + 行。
((thousand + a team of four horses) + (ten
thousand + cavalry)) + (east + south) + to move
gloss: Smoke and dust descended upon the
nine-layered palace as thousands of chariots
and tens of thousands of cavalry rode to the
southeast.
18. ((翠 + 华) + (摇 + 摇)) + (行 + 复 + 止)，
((jade + splendor) + (to sway + to sway)) + (to
move forward + to repeat + to stop)
((西 + 出) + (都 + 门)) + (百 + 余 + 里)。
((west + to go forth) + (capital + gate)) + (one
hundred + surplus + li)
gloss: The jade ornaments [on the emperor's
carriage] swayed back and forth as the carriage
continually advanced and halted; they went forth
one hundred li (approximately 32 kilometres)
from the gate of the capital city.
19. (六 + 军) + (不 + 发) + (无 + (奈 + 何))，
(six + army) + (not + to dispatch) + (no + (what +
what))
(宛 + 转) + (蛾 + 眉) + ((马 + 前) + 死)。
(crooked + to rotate) + (moth + eyebrow) +
((horse + in front) + to die)
gloss: The emperor's six armies refused to go
further until they saw those moth-like eyebrows
[of Yang Guifei] trampled beneath their horses
hoofs.
20. ((花 + 钿) + (委 + 地)) + 无 + 人 + 收，
((flower + hairpin) + (to lower oneself + ground))
+ no + person + to gather
(翠 + 翘) + (金 + 雀) + (玉 + (搔 + 头))。
(kingfisher + long tail feathers) + (gold +
sparrow) + (jade + (to scratch + head))
gloss: Her flowered hairpin fell to the ground,
but no one picked them up. Her headdress with
its long kingfisher feathers and its golden
sparow and its jade clasp [also fell].
21. (君 + 王) + (掩 + 面) + (救 + (不 + 得))，
(monarch + king) + (to conceal + face) + (to
rescue + (not + obtain))
(回 + 看) + (血 + 泪) + (相 + (和 + 流))。
(to turn + to look) + (blood + tears) + (reciprocal
+ (to mix + to flow))
gloss: The emperor could not save her, he
could only hide his face. When he turned to
look back, [he saw] a stream of blood and tears
mingling together.
22. (黄 + 埃) + (散 + 漫) + (风 + 萧) + 索，
(yellow + dust) + (to scatter + to spread all over)
+ (wind + desolate) + to search
云 + 栈 + ((萦 + 纡) + 登 + (剑 + 阁))。
cloud + road built along a cliff + ((to entwine + to
twist) + to ascend + (dagger + pavilion))
gloss: The desolate wind blew up billows of
yellow dust and the cloud heavy road twisted up
into the pass at Jiange, the Pavilion of Swords.
23. ((峨 + 嵋 + 山) + 下) + (少 + 人) + 行，
((lofty + eyebrow + mountain) + below) + (few +
people) + to go
((旌 + 旗) + (无 + 光)) + ((日 + 色) + 薄)。
((banner + standard) + (not + brilliant)) + ((day +
color) + weak)
gloss: Few people walked at the base of Mount
Emei. The banners and standards were
lackluster and the day bleak.
24. ((蜀 + (江 + 水)) + 碧) + ((蜀 + 山) + 青)，
((Shu + (river + water)) + emerald) + ((Shu +
mountain) + cyan)
(圣 + 主) + ((朝 + 朝) + (暮 + 暮)) + 情。
(sage + leader) + ((morning + morning) +
(evening + evening) + love
gloss: The rivers of Shu are emerald blue and
its mountains green. Our leader continued to
love [her] both day and night.
25. (行 + 宫) + 见 + 月 + (伤 + 心 + 色)，
(to move + palace = temporary palace away
from capital) + to see + moon + (to hurt + heart
+ color)
(夜 + 雨) + (闻 + 铃) + (肠 + 断) + 声。
(evening + rain) + (to hear + bells) + (intestines
+ to sever = broken-hearted) + sound
gloss: In his temporary palace, he would gaze at
the moon, whose color tore his heart to shreds.
He would hear the sound of bells in the evening
rain and it would break his heart again.
26. (天 + 旋 + 地 + 转) + 回 + 龙 + 驭，
(sky + to turn back + earth + to rotate) + to
return + dragon + to drive
(到 + 此) + (踌 + 躇) + (不 + 能 + 去)。
(to arrive + here) + (hesitant + to hesitate) +
(not + to be able to + to go)
gloss: When the world had been turned upside
down and the dragon chariot faced home, [the
Emperor], upon arriving at this place, found he
could not leave it.
27. (((马 + 嵬) + 坡) + 下) + (泥 + 土 + 中)，
(((horse + high) + slope) + beneath) + (mud + earth
+ middle)
(不 + 见) + (玉 + 颜) + (空 + 死 + 处)。
(not + to see) + (jade + face) + (empty + death +
place)
gloss: In the mud beneath the slopes of MaWei, he
could not see her Jade face, only the deserted place
where she had died. (N.B. "Jade" here refers to Yang
Guifei's birth name: Yuhuan 玉环, or 'jade earrings').
28. ((君 + 臣) + (相 + 顾)) + ((尽 + 沾) + 衣)，
((monarch + officials) + (mutually + to look)) +
((utmost + moisten) + clothing)
((东 + 望) + (都 + 门)) + 信 + 马 + 归。
((east + to look) + (capital + gate)) + to trust + horse
+ to return
gloss: The emperor and his ministers looked at one
another and [tears] soaked their clothing through.
Looking east toward the gates of the capital, they
trusted their horses to lead them home.
29. (归 + 来) + ((池 + 苑) + (皆 + (依 + 旧)))，
(to return + to come) + ((pond + garden) + (all + (like
+ past)))
((太 + 液) + (芙 + 蓉)) + ((未 + 央) + 柳)。
((too + liquid) + (lotus + lotus)) + ((not + to run out) +
willow)
gloss: When they returned, the ponds and gardens
were all the same as before: the lotuses of the TaiYe
ponds and the willows of the WeiYang palace.
30. ((芙 + 蓉) + 如 + 面) + (柳 + 如 + 眉)，
((lotus + lotus) + like + face) + (willow + like +
eyebrow)
(对 + 此) + (如 + 何) + (不 + (泪 + 垂))。
(to face + this) + (as if + what) + (not + (tears + to
let down))
gloss: The lotus blooms were like her face and the
willows like her eyebrows. Looking at these, how
could [his] tears not fall?
31. (春 + 风) + ((桃 + 李) + 花) + 开 + 日，
(spring + wind) + ((peach + plum) + flower) + to open
+ day
(秋 + 雨) + ((梧 + 桐) + 叶) + 落 + 时。
(autumn + rain) + ((Chinese parasol + tree) + leaves)
+ to fall + time
gloss: [Gone] were the days of spring winds when
the peach and plum flowers blossomed, replaced by
the autumn rains in which the leaves of the Chinese
parasol trees fall to the ground.
32. (西 + 宫) + (南 + 内) + 多 + (秋 + 草)，
(west + palace) + (south + inside) + many +
(autumn + grass)
(落 + 叶) + (满 + 阶) + 红 + 不 + 扫。
(to drop + leaf) + (to fill + steps) + red + not + to
sweep
gloss: The Western Palace and Southern Palace
are overrun with autumn grass and the steps are
filled with fallen leaves whose red color is left
unswept.
33. ((梨 + 园) + (子 + 弟)) + ((白 + 发) + 新)，
((pear + garden) + (child/son + younger brother)) +
((white + hair) + new)
(椒 + 房) + ((阿 + 监) + (青 + 娥) + 老)。
(pepper + house) + (([name prefix] + to supervise) +
(young + pretty young woman) + old)
gloss: The Pear Garden performers now had white
hair; the eunuchs and pretty young ladies of the
Pepper House had all grown old.
34. (夕 + 殿) + ((萤 + 飞) + 思 + (悄 + 然))，
(evening + palace) + ((firefly + to fly) + to think +
(quietly + [suffix]))
(孤 + 灯) + (挑 + 尽) + (未 + 成 + 眠)。
(lone + lamp) + (to choose + end) + (not + to
accomplish + sleep)
gloss: In the evening palace, quiet reigns over the
flight of fireflies and [the emperor's] thoughts. A
single lamp was burned through, but still he could
not sleep.
35. (迟 + 迟) + (钟 + 鼓) + 初 + (长 + 夜)，
(slow + slow) + (bell + drum) + early + (long + night)
(耿 + 耿) + (星 + 河) + 欲 + (曙 + 天)。
(shining + shining) + (star + river) + to want + (dawn
+ day)
gloss: The bells slowly rang out, the drums slowly
beat out the start of another long night and with the
bright river of stars above [him, he] longed for
daybreak.
36. (((鸳 + 鸯) + 瓦) + 冷) + (霜 + 华 + 重)，
(((male mandarin duck + female mandarin duck) +
tile) + cold) + (frost + abundant + heavy)
(((翡 + 翠) + 衾) + 寒) + (谁 + 与 + 共)。
(((jade + jade) + quilt) + cold) + (who + with + to
share)
gloss: The mandarin duck tiles were cold beneath
the heavy frost. The jade quilt was icy: who was
there to share it with?
37. (悠 + 悠) + (生 + 死) + 别 + 经 + 年，
(remote + remote) + (to live + to die) + to depart + to
pass through + year
(魂 + 魄) + (不 + 曾) + 来 + 入 + 梦。
(soul + spirit) + (not + once) + to come + to enter +
dream
gloss: The living and the dead had been separated
for one long year and not once had [her] spirit
entered [his] dreams.
38. ((临 + 邛) + (道 + 士)) + ((鸿 + 都) + 客)，
((to descend + mound) + (Daoism + scholar)) +
((wild goose + capital) + guest)
((能 + 以) + (精 + 诚)) + 致 + (魂 + 魄)。
((able + to use) + (excellent + honest)) + to deliver
+ (soul + spirit)
gloss: A Daoist priest from Linqiong [present day
Qionglai] came to the capital as a guest; he could
use his sincere faith to summon the spirits.
39. 为 + 感 + (君 + 王) + (辗 + 转) + 思，
for + to move + (monarch + king) + (to roll over + to
turn) + thought
遂 + 教 + (方 + 士) + (殷 + 勤) + 觅。
thereupon + to teach + (power + scholar) + (eager +
diligent) + to seek
gloss: He was moved by the emperor's mental
torment and so was persuaded to use all his powers
of divination to seek [her].
40. (排 + 空) + (驭 + 气) + (奔 + 如 + 电)，
(to push + sky) + (to drive + air) + (to run + like +
lightning)
(升 + 天) + (入 + 地) + (求 + 之 + 遍)。
(to rise + sky) + (to enter + earth) + (to seek +
[modifier] + everywhere)
gloss: He parted the skies and drove the air, he
disappeared like lightning. He rose into the heavens
and dove into the earth, searching [for her]
everywhere.
41. (上 + 穷 + 碧) + (落 + 下 + (黄 + 泉))，
(up + limit + blue) + (to drop + below + (yellow +
spring))
(两 + 处) + (茫 + 茫) + 皆 + (不 + 见)。
(two + places) + (boundless + boundless) + all +
(not + to see)
gloss: He ascended into the blue beyond and delved
into the yellow springs below, but found no sight of
her in either boundless place.
42. 忽 + 闻 + (海 + 上) + 有 + (仙 + 山)，
suddenly + to hear + (ocean + above) + to have +
(immortal + mountain)
山 + 在 + (虚 + 无 + (缥 + 缈)) + 间。
mountain + to be at + (virtual + not + (misty +
indistinct)) + middle
gloss: When suddenly he heard about the
mountain of immortals high above the ocean waters.
The mountain was invisible in its veil of mist.
43. (楼 + 阁) + (玲 + 珑) + (五 + 云) + 起，
(tower + pavilion) + (tinkling of jade + gem cut like a
dragon) + (five + cloud) + to rise
(其 + 中) + (绰 + 约) + 多 + (仙 + 子)。
(this + middle) + (graceful + to arrange) + many +
(immortal + being)
gloss: A tower rose exquisitely out of the
many-colored clouds and in it lived many celestial
beings endowed with a feminine grace.
44. (中 + 有) + 一 + 人 + 字 + (太 + 真)，
(middle + to have) + one + person + character(name)
+ (too + true)
(雪 + 肤) + (花 + 貌) + (参 + 差) + 是。
(snow + skin) + (flower + countenance) + (uneven +
difference) + to be
gloss: Among them was one with the courtesy name
of TaiZhen; her snow-white skin and beautiful visage
were not unlike hers [Yang Guifei].
45. ((金 + 阙) + (西 + 厢)) + 叩 + (玉 + 扃)，
((gold + tower) + (west + wing)) + to knock + (jade +
door)
(转 + 教) + (小 + 玉) + 报 + (双 + 成)。
(to pass one + to teach) + (little + jade) + to tell +
(double + result)
gloss: [He] knocked on the jade door to the golden
tower's western wing and asked Xiaoyu (a celestial
servant girl) to pass a message to Shuangcheng
(servant girl to the Queen Mother of the West).
46. (问 + 道) + (汉 + 家) + (天 + 子) + 使，
(to hear + to say) + (Han + family) + (heaven +
being) + envoy
((九 + 华 + 帐) + 里) + 梦 + 魂 + 惊。
((nine + flower + tent) + inside) + dream + spirit + to
surprise
gloss: Upon hearing that [the priest] was an envoy of
the Han Son of Heaven (the emperor), she was
startled awake inside her multicolored tent.
47. (揽 + 衣) + (推 + 枕) + (起 + (徘 + 徊))，
(to grasp + clothing) + (to push + pillow) + (to begin
+ (to pace + to pace))
(珠 + 箔) + (银 + 屏) + ((迤 + 逦) + 开)。
(pearl + screen) + (silver + screen) + ((to wind + to
meander) + to open)
gloss: She reached for her robe and pushed aside
her pillow and began to pace about; she slowly
came through the pearled, lace curtain and the
silver-inlaid screen.
48. (云 + 鬓) + (半 + 偏) + (新 + (睡 + 觉))，
(cloud + hair on the temples) + (half + askew) +
(new + (sleep + sleep))
(花 + 冠) + (不 + 整) + (下 + 堂 + 来)。
(flower + crown) + (not + straight) + (to descend +
hall + to come)
gloss: Having just been asleep, her hair was askew
and her garland aslant as she came down into the
hall.
49. (风 + 吹) + (仙 + 袂) + ((飘 + 飘) + 举)，
(wind + to blow) + (divine/immortal + sleeves) + ((to
flutter + to flutter) + to lift up)
(犹 + 似) + ((霓 + 裳) + (羽 + 衣) + 舞。
(just like + to resemble) + ((rainbow + skirt) +
(feathers + robe) + dance
gloss: The wind fluttered her divine sleeves just like
when she would dance the Rainbow Skirts and
Feathered Robes.
50. (玉 + 容) + (寂 + 寞) + 泪 + (阑 + 干)，
(jade + countenance) + (lonely + lonely) + (tears +
(to block + empty)
(梨 + 花) + (一 + 枝) + 春 + 带 + 雨。
(pear + flower) + (one + branch) + springtime + to
wear + rain
gloss: Tears and loneliness crossed over her lovely
countenance like a branch of pear blossoms bathed
in springtime rain.
51. (含 + 情) + (凝 + 睇) + 谢 + (君 + 王)，
(full + feeling) + (to gaze + to look obliquely) + to
thank + (monarch + king)
(一 + 别) + (音 + 容) + 两 + (渺 + 茫)。
(one + separate) + (sound + face) + two + (distant +
hazy)
gloss: She looked at him, her eyes full of feeling,
and expressed her thanks to the emperor, but having
been apart awhile they each found the other's voice
and face distant, vague.
52. ((昭 + 阳 + 殿) + 里) + ((恩 + 爱) + 绝)，
((bright + sun + palace) + inside) + ((kindness +
love) + to exhaust)
((蓬 + 莱 + 宫) + 中) + ((日 + 月) + 长)。
((Peng + Lai + palace) + inside) + ((sun + moon) +
long)
gloss: The love they had shared in Zhaoyang Hall
(The Hall of Bright Sun) was no more and the days
and months pass slowly Penglai Palace.
53. (回 + 头) + (下 + 望) + ((人 + 寰) + 处)，
(to turn + head) + (down + to look) + ((person +
world) + place)
((不 + 见) + (长 + 安)) + (见 + (尘 + 雾))。
((not + to see) + (long + peace)) + (see + (dust +
fog))
gloss: Turning to look down upon the world of
mortals, she does not see Chang'an, only dust and
mist.
54. 唯 + 将 + (旧 + 物) + (表 + (深 + 情))，
only + with + (old + thing) + (to express + (deep +
feeling))
((钿 + 合) + (金 + 钗)) + 寄 + 将 + 去。
((filigree + box) + (gold + hairpin)) + to send + to
take + to go
gloss: She could only send some old keepsakes as
tokens of her deep affection, so she sent him away
with her inlaid box and gold hairpin.
55. (钗 + 留 + (一 + 股)) + (合 + (一 + 扇))，
(hairpin + to keep + (one + part)) + (box + (one +
leaf))
(钗 + 擘 + (黄 + 金)) + (合 + 分 + 钿)。
(hairpin + tear apart + (yellow + gold)) + (box +
separate + gold filigree)
gloss: [She] kept one part of the hairpin and one leaf
of the box; the gold of the hairpin would ever be
separated, as would the gold filigree of the box.
56. 但 + (教 + 心) + (似 + 钿 + 坚)，
but + (to teach + heart) + (to be like + inlaid box +
firm/resolute)
((天 + 上) + (人 + 间)) + 会 + (相 + 见)。
((sky + above) + (person + between)) + can/may +
(mutual + to see)
gloss: But she implored him to be as steadfast and
firm as the inlaid box, saying they would see one
another again, be it in the heavens or on earth among
men.
57. (临 + 别) + (殷 + 勤) + (重 + (寄 + 词))，
(be about to + to part ways) + (earnest + diligent) +
(again + (to send + word))
(词 + 中) + 有 + (誓 + ((两 + 心) + 知))。
(word + middle) + to have + (promise + ((two + heart)
+ to know))
gloss: As he was about to leave, she again earnestly
asked him to pass along a message that contained a
promise only their two hearts would know.
58. ((七 + 月) + (七 + 日)) + ((长 + 生) + 殿)，
((seven + moon) + (seven + sun)) + ((long + life) +
hall)
(夜 + 半) + (无 + 人) + (私 + 语) + 时。
(night + half) + (none + person) + (private + words) +
time/hour
gloss: On the seventh night of the seventh moon in
the Longevity Hall (within the Huaqing Palace), in the
middle of the night when no one is around, then we
will make our secret pact.
59. (在 + 天) + 愿 + (作 + (比 + 翼) + 鸟)，
(at + sky) + to be willing + (to do + (to match + wing)
+ bird)
(在 + 地) + 愿 + (为 + (连 + 理) + 枝)。
(at + earth) + to be willing + (to be + (to connect +
reason) + branch)
gloss: In the sky, we vow to fly wingtip-to-wingtip and
on earth we vow to be intertwining branches of two
trees.
60. (天 + 长) + (地 + 久) + 有 + (时 + 尽)，
(sky + long) + (earth + old) + to have + (time + end)
(此 + 恨) + (绵 + 绵) + 无 + (绝 + 期)。
(this + regret) + (continuous + continuous) + no + (to
sever + timeframe)
gloss: Though the sky is vast and the earth old, each
has its end, but our sorrow [at parting] shall never
cease.
Translation
The Song of Everlasting Sorrowtranslation by Jessica Alexander ©
The flirtatious Han emperor seeks a beauty so beautiful she could
topple an empire,
But he reigns for many years without finding her.
There is a girl, just come of age in the House of Yang,
Who has been raised deep within the women’s chambers, and thus the
world knows her not.
Her beauty and grace are so evident
That one morning she is chosen for the Emperor’s household.
She returns his gaze with a smile that contains a hundred charms,
Outshining all the painted faces of the Six Palaces.
On a cold spring day, she is invited to bathe at the Huaqing Pool,
Whose warm waters glide over her soft, creamy skin.
As the maids lift her from the waters, she is so delicate and languid:
This is when she first receives the attention of His Majesty.
Wisps of hair frame her flower-like face and her golden jewels sway
with each movement;
They spend warm springtime evenings beneath the lotus curtains.
But the nights of Spring are far too short and the sun climbs into the
sky too soon,
So the Emperor soon forsakes the morning court.
Her time is spend solely in attending to him and making merry at his
banquets;
She rides beside him on his springtime journeys, she is the heart of
night after night.
Though the palace contains three thousand great beauties,
The Emperor’s lavishes the favors for all three thousand upon just the
one.
And once she has readied herself in her golden chamber, the
charming night awaits;
She is tipsy and joyful when the feasting is done in the Jade Tower.
Her brothers and sisters are granted titles, each and every one;
The enviable splendor of these privileges enhances her family’s status.
Mothers and fathers across the empire have had a change of heart,
Prizing baby girls where once they wished for boys.
Look, listen: Black Horse Palace vanishes into the azure clouds
And heavenly melodies drift on the breeze.
She sings unhurried songs and dances slow dances to the music of
strings and bamboo,
While the Emperor watches without pause, without end,
Until war drums from Yuyang shake the earth,
Breaking the spell of The Song of Rainbow Skirts and Feathered
Robes.
Smoke and dust engulf the nine tiers of the city palace
As thousands of chariots and ten thousand cavalry fly to the southwest.
The imperial banners sway with the chariot’s advance, halting
One hundred li from the western gate.
The six imperial armies refuse to go further and no choice remains:
They will see the woman with the wispy moth eyebrows die beneath
their horses hooves.
Her flowered hairpin falls to the ground and lays there untouched,
Followed by her headdress with its long kingfisher feathers, its golden
sparrow, its jade clasp.
The Emperor cannot save her. He can only hide his face,
But looking back he sees that her tears and blood have flowed as one.
Yellow dust is blown by a desolate wind
As the cloud-heavy road twists up toward the pass at the Pavilion of
Swords.
Travelers are few in the shadow of Mount Emei.
The banners are dull, the sun bleak.
Just as the rivers of Shu are emerald blue and its mountains always
green,
So the Emperor’s love for her is unchanged and changeless, from
night to day.
In his temporary palace, he gazes at the moon, whose color tears his
heart to shreds;
He hears the sound of bells chiming in the evening rain, and his heart
breaks anew.
When heaven and earth resume their orbit, the dragon chariot turns
homeward,
But reaching that fateful place, he hesitates, unable to drive on.
In the mud beneath Mawei, he cannot see her Jade face,
Only this empty place where she breathed her last.
The Emperor and his ministers share a glance, their robes wet with
tears,
As they look eastward to the capital’s gates and trust their horses to
carry them home.
They return to find the ponds and gardens unchanged:
Still the lotuses of Taiye, yet the willows of Weiyang.
The lotus blossoms are like her face, the willows fronds like her
eyebrows;
How can they not inspire his tears?
Gone are the days of spring winds, peach blossoms, plum blooms,
Replaced by the autumn rains, the ground littered with the leaves of
the parasol tree.
The Western Palace, the Southern Palace are both overgrown with
autumn grass;
Their steps are filled with fallen foliage, whose red is left unswept.
The hair of the Pear Garden performers has lost its color
And the eunuchs and pretty young maids of the Pepper House have
grown old.
In the evening palace, quiet reigns over the flight of fireflies and His
Majesty’s thoughts;
A single lamp is burned through, but still sleep resists.
The bells and drums toll unhurried to announce another long night;
The river of stars sparkles above as he longs for a new day to break.
The mandarin duck tiles grow cold beneath their heavy frost
While the jadeite quilt, unshared, hangs icy around him alone.
Slowly, so slowly, a year has passed since the living and the dead
were parted,
But not once has her spirit visited his dreams.
A Daoist priest arrives in the capital from Linqiong,
Able to summon spirits by his sincere faith.
Moved by His Majesty’s torment,
He is persuaded to use his powers to find her.
He parts the sky, he drives the air, he disappears like lightning;
He ascends to the heavens and dives beneath the earth, seeking her
high and low.
He flies up into the blue beyond and delves deep into the
underworld's Yellow Springs,
But finds no trace in either boundless place.
When suddenly he hears of an immortal mountain floating high above
the ocean waters,
Invisible, indistinct in its thin mist of oblivion.
A tower rises exquisitely out of the many-colored clouds,
Inhabited by celestial beings of feminine grace.
Among their number is one called Taizhen,
Whose snow-white skin and beautiful visage are not unlike those of the
one he seeks.
He raps upon the jade door to the golden tower’s western wing
And implores the maids to pass his message.
Upon hearing that the envoy has been sent by the Son of Heaven,
She is startled awake beneath her flowered canopy.
She reaches for her robe and pushes aside her pillows, rising to pace
about,
Before appearing through the pearled-lace curtain and the silver-
inlaid screen.
Having just awoke, her hair is askew,
Her garland aslant as she comes down into the hall.
A wind flutters her divine sleeves;
It is though she again dances The Song of Rainbow Skirts and
Feathered Robes.
Tears and loneliness traverse her face of Jade,
Like a branch of pear blossoms bathed in springtime rain.
She looks at the priest, her eyes full of feeling, and bids him thank His
Majesty:
“Our long separation has made your voice and face distant, unfamiliar.
The love we shared in the Hall of Bright Sun is no more
And the days and moons pass slowly in Penglai Palace.
When I turn to look down upon the world of mortals,
I do not see Chang’An, I see only dust and mist.
Old keepsakes alone can serve as an expression of my deep affection,
So I send my inlaid box and my golden hairpin.
But I shall keep one part of the hairpin and one leaf of the box,
Dividing the hairpin’s gold, sundering the box’s filigree.
Be steadfast and firm, like this inlaid box:
We shall meet again, whether in the heavens or on earth among
men.”
As the priest is leaving, she bids him again to take a message to her
love
With a vow known only to their two hearts.
It is said that on the seventh night of the seventh moon in the
Longevity Hall,
They swore to one another in secrecy:
“In the sky we shall be as birds of shared wing;
On earth we shall be as the interlaced branches of a single tree.
Though the sky is vast and the earth old, neither is without end,
But this, our sorrow, shall abide everlasting.”
The flirtatious Han emperor seeks a beauty so beautiful she could
topple an empire,
But he reigns for many years without finding her.
There is a girl, just come of age in the House of Yang,
Who has been raised deep within the women’s chambers, and thus the
world knows her not.
Her beauty and grace are so evident
That one morning she is chosen for the Emperor’s household.
She returns his gaze with a smile that contains a hundred charms,
Outshining all the painted faces of the Six Palaces.
On a cold spring day, she is invited to bathe at the Huaqing Pool,
Whose warm waters glide over her soft, creamy skin.
As the maids lift her from the waters, she is so delicate and languid:
This is when she first receives the attention of His Majesty.
Wisps of hair frame her flower-like face and her golden jewels sway
with each movement;
They spend warm springtime evenings beneath the lotus curtains.
But the nights of Spring are far too short and the sun climbs into the
sky too soon,
So the Emperor soon forsakes the morning court.
Her time is spend solely in attending to him and making merry at his
banquets;
She rides beside him on his springtime journeys, she is the heart of
night after night.
Though the palace contains three thousand great beauties,
The Emperor’s lavishes the favors for all three thousand upon just the
one.
And once she has readied herself in her golden chamber, the
charming night awaits;
She is tipsy and joyful when the feasting is done in the Jade Tower.
Her brothers and sisters are granted titles, each and every one;
The enviable splendor of these privileges enhances her family’s status.
Mothers and fathers across the empire have had a change of heart,
Prizing baby girls where once they wished for boys.
Look, listen: Black Horse Palace vanishes into the azure clouds
And heavenly melodies drift on the breeze.
She sings unhurried songs and dances slow dances to the music of
strings and bamboo,
While the Emperor watches without pause, without end,
Until war drums from Yuyang shake the earth,
Breaking the spell of The Song of Rainbow Skirts and Feathered
Robes.
Smoke and dust engulf the nine tiers of the city palace
As thousands of chariots and ten thousand cavalry fly to the southwest.
The imperial banners sway with the chariot’s advance, halting
One hundred li from the western gate.
The six imperial armies refuse to go further and no choice remains:
They will see the woman with the wispy moth eyebrows die beneath
their horses hooves.
Her flowered hairpin falls to the ground and lays there untouched,
Followed by her headdress with its long kingfisher feathers, its golden
sparrow, its jade clasp.
The Emperor cannot save her. He can only hide his face,
But looking back he sees that her tears and blood have flowed as one.
Yellow dust is blown by a desolate wind
As the cloud-heavy road twists up toward the pass at the Pavilion of
Swords.
Travelers are few in the shadow of Mount Emei.
The banners are dull, the sun bleak.
Just as the rivers of Shu are emerald blue and its mountains always
green,
So the Emperor’s love for her is unchanged and changeless, from
night to day.
In his temporary palace, he gazes at the moon, whose color tears his
heart to shreds;
He hears the sound of bells chiming in the evening rain, and his heart
breaks anew.
When heaven and earth resume their orbit, the dragon chariot turns
homeward,
But reaching that fateful place, he hesitates, unable to drive on.
In the mud beneath Mawei, he cannot see her Jade face,
Only this empty place where she breathed her last.
The Emperor and his ministers share a glance, their robes wet with
tears,
As they look eastward to the capital’s gates and trust their horses to
carry them home.
They return to find the ponds and gardens unchanged:
Still the lotuses of Taiye, yet the willows of Weiyang.
The lotus blossoms are like her face, the willows fronds like her
eyebrows;
How can they not inspire his tears?
Gone are the days of spring winds, peach blossoms, plum blooms,
Replaced by the autumn rains, the ground littered with the leaves of
the parasol tree.
The Western Palace, the Southern Palace are both overgrown with
autumn grass;
Their steps are filled with fallen foliage, whose red is left unswept.
The hair of the Pear Garden performers has lost its color
And the eunuchs and pretty young maids of the Pepper House have
grown old.
In the evening palace, quiet reigns over the flight of fireflies and His
Majesty’s thoughts;
A single lamp is burned through, but still sleep resists.
The bells and drums toll unhurried to announce another long night;
The river of stars sparkles above as he longs for a new day to break.
The mandarin duck tiles grow cold beneath their heavy frost
While the jadeite quilt, unshared, hangs icy around him alone.
Slowly, so slowly, a year has passed since the living and the dead
were parted,
But not once has her spirit visited his dreams.
A Daoist priest arrives in the capital from Linqiong,
Able to summon spirits by his sincere faith.
Moved by His Majesty’s torment,
He is persuaded to use his powers to find her.
He parts the sky, he drives the air, he disappears like lightning;
He ascends to the heavens and dives beneath the earth, seeking her
high and low.
He flies up into the blue beyond and delves deep into the
underworld's Yellow Springs,
But finds no trace in either boundless place.
When suddenly he hears of an immortal mountain floating high above
the ocean waters,
Invisible, indistinct in its thin mist of oblivion.
A tower rises exquisitely out of the many-colored clouds,
Inhabited by celestial beings of feminine grace.
Among their number is one called Taizhen,
Whose snow-white skin and beautiful visage are not unlike those of the
one he seeks.
He raps upon the jade door to the golden tower’s western wing
And implores the maids to pass his message.
Upon hearing that the envoy has been sent by the Son of Heaven,
She is startled awake beneath her flowered canopy.
She reaches for her robe and pushes aside her pillows, rising to pace
about,
Before appearing through the pearled-lace curtain and the silver-
inlaid screen.
Having just awoke, her hair is askew,
Her garland aslant as she comes down into the hall.
A wind flutters her divine sleeves;
It is though she again dances The Song of Rainbow Skirts and
Feathered Robes.
Tears and loneliness traverse her face of Jade,
Like a branch of pear blossoms bathed in springtime rain.
She looks at the priest, her eyes full of feeling, and bids him thank His
Majesty:
“Our long separation has made your voice and face distant, unfamiliar.
The love we shared in the Hall of Bright Sun is no more
And the days and moons pass slowly in Penglai Palace.
When I turn to look down upon the world of mortals,
I do not see Chang’An, I see only dust and mist.
Old keepsakes alone can serve as an expression of my deep affection,
So I send my inlaid box and my golden hairpin.
But I shall keep one part of the hairpin and one leaf of the box,
Dividing the hairpin’s gold, sundering the box’s filigree.
Be steadfast and firm, like this inlaid box:
We shall meet again, whether in the heavens or on earth among
men.”
As the priest is leaving, she bids him again to take a message to her
love
With a vow known only to their two hearts.
It is said that on the seventh night of the seventh moon in the
Longevity Hall,
They swore to one another in secrecy:
“In the sky we shall be as birds of shared wing;
On earth we shall be as the interlaced branches of a single tree.
Though the sky is vast and the earth old, neither is without end,
But this, our sorrow, shall abide everlasting.”
Explanation
Bai Juyi’s most famous poem, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow (sometimes also translated as The Song of Everlasting Regret) tells the story of Yang Yuhuan, who became Yang Guifei (guifei being the highest rank for imperial consorts in her time) in the court of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. The Emperor’s guards blamed her powerful cousin Yang Guozhong and the rest of her family for the An-Shi Rebellion, and when the Emperor fled the capital at Chang’An, his guards insisted she be killed. The story of this doomed love affair was also the inspiration for Japan's The Tale of Genji. The choice of “the seventh day of the seventh moon” is likely a reference to 七夕, also known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day and whose legend is also based on a doomed love affair.
The poem's title was used for the name of the 1995 novel by Wang Anyi.
The poem's title was used for the name of the 1995 novel by Wang Anyi.
